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The Healing Power of Play: Therapeutic Work with Chronically Neglected and Abused Children
1Leeds Beckett University, City Campus, Leeds LS1 3HE, UK. F.Brown@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.
Insights
This study explored play therapy for abandoned children suffering from neglect and abuse. The findings suggest that peer interaction during play was the most significant factor in their recovery and development.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Therapeutic Interventions
Background:
- Focuses on abandoned children (ages 1-10) in a Romanian pediatric hospital.
- Children experienced chronic neglect, abuse, and severe social deprivation.
- Previous confinement in cots limited social interaction and development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine play-based therapeutic interventions for neglected and abused children.
- To explore the benefits of specific therapeutic techniques like symbolic representation and play cues.
- To hypothesize the impact of peer interaction on children's recovery.
Main Methods:
- Play-based therapeutic methods were employed.
- Exploration of concepts: symbolic representation, negative capability, joining, play cues.
- Observation of children's interactions and responses to play.
Main Results:
- Play therapy demonstrated general benefits for children's recovery and development.
- Individually focused techniques showed value.
- Unfettered playful interaction between children emerged as a potentially powerful healing factor.
Conclusions:
- Peer interaction within play therapy settings may be a crucial element for healing.
- Children may have facilitated their own recovery through mutual play.
- Highlights the profound impact of social connection on recovery from trauma.
Abstract:
This article concerns a therapeutic intervention with a group of abandoned children living in a Romanian pediatric hospital. The children, ranging in age from one to ten years old, had suffered chronic neglect and abuse. They had previously spent most of their lives tied in the same cot in the same hospital ward. They were poorly fed and their nappies were rarely changed. Although able to see and hear the other abused children, they experienced little in the way of social interaction. The article focuses on the play-based methods that were employed to aid the children's recovery, while at the same time highlighting the general benefits of this very specific therapeutic approach to children's recovery and development. In particular, there is an exploration of concepts such as symbolic representation, negative capability, joining, and the significance of play cues. However, despite the clear value of these individually focused techniques, the article proposes the tentative hypothesis that the most powerful healing factor was the unfettered playful interaction between the children themselves. In other words, the children in a very real sense may have healed each other while playing.
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