Play Therapy For Adults Traumatized As Children

[passerine]

Your replies have really got me thinking. Thanks! Maybe I will work up the courage to tell my therapist that I have been eying his toys and want to open the box of miniatures today. I don't know why I feel so scared to do it. It's funny because I'm working on my master's expressive arts therapy and have some exposure to play therapy techniques (specifically sand tray therapy), so you'd think I'd jump at the opportunity to ask my therapist about it. It's a very different thing, though, to apply that kind of work to my own therapy. We have done a lot of expressive stuff together, including art therapy, and have recently started doing more somatic / body oriented stuff as well. But for some reason the idea of bringing up wanting to play with the toys is really, really hard for me.

 

[Radio Rental]

Hello all ... I can't tell you how pleased I am to have found this forum. I have spent this week trying to do a synopsis for my 4th psychiatrist in as many years as they are all temporary. I'm not sure how I came across this post specifically but I so resonate with it and thank you so much for posting it.

I have what could only be described as an obsession with childrens toys. We lost everything at the start of the credit crunch ... long story ... but whenever I went to the supermarket and we were skint and living in a tiny caravan I couldn't help spending ages in th childrens toy section.

I once spent nearly an hour playing with a half price red teletubbie and explainining to myself why I shouldn't spend £15 on it. The memory is so vivid ... I have so many other similar stories ... thank you so much for explaining why this is so <3 xxx

 

[Radio Rental]

We have done a lot of expressive stuff together, including art therapy, and have recently started doing more somatic / body oriented stuff as well. But for some reason the idea of bringing up wanting to play with the toys is really, really hard for me.

As my business, I am creative ... every creative idea my psychologist has suggested has left me shaking as loss of my business etc was just a small but significant part of the whole problem.

If I create then I am to be judged on my creation ... if I secretly play, fantasise and act like a big kid on other forums then I am not judged for my talent.. xxx

 

[passerine]

I did it! I told my therapist that I was really interested in his box of toys and was feeling like I just couldn't put my thoughts and feelings into words and needed to do more expressive things with him. It was really hard for me to ask him to get the box of toys for me (I couldn't even stand up and walk to the shelf to get it myself), but I did. He took the items he had on his side table off and put it between us so that I could "create a world" with the toys on the table (like sand tray therapy). I loved it. He also said that he had a bag of stuffed animals and PUPPETS that I could play with, and he thanked me for bringing it up, I told him that I wished he had brought it up and that it would be helpful to me if he offered me his markers and paper or the toys when he could see that I was struggling to communicate. He seemed quite pleased by my request and was also really intrigued by what I did with his toys. He even asked to take a picture of the world I had created.

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

Awesome that is so great. I wrote about your post in my journal and my therapist asked if I wanted to play. I was so embarrassed that she asked me, but we talked about it. One of my parts played a game instead. I am so happy for you though because it is so great that you were able to express your desires and how you would like him to help you meet those needs.

 

[BlueOrange]

Asking for help can be so difficult, especially if it's potentially embarrassing. Well done!

 

[Chava]

Cool!! I read somewhere (I think in a Joseph Campbell book since I can't actually read psychology, but Joseph Campbell is hilarious) that Jung started piling up rocks to build a little world or fortress for himself as adult, coming from that inspired childlike imagination. I know I'd just wither and die without imagination, creating stuff, and humor. Not that "play" in a therapy context is all fun probably, but it's empowering to access our imaginations and non-verbal expressive selves. I read your post about miniatures and thought "OMG! Miniatures!!!" There is an element of being able to order and create worlds through arranging, building, creating. Then I read the post about you getting the courage to ask and that it went so well.

I struggle to communicate too. I also struggled a lot in CBT because I felt like my thinking was wrong and I felt like I should just "get it" (is complex trauma logical?). Therapists trying to talk me into better thinking just didn't work for me (not to discredit CBT because it's awesome for lots of people with various struggles). Trauma focused therapy that allows for imagination and non-verbal forms of expression is much more helpful to me. I've been the jack of all arts, master of (maybe 1 or 1.5) for a long time. It's kept my soul alive. While I want to put more things into words, I believe there will always be huge amounts of uncharted expression and learning in what we can do creatively or non-verbally (somatic, movement, etc). Good work!!

 

[passerine]

Thanks, everyone! Playing with the toys was a really powerful and meaningful experience for me. I will definitely talk more about it with my therapist when I see him again this week.

@Chava, I love Joseph Campbell! And Jung. "Play" in therapy isn't all fun, but it most certainly is empowering to access our imaginations and non-verbal expressive selves, as you say. Sand tray therapy, which is basically what my therapist had me doing only without the sand, is storytelling through image and symbol and it can be quite intense...the process of creating a world through choosing items, arranging them, building around them, etc. is reflective of internal processes, and in my case yesterday the miniatures I chose and the world I created with them was quite telling of the intense fear and profound sadness that I am feeling. I totally hear you on CBT being a struggle. Of course, I like to verbally process things with my therapist. In general I just enjoy talking to him and hearing him talk. But so much of the work for me has to allow for non-verbal forms of expression because I am and always have been a highly creative, imaginative type of person who relies on images and stories to make sense of the world.

I am excited to explore the stuffed animals and puppets that my therapist has! I loved playing with the miniatures so much, and we talked about incorporating more art therapy into our meetings and more movement as well. Now that I've seen how receptive he is to non-verbal communication / processing in therapy, I am drawn to suggest all sorts of creative ideas both in the therapy room and outside on my own as a supplement to the therapy.

 

[Cinnamon4z]

I am really interested in exploring like play therapy, art therapy or sand therapy. Its just so difficult for me to speak, verbalize let alone vocalize my feelings, pain and frustrations sometimes (especially when my panic attacks or episodes start and my chest & throat feel clogged up). I have a little bit of experience with the mindfulness but i definitely need more help there and practice. But a big part for me emotionally seems the non-verbal stuff.

 

[Rainydaiz]

I'm curious if anybody on the forum has experience doing any sort of play therapy as an adult, particu...

My t uses a sand tray at times, also a box of toys - usually I use them to make a tableau or choose one to represent part of myself. I also draw with her. We have a teddy that I hold sometimes too.

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

I sometimes draw or play games. The drawing really helped when I was very dissociated and unable to talk earlier this week. I just drew a representation of what was on my mind and eventually was able to write and talk about it. I use writing a lot, too, when I can't speak. We will sometimes read children's books together that are relevant to what we're working on or as a way to transition or calm. She has some other toys, too, but I haven't ventured into those as of yet.

 

[Cinnamon4z]

JEKBreatheandBelieve -
Yeah i am finding that drawing, playing, and other non-verbal therapies are sometimes more effective and helpful in my anxious/depressive/panicky states or when i am dissociative/blurry minded- it helps relieve the tension in my mind as my chest & throat usually freeze up. idk- im seeing a new T on this coming monday and saw she listed creative therapy/play therapy on her profile.... so i will give this a try....