Play is the main activity of children from birth to for many years. Through play, children learn and explore the world around them. While playing, children become aware of themselves as individuals, learn communication skills, and develop their physical and intellectual abilities. With the help of play therapy, a method that uses games and toys to correct and even out the development of children, it is possible to help children solve various problems in a non-traumatic way.

Often, young children are not able to talk about what worries or excites them. Little ones cannot explain the reasons for their anxiety or fear. Sometimes babies begin to lag behind in development for no apparent reason. In such cases, consultations with pediatricians and psychologists are very important. Very often, to correct developmental delays in babies, treatment using toys and games is recommended.

The effectiveness of the therapeutic effects of game therapy on preschoolers is due to special condition children when they play. During this period, fidgets are in a good, cheerful mood. Little people are emotionally open, willingly make contact with adults, share their experiences, talk about their problems.

Games are an important component of psycho-emotional, physical, intellectual development children. While playing, the baby prepares for an independent adult life: he learns the rules and norms of behavior accepted in society, gets acquainted with moral principles, and acquires useful skills for various types activities. With the help of games, preschool children develop imagination, fantasy, and develop intelligence. Considering the importance play activity To form the psychosocial state of children, psychologists of the last century created play therapy as a method of influencing and correcting the development of children.

Play therapy is a psychotherapeutic method that is based on influencing a child’s development through various types of play activities. Many games not only carry information about the world around the child, but also have a healing effect. A psychologist watches the baby as he plays, immerses himself in the world of the little man, identifies problems, and more accurately determines the causes of their occurrence. alarming phenomena in the development of the baby. Only by identifying the source of the child’s anxiety can treatment be prescribed and progress made in its implementation.

Functions of play therapy

Play therapy, regardless of the form of its implementation, performs three functions that are essential for preschool children:

Who benefits from play therapy?

Pedagogical practice confirms that play therapy has a therapeutic effect and successfully copes with a huge number of diagnoses. There are only two exceptions in which such therapy is contraindicated - complete autism of the child, as well as non-contact schizophrenia.

Play therapy is very effective for working with children who have physical and mental developmental disabilities. The method of play therapy is very often used in psychocorrectional work as it is optimal in terms of efficiency and power of influence. Play therapy is indicated for the following problems:

Game or treatment?

Some adults mistakenly consider game therapy to be identical to psychiatry and assume that game therapy should be used in especially rare cases. Recently, there has been a tendency to bring children who do not have obvious problems to a psychologist for play therapy sessions, for a more active and successful development of the child. Often during a session it becomes noticeable that the preschooler has problems that the parents were not aware of.

Play therapy has almost unlimited possibilities for influencing the development of children. While playing, the child learns to express his thoughts, speak more clearly and clearly, and logically justify his actions. Through play, the baby strengthens his will, learns to control and restrain his emotions. While playing, the baby gains confidence in his abilities and interacts with other children and adults. The baby learns to communicate, find friends, and solves communication problems.

Home play therapy

Parents are concerned about whether it is possible to carry out play therapy work at home, without the participation of a professional psychologist. Experts advise that you definitely consult with a psychologist in each specific case so that the psychologist can select the necessary exercises for a particular child and solve his problems.

You can complete the sessions similar treatment in a specialist’s office or take several classes to master correct execution exercises prescribed treatment. Psychologists believe that the best results come from activities with the presence of significant adults for the child - parents, as well as grandparents. The foolish child, feeling his parents nearby, behaves more relaxed.

The maximum benefit from play therapy, as well as a strong psychological impact on a preschooler, is provided by games in which relatives and loved ones act together with the child. Such treatment sessions are also useful for parents, because joint activities helps to better understand your own child, establish trusting contact with the baby, and strengthen relationships within the family.

Where to start

It is necessary to remember that the baby completely trusts his parents and will play with mom or dad with great joy. Parents, before starting to play, must learn a few simple truths that will help the foolish child get maximum benefit from play therapy:

• A baby is a full-fledged person who must be accepted entirely.
• Respect and take into account the wishes of the little man.
• Never force your baby to play by force or threats.
• The atmosphere during the game should be cheerful and carry a positive mood.
• Monitor the emotional stress experienced by the baby.

Monitor your child's well-being. If your fidget starts to get distracted, yawn, rub its eyes, or become capricious, stop the game immediately. Invite your child to change the type of activity. For example, go for a walk. Or maybe the baby is tired from intense activities, then it is best to put the baby to sleep for a while. Sometimes the foolish one begins to behave too actively. Increased excitability and hyperactivity are also reasons to change the type of activity to a calmer one.

