Melanie Klein: Play Therapy

The terrible twos might be a rough stage when it comes to raising a child. The child could be playful and cheerful with their parent but in a split second the child could start crying and run away. There are many routes the guardian of the child could do, they can either give the child a punishment, for example, no screen time for a day or regulate rules to try to stop the child from acting up. Another idea could be introducing play therapy by either a child psychologist or the parent themselves. Parenthood is a tough job when it is the parents the first time. The parents want to provide everything they can for their child to live a healthy life both physically and mentally. Play therapy can help a child communicate in a unique way rather than

As Donaldson expresses in their article, as a young girl Klein had her goals set for her future self and one of them was attending medical school. Eventually, Klein got married to Arthur Klein and had three children, but soon started to suffer from depression while stilling living with her intimidating mother and having an unhealthy relationship with her mother while growing up. The Klein family decided that it was time to move out. After moving they moved to Budapest in 1910 she also enrolled in a course of psychoanalysis with Sandor Ferenczi (Donaldson). While Klein was taking the course, her instructor would encourage her to start analyzing her own child. So, she did. At that time there was not many reports or information when it came to analyzing children so without guidance she started to psychoanalyze her own children (Donaldson). Danika Kimball highlighted that while Klein was working on studying her children Freud would doubt her work and state that children could not possibly be studied on due to them not being fully developed. Klein, however, ignored the comments he made and she maintained her studies. Klein took notice of how her children would express themselves while they play thus she equipped her office with small horses, figurines, and a train set, making the observation of children her main study (Kimball). Danika Kimball also reports that Klein was inspired to understand the way humans grow from an early

This technique has turned into a form of therapy called 'Play.' The Association for Play Therapy defines play therapy as "the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish the interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development" (Play Therapy Makes a Difference). Playing is fundamental for children as they grow up. Playing with toys and with their friends is how they can express themselves without using words to tell their emotions. In the video Play Therapy Works! by Association for Play Therapy, the video states "Play is their language it is how they communicate just as adults use words. Play is a child's way of communicating with the adults." At a young age, a child cannot easily express themselves with words so it could be hard for the child to connect with either their parents or their therapist. There are many benefits of play and some of them are that it encourages open and voluntary communication, builds trust and mastery, fosters learning and acceptable behaviors, regulates emotions, reduces stress, promotes creative, problem-solving, and elevates spirit and self-esteem (Play Therapy Works!) Children in Play therapy are