Critical analysis of - Research Paper Example

Especially, play has proved to be a very effective way to understand and treat the children suffering from childhood abuse and trauma. The therapy that uses play as a means to treat people suffering from behavioral and personality problem is called as ‘play therapy’. Play therapy can be defined as “a helping interaction between a trained adult therapist and a child for the purpose of relieving the child’s emotional distress by using the symbolic communication of play” (Webb, 2007). However, it is important to know that ‘pleasure’ is not the only aspect of play that makes it so effective a method to treat people with behavioral problems.

The question is what aspects of ‘play therapy’ make it an effective therapy to treat children suffering from childhood abuse and trauma? Knowing and understanding the aspects of play therapy that makes it effective in treating children suffering from trauma not only will make the treatment effective but also can save a lot of time of treatment. Play therapy (PT) has been used as an effective method to treat children suffering from trauma caused by childhood abuse of sexual and physical nature.

According to Mann and McDermott (1983), even though play therapy has been used successfully to treat the emotional and behavioral problems visible in children, a systematic guideline regarding the use of PT to assess and treat the children has not yet been introduced (White & Allers, 1994). Even in the absence of systematic guidelines or large number of studies, the researchers have been successful in understanding those aspects that make PT an effective therapy to treat children suffering from trauma and to build a solid foundation for a healthy and positive growth of their personality in the future.

Howard has found that children suffering from childhood abuse and trauma display a specific behavior pattern during the play which reveals a lot about their maladjustments