Creative games, such as drawing and modeling, require the perseverance of a fidget. However, preschool children do not like to sit in one place for a long time. Parents should alternate between quiet games and active role-playing games: “mother-daughter” games, playing doctor or drinking tea with dolls.

Usually classes begin with drawing. Ask your child to draw a house, a family. Together with your preschooler, paint flowers and leaves on the trees. While drawing, ask why the little one drew his mom and dad this way, why he chose the outfits for them. The details of the drawing can tell a lot to attentive parents. The presence of black, gray, brown colors indicates that the baby feels anxious at home and is afraid of something. Perhaps the little man is affected by the unfavorable situation in the family.

Playing with toys also reveals the baby’s true attitude towards the family and the environment. If the dolls do not have names, or the baby calls them insulting words: shaggy, incompetent, stupid, stupid - parents should think about their attitude towards the younger generation. Sometimes a preschooler starts fights among dolls, imitates car accidents; the child’s toys communicate only by shouting and swearing.

All these symptoms are not only problems with the perception of the surrounding reality, they demonstrate problems in the family of the foolish child itself. After all, most often mental problems children have roots in family upbringing. And then it is necessary to correct not only the behavior of the child, but also the rethinking of the adults’ own behavior.

Types of play therapy

When working with children using the play therapy method, the most important thing is to maintain an open play atmosphere. A little person should not feel like he is at a doctor's appointment. In such a case, there will be no effect from the treatment. The emotional background during the game process and the preschooler’s experiences will be hidden from the attention of a specialist. It will be very difficult for a psychologist to find contact with a foolish person, to understand the causes and origins of his problems.

The main goal of treatment is to identify the problem, find the source of its occurrence, solve and correct the negative impact on the development of children. To obtain the desired result, it is first necessary to choose the right treatment method. There is no one way to solve all problems. For each situation there is a relevant method that must be applied in a particular case.

Game therapy methods

Noting the role of adults in the gaming process, the following two methods of therapy are distinguished:

• Directive, directed therapy. The role of an adult is to organize and control the entire game process. An adult offers a foolish child ready-made solutions for different types emerging problems. This leadership role of a significant adult allows the little person to understand and understand the essence of the problem or conflict.
• Non-directive therapy. During such therapy, an adult distances himself from participation in play activities, thus creating an atmosphere of complete trust and reliability among preschool children.

Depending on use various structures materials for therapy, there are also 2 following methods:

• Structured play. Most often, this method is used to treat children 4-12 years old. The game in this case is an active method of psychotherapy. The children play with dolls, cars, and pistols. Objects for play activities directly express the desires and actions of children. Children are involved in role-playing games, which help correct antisocial behavior and instill moral standards.
• Unstructured. The gameplay is aimed at performing physical and sports exercises. Materials for unstructured play therapy include play dough, play dough, or sand. With the help of such material, the baby can express his hidden feelings, experiences.

Game therapy for children, according to the chosen form of organizing the game process, is divided into the following types:

• Individual therapy. This therapy is used if the baby has not developed a sense of communication and communication with other children. When a foolish child is afraid or embarrasses other children, the psychologist prescribes individual therapy to help the child in the process and instill a sense of communication.
• Group play therapy is widespread in child care settings. Games in groups help children to open up more fully in joint communication, develop strong-willed qualities, and in group activities the socialization of little fidgets takes place.

Features of group classes

Before group classes, the specialist needs to identify children who may have contraindications to this type of therapy. First of all, the preschooler should not experience increased aggressiveness or stress, and the child should not exhibit antisocial symptoms in his behavior. Such preschool children can suddenly start a fight or scandal and harm other children with their behavior. It is undesirable to have a child with exaggerated childish jealousy in the classroom, which can result in tears and hysterics.

A group lesson creates conditions so that a preschooler can recognize himself as an independent person and feel his individuality. Cooperative games They raise children’s self-esteem and create an understanding of the need for communication. Group play therapy in the process of work reduces anxiety in preschool children, reduces anxiety, as well as the sense of guilt of the ignorant.

During group treatment, fidgets are taught responsibility for their own actions, self-control skills are formed and further developed. The baby begins to believe in himself, in his own strength. In such classes, preschool children develop the ability to independently make and defend their decisions.

