Art Therapy and Play Therapy: Hope for Healing Kid's emotional and behavioral issues

Play therapy and Art Therapy are interactive, creative, enjoyable methods for kids and teens to find healing from destructive behaviors or negative emotional patterns- without the stress and pressure of trying to coax a child to sort out difficult emotions and issues verbally.

How does this work?

A child's destructive, negative acting out behaviors are actually an immature attempt to communicate difficult emotions which they do not know how to express appropriately.   Most children do not have the cognitive ability to express their issues and frustrations with words, or the skills to sort these feelings out on their own. Their negative behaviors are a cry for help from us 'grown-ups'  a misguided way of asking for help to sort out their complex internal conflicts.

What is usually really going on for the child behind the destructive behaviors are feelings of pain, frustration, conflict, anger, hurt, separation, feeling misunderstood etc.

Art and Play Therapy provide a window into the child's inner world of feelings and needs, and a non-confrontational   way for the child to indirectly express and externalize these conflicts.

These therapies work by creating a deliberately safe, structured, trusting, relaxed and enjoyable experience for the child to express their issues non-verbally and unconsciously, using toys, art making, games and interactive play.   Most children love art and play, and to do so joy and abandon. To do this with an adult (the therapist and at times, the parents) fully present with them is usually their greatest wish come true. The child's play and art making - which most kids naturally and spontaneously love to do - become the avenue for their healing.

During therapy with a trained facilitator, the hidden issues the child is trying to express become clear because the therapist is skilled in reading the language of the play/art as metaphor. The specific themes and activities the child chooses to enact in the play and art in this context are the very accurate and symbolic language of the internal voice of the child, to say exactly what they cannot articulate with words. The Play Therapist interacts with the child directly at this nonverbal level, communicating a profound sense of understanding and acknowledgment to the child, and thereby effectively addressing the child's deepest emotional and behavioral issues. 

The specific play/art the child enacts within the structure of Art/Play Therapy is always an unconscious   representation of what they are going through internally. Say for example the child is having difficulties with relationships. Inevitably, the child will, within the therapy, play/draw/act out exactly what is bothering them either with the toys or in the art work, effectively showing by how they use the materials, exactly where they are confused, stuck or struggling in specific relationships. This may be through the way the family is portrayed in a painting, or the way the toys are arranged and interacting together. The child very accurately communicates their inner experience of that relationship through their use of the objects and representations.

As the child learns to trust the therapist and more fully express the hidden layers of their inner world, a nonverbal dialog is created between them in which they are free to explore creative solutions to the issues – again through the language of art/play- in an age appropriate manner using age appropriate interventions and strategies.  The Resolutions created during these creative interactions seem to help most children heal very quickly.

When the inner conflicts are expressed outwardly in the therapy, the child inevitably shows signs of tremendous relief in knowing that their inner turmoil has been witnessed. The emotional pain is released on the spot, through  the act of having their struggle witnessed by an adult that 'gets' what they are trying to say. The child usually responds with joy and gratitude at having their pain known and deeply understood, all without using words.  Through these methods, we may discover what even the youngest children (even ages 2-4 years) are trying to say, what may be causing any problems, and how to help.

At the core level, the child experiences this interactive therapeutic relationship as feeling deeply relieved at finally being understood and honored. We all crave this level of interaction, acknowledgement and expression, especially as kids. This is the essential nourishment for the healthy development of an individual, to know that they are truly seen, heard and recognized, and to know that they are not alone in their struggle to become whole, healthy human beings. These are experiences that stay with the child for life.

For younger children, generally between ages 2-4, issues are addressed at a non-cognitive, nonverbal level because the child usually does not yet have the abstract reasoning skills to sort things out verbally.  The resolutions are introduced into the therapy symbolically, and then applied to the behavior issues at home. This generally means initiating new structures and rules for the child which the therapist and parents have created together.

For older children/teens the focus is more on Art Making, again as the unconscious expression or metaphor of the internal experience. Emphasis is on discovering and learning to speak about thoughts, feelings, ideas and creating a constructive language of self-expression to replace destructive habits/patterns using the art as the vehicle of expression to arrive at these skills. The therapy also focuses on building self-esteem and defining steps towards personal goals. The child/teen and therapist work together to develop personal coping strategies to replace the acting out behaviors / disturbing emotions.

When the therapy is successful, the child has learned many constructive, healthy ways to communicate emotions, thoughts and needs, replacing the negative patterns of acting out behaviors.

For most families, there is a tremendous relief in finding a way out of the negative cycles of destructive behavior. Most children look forward to coming to play therapy with great enthusiasm and excitement, and many don't want to leave at the end of the session. Many young clients ask to "come back every day", so great is their relief.

As the child learns how to express their needs and emotions in more creative, verbal and direct ways, the family learns how to facilitate and support these skills. Ultimately, the goal is for the child to learn to extend these skills in interaction with their family members, friends and social groups. These emotional and communication skills will serve the child life-long.