Synopsis

A MODERN APPROACH TO OVERCOMING THE CHILD'S DIFFICULTIES

The training uniquely integrates non-directive and directive approaches in Play Therapy. The programme content is informed by the theory and practice of humanistic psychology, particularly the work of Virginia Axline ('Dibs in Search of Self'), Carl Rogers and Violet Oaklander's Gestalt Play Therapy. Participants in the training will be introduced to the work of John Bowlby, Margaret Lowenfeld, Donald Winnicott, Rachel Pinney etc . The training also emphasises the spiritual aspect of human development. The training will be enriched with opportunities for meditation and all forms of creativity.

The basis of Play Therapy training is non-directive play therapy as a safe and effective therapy for children.
The methods and skills of directive Play Therapy are taught in the third level of the PG Diploma training model.

The PG Certificate Play Therapy training curriculum is based on the principles of therapeutic contact with children developed by Virginia Axline in the USA. In addition to her principles, numerous improvements developed in the UK, Western Europe, Asia and Africa have been incorporated into the programme. These improvements enable Play Therapy to be culturally adapted for therapeutic work with children also in Poland.

Currently, children's lives are highly controlled and normalised. The non-directive approach in Play Therapy offers the child the opportunity to make their own choices and take responsibility for their decisions. It also offers the opportunity to express oneself freely, while being accepted unconditionally by the therapist. The child's deepest feelings are respected and honoured by the therapist. The child's play is not interpreted or judged in any way by the therapist.

This freedom of the child in play can be achieved through the trusting, accepting attitude of the therapist, through a clearly defined structure of the therapeutic contact. For this reason, the therapist assumes responsibility for the safety of the child, himself and the environment. Through the therapist's adherence to these boundaries, the child can achieve a sense of freedom of choice. Respecting the time boundaries related to the start and end of the session is important for the child's sense of safety. In this way, the time of the therapy session is perceived by the child as fixed and unchanging, and this in turn allows the child to safely explore and reconstruct experiences, to create their own world during the session. Sometimes non-directive therapy needs to be complemented by other approaches. For example, when working with children in the term stage of an illness, with children in a period of bereavement after the loss of a loved one, the inclusion of short-term therapy is required.