Types of therapeutic games

In treatment using gameplay, games are divided into types, depending on the children’s illness. These are the games:

• for diseases of the musculoskeletal system;
• with cerebral palsy;
• for diseases of the respiratory organs;
• correcting speech deficiencies, stuttering, speech therapy;
• restoring physical psychological state children;
• for various social deviations.

Some exercises should only be performed under the supervision of a specialist. Most of the play activity can be done at home in the family circle. While playing, the baby, with the help of adults, will achieve his goals.

Any treatment should begin with improving the psycho-emotional state of the baby, which will allow you to establish trusting contact with the little person, relieve nervous tension, get rid of some types of fear, improve fidget coordination, improve physical well-being.

• "Blind Man's Bluff." The blindfolded driver must catch one of the children who are running around and clapping their hands, attracting attention. If the driver identifies the caught child, the children change roles.
• "Hide and seek." From the age of 2 years, a child can actively participate in hide and seek. The leader closes his eyes, or is blindfolded, and counts to 10. During this time, the rest of the participants must have time to hide.
• "Swamp" or "obstacle course". Bumps and obstacles are created on the floor using sheets of paper or ropes, pillows, and toys. The winner is the one who is the first to overcome all obstacles without mistakes.

To correct aggression

• "Battle". Weapons are made from crumpled paper or small soft toys. The kids are having a fight. After the victory of one of the parties, reconciliation of the parties necessarily occurs.
• "Boxer". Place the hoop on the floor. The kid in the center of the hoop imitates a boxer's punches.
• "Name-calling." Children stand in a circle. The condition is to call your peer some kind of fruit, vegetable or flower. This condition helps transform aggression into positivity.

To correct fears

• "Ghost". A curtain or sheet is thrown over the driver. Such a player runs after everyone, shouting that he is a terrible ghost. The task is to escape from the ghost.
• "Cats and mice." The cat is sleeping, the mice are mischievous. The cat will wake up, the mice must have time to run away.

A lot of interesting games have been developed that will help your child cope with his problems. But here a lot depends on the attention and care adults need to give to the child. You can come up with your own exercises and present them to your baby in a playful way. The main thing is to achieve results without compromising the preschooler’s psyche. Therefore, before experimenting, you must definitely consult a psychologist.

It must be remembered that treatment always takes a lot of time, so it is better at the first alarm bells contact a specialist and take preventive measures.

Psychotherapy and psychocorrection are becoming one of the most popular areas modern medicine. All more people recognizes the importance of preserving and maintaining a person’s mental health at any age, including children under school age and even babies. Today there are many psychotherapeutic techniques that are used to work with children. of different ages, but play therapy remains one of the most effective and in demand.

Play therapy is a psychotherapeutic method of influencing preschool and school-age children through the use of games, toys and other elements. Role-playing games, which form the basis of this therapy, help identify problems in the behavior, psyche or development of children, teach ways to solve these problems and help restore mental and emotional health.

Play therapy can be carried out in a variety of conditions - independently, at home, in kindergartens and schools, in the office of a psychologist or psychotherapist. Many parents are somewhat wary of this method of treatment; they do not believe that play therapy for children is the most powerful way to influence the consciousness and feelings of a child of any age (with the exception of older schoolchildren and teenagers, other methods of psychotherapy are used for them, although play techniques can also be effective). To understand why and how play therapy works on a child, you need to understand its basic principles of action, as well as understand what “pitfalls” this technique has.

How does it work

Play is the main activity of a child, from birth to adolescence. With its help, he receives information about the world around him, about the methods of interaction between people and objects, and also in the game thinking, fantasy, volitional and other qualities are formed.

Numerous studies prove that learning through play is one of the most effective methods of interacting with children of different ages, normotypical and with developmental disabilities.

By involving the child in the game, the specialist gets the opportunity to “look” into the inner world of the child, who unconsciously transfers his feelings, experiences or fears to the characters in the game or “plays out” situations that worry him. This technique is well known to most modern parents, who, using this simple method, determine whether the child is comfortable in kindergarten, school, among new friends, and so on. To do this, it is enough to invite him to play “in kindergarten” or “school” and carefully observe his behavior, remarks and emotions.

Goal of play therapy– help the child cope with some traumatic events, even if he is not aware of them or does not perceive them. A specialist can assess the emotional and mental state child and help him cope with negative emotions, fears, anxiety, incomprehensible but disturbing situations, other feelings, or teach him acceptable ways to express his emotions, interact with others and perform certain everyday skills.

