Play Diagnosis and Assessment: Play Assessment of Ego Functions and Object Relations

Observation of a young child's play is a powerful projective tool for assessing a child's psychological functioning and progress in therapy. This course provides a model for play assessment of a child's ego functioning and object relations, including affect tolerance and modulation, conflict resolution, ego defenses, object relationships, self and object representations, identificatory processes, and superego development. Also covered are the development of adaptive vs. maladaptive play, posttraumatic play, and use of play assessment in diagnosis and treatment planning.