Play Therapy for Children Affected by Illness and Injury

Illness, Injury, and medical procedures can be experienced as traumatic events by both children and adults. This course explores the impact of these types of events on children. Participants will gain theoretical basis for interventions that are developed from developmental needs and psychological/neurobiological perspectives. A brief overview of the Somatic Experiencing Model will be provided. Students will learn specific play therapy techniques for working with this population in the playroom. Additionally, students will learn how to support parents and teach children ways to deal with traumatic events. Lecture, discussion, and case examples will be used to illustrate the effective use of play therapy with children with acute and chronic illness, traumatic injuries, and hospitalization.