The basic rule of play therapy is its comfort for the child. He should feel confident and free, this is the only way to find out about him. internal state and help him cope with his problems.

Who can it help?

This method is universal; play therapy also exists for adults, who also use it to “experience” unpleasant emotions or get rid of stress. But if “home play therapy” can be carried out with any child, then professional play therapy necessarily requires contacting a specialist who, as a rule, “works” with certain problems, since it is precisely when they are present that play therapy is most effective. Thus, play therapy with anxious children has its own characteristics, as well as play therapy with children with developmental delays or psychotrauma.

These may be mental and behavioral disorders, manifested by:

• Aggressiveness,
• Fears
• Difficulty communicating with peers and adults
• Low academic performance
• Stuttering
• Enuresis
• Other problems.

Such behavior disorders and disorders are faced by many children who have experienced stress due to parental divorce, loss loved one, moving, ill-treatment who witnessed some kind of traumatic event, and so on.

Play therapy with anxious children helps not only to reduce the level of negative emotions, but to detect their source, and this is sometimes much more important - in the case of family violence, child abuse in educational institutions and so on.

Play therapy is used as a method of correcting behavior and teaching new skills to children with developmental disabilities and social adaptation disorders. This method is used for all types, excluding profound autism and schizophrenia. With the help of play therapy, children with developmental disabilities are taught the most important everyday skills, taught how to interact with other people, and how to express their emotions. But therapy for such children should only be carried out by a specialist with education and work skills. On their own, parents and persons involved in child development can carry out elements of play therapy in the form of teaching everyday skills, but not correctional work.

Today, play therapy is recommended for use from 2 years of age. Play therapy in kindergarten helps solve child adaptation problems and teaches children interaction and communication skills. It can be carried out either by a child psychologist or by a teacher who has received appropriate education.

Types and features

Sigmund Freud is considered the founder of play therapy as a psychocorrectional method. He used it as an analysis of what was happening to the child, using the method of free association, and this method was not widely used, unlike play therapy according to the method of M. Klein, and later Anna Freud, they considered it as an opportunity to influence the child’s psyche using toys. , associative games and other techniques.

In the book by G.L. Landreth’s “Play Therapy: The Art of Relationships” describes all the stages of the development of this type of therapy, talks about the principles of play therapy, methods and material for the game. It may be of interest to parents whose children are planning to attend play therapy or are already attending it. And also for those who want to use this method themselves.

Today, play therapy is a popular and widely used method. It has several varieties, types and many independent techniques. According to the method of influence they distinguish:

• Non-directive play therapy is spontaneous, client-centered. Using this type of therapy, the specialist does not try to somehow influence or change the child’s behavior or emotions. He is fully involved in the game, can gently guide, but at the same time follows the child, creating the most favorable conditions for him.
• Directive – the specialist takes the leading role in the game. He guides the child, teaches him the basics of behavior, suggests how and what he can do, and takes on the role of organizer and leader of the game.

Depending on the type of games and the material used, structured and unstructured play therapy are distinguished.

Structured - the game uses certain images: toys, puppet theater, images of people, models of animals, food, and so on. By playing with these objects, the child can express his attitude towards them, learn how to handle these objects, or build his own game, taking into account the proposed elements.

Unstructured play involves physical activity and the use of materials such as sand, water, clay, plasticine, paint, and so on. Such games help when a child refuses to cooperate, is unwilling or unable to express his feelings, as well as when it is impossible (for a child) to express the feelings and emotions that overwhelm him, for example, anger at his parents or resentment.

Depending on the number of children, individual and group play therapy is distinguished.

Individual is considered more effective and is recommended for use when working with a child’s emotions, behavior or attitude. Also, for the treatment of emotional or behavioral disorders, only individual sessions are used.

Group play therapy helps improve relationships in a team, teach social and everyday skills, and can also be used to correct fears and anxiety.

Play therapy: specialist or mother?

Should you conduct classes on your own or seek help from a specialist? Today, many parents face this choice; professional psychologists promise to be more effective, but for this it is necessary to allocate special time and money to attend classes. You can practice play therapy on your own at any time, with the whole family and completely free of charge. So what should you choose?

There is no definite answer to this question; each parent decides it independently, but if you are planning to engage in play therapy with your child or several children, it is imperative to study at least the basics of this technique and follow the basic rules:

• The game should begin and be played only at the child’s request; any coercion to play is unacceptable. Parents can offer time, involve other family members in the game, but the main thing is the desire of the child and his positive attitude to the game. Without this there is no point in conducting classes.
• Compliance with the play regime - depending on the age of the child, play therapy can last from 5 to 30 minutes. It is also important that play therapy be gradual and unobtrusive. There is no need to offer your child all the available games at once or, having finished one, immediately start another. It is best to devote several days to one game.
• Following a child in play without prohibiting or imposing is the most difficult skill for all parents. In play therapy, they must follow the child without trying to prohibit or react negatively to something. Even if a child says obscene words in a game, hits toys and promises to kill everyone, this is a reason to listen carefully to his words and understand why he says them. It is strictly forbidden to scold and punish a child for what and how he plays. During the game, the parent should unobtrusively explain why such behavior is unacceptable and show him other ways of interaction.

For children, play is one of the main tools for development in life. With its help, they learn to interact with other people, develop intellectually and physically, explore the world, and broaden their horizons. And most importantly, they do it all in an interesting way without coercion. Game therapy (IT) is a psychological tool aimed at working with mental disorders in people of all ages through participation in a certain game.

Back in 1913, Sigmund Freud decided to use this technique to work with children. He was guided by the fact that a child shows his activity through play and thereby reveals passive sources of experiences.

Then, almost 20 years later, his example was followed by Melanie Klein, who preferred to take the role of an observer in this type of therapy. In her work, she practiced bringing awareness to children of their own behavior and state through play.

Anna Freud went against her in 1946, who believed that in play therapy the doctor should occupy a dominant position, in principle, like the patient’s parents, whom she actively involved. In addition, she used dolls that interpreted the people around the child, and through them she resolved conflict situations, behavioral problems and life relationships.

Play therapy began to gain momentum in the forties. Various techniques, varieties and directions of this method of treatment have appeared. And since then, IT has only improved because it has good practice.

Goals of play therapy

1. Development. In this vein, classes can be conducted not only with children who have any psychological disabilities, but also with healthy ones. Using this type of therapy, a psychologist will help you unlock your potential and develop certain skills.
2. Correction. Game therapy in this case is again not aimed at treating a disease, but at eliminating some small behavioral barrier.
3. Psychotherapy. Elimination of anxiety, fears, assistance in overcoming severe psycho-emotional problems, for example, parental divorce, the birth of a younger child.

It’s more fun, interesting, and easier for children to perceive information in a playful way. A doctor who provides child psychotherapy through play is a specially trained play therapist. During therapeutic session, the child brings a lot of personalities into the playing field, so it is very important for the therapist to be able to see those situations that concern the baby. And it is also equally important to be able to play out disturbing moments during the lesson so that the patient’s feelings go away.

The fact is that a child does not always know how to independently recognize an internal conflict, much less come to the doctor, sit in a chair and talk about it. As a rule, this problem manifests itself through disobedience, aggressive behavior, anxiety and other disorders. But on the other hand, a child can demonstrate all his anxieties during play, since it is his leading activity. Therefore, a lot depends on the play therapist. He must be able to “read” and evaluate situations during the game, and help the patient find mental balance.

Indications for the use of play therapy and when is play therapy effective?

For children, especially early age, everything that happens around is a game. Therefore, it cannot be said that there should be some indications for it, since for children this is the main form of leisure. It is during the game that children are always in a good mood, open to interaction and do not regard such pastime as something unpleasant for themselves. But from the point of view of psychological deviations, IT will help in the following cases:

• isolation and unsociability;
• the presence of hidden and obsessive phobias;
• disobedience or superobedience;
• bad habits (nose picking and others);
• establishing relationships (with parents, with brother, etc.);
• aggressive behavior;
• self-harm (pulling out hair, eyelashes, biting lips, etc.);
• retarded speech development;
• stressful situations;
• problems with reading, as well as academic performance in general.

Types and methods of play therapy

In order for the game to take place, rules for its conduct and toys, if necessary, are necessary.

Depending on what psychological principles the rules of the game are based on, The following types of play therapy are distinguished::

• IT in psychoanalysis;
• game therapy in domestic psychological science;
• primitive IT;
• play therapy for relationship building;
• IT response;
• play therapy with unstructured material;
• individual IT;
• group play therapy.

IT methods depend on toys or additional props that are used during therapy. Since there are many options, it turns out that there are many methods, but we will highlight the main ones.

1. Fairy tale therapy
2. Active
3. Passive
4. Liberating
5. Structured
6. Relationship therapy
7. Chess
8. Musical

According to some names, their essence becomes obvious. But I would like to clarify that the meaning of the active method is that the game therapist plays the game along with the patient or is its leader. In passive mode, he takes on the role of observer. In the liberating and structured methods, the goal is to play out the situation that is gnawing at the child, as well as the release of emotions. Relationship therapy places the emphasis on what is happening here and now in the office, rather than on the patient's past. There are various play therapy programs for this purpose.

Game therapy products

In IT there must be a leader - an adult. As a rule, this is either a play therapist or a parent. They provide the means that allow the patient to open up. They are selected based on medical history and individual characteristics, and can be as follows:

• modeling;
• outdoor games;
• design;
• role-playing games.

In addition to the means described above, there may be any others that allow you to liberate the child and open his inner world. Their task is to model situations in which the child can resolve an internal conflict. Therefore, the use of toys and other objects helps to bring the model closer to reality and thereby identify the problem during the game.

Play therapy for preschool children

The time when children begin to go to kindergarten, is always a stressful period in their life: a change of permanent residence, an increase in the number of people around, prolonged separation from parents, early rises and other moments unsettle the child. All this can provoke aggressive behavior, increased anxiety, disobedience, protest and other behavioral deviations. In such situations, the use of play therapy is more necessary than ever.

Starting from the age of two, you can begin to correct the baby’s behavior. During the game:

• emotional balance is achieved;
• behavior is corrected;
• social skills develop;
• gaps created by the family are eliminated.

Very important point is that the child should be comfortable and interesting while playing, then the result will not be long in coming, and he will learn:

• make friends with other children;
• be aware of your “I”;
• respect others and their selves.

When visiting the kindergarten, every day the baby is in the same conditions, which give rise to fears and complexes. IT is aimed at working through them, understanding them and getting rid of them.

Sand play therapy

They work in several directions and eliminate many problems. This pastime seems simple, but in this simplicity lies the effect.

1. Irritability, tearfulness, and aggressiveness are relieved.
2. Fantasy develops.
3. Social connections are being built.
4. Coordination improves.
5. Fine motor skills are stimulated.
6. The mood lifts.

Thanks to modern technologies You can play not only in the classic sandbox, but also in special backlit sand tables. Such therapeutic leisure allows you to create in real three-dimensional space. A child, playing with sand, feels like the creator of the whole world.

Who is better for a child to play with?

It is impossible to answer this question unambiguously. It all depends on the goals described above. If it is necessary to reveal potential or slightly correct behavior, then it will be comfortable and adaptive to do this with parents. After all, they are the ones who know their baby better than anyone else and will find an approach to him. And the child will be more comfortable playing with relatives. Regular trips to the office with a “Psychologist” sign can themselves cause stress, which is unnecessary if the baby is just a little capricious, for example.

Parents cannot always cope with psychological disorders on their own due to many factors: subjectivity, lack of appropriate education, time, desire, and others. Therefore, in such cases, it is better to contact a play therapist who, if necessary, will involve both mom and dad in the game or teach them how to play at home.

Different games for different purposes

Unfortunately, there is no one universal game that would allow you to get rid of childhood problems. The choice of game depends on the source of the disorder and its depth. It is best if a psychologist selects suitable leisure time. But there is no harm from games, so you can use the recommendations described below.

Several conditions must be met for the game to be successful.

1. Such a pastime should be interesting not only for a child, but also for an adult. Children always sense insincerity. And if they know that their parents play with him because they have to, and not because they want to, then all therapeutic effect may come to naught. The sincere pleasure of all participants is the key to success.
2. The game should be spontaneous. For kids this is of particular importance. If a child plays according to some schedule, then for him it will not be entertainment, but work.
3. The game must be voluntary. In general, this is obvious from the previous paragraphs. Entertainment under pressure is no longer such.

Games to improve psychological well-being

Children feel calm when they know that someone needs them and is interesting. The easiest way to show this is through the following well-known games:

• blind man's buff;
• tag;
• hide and seek;
• obstacle course.

In all games, it is important to give in a little, if it is clear that the baby is not coping, to encourage and praise for success.

Games that help correct aggression

For children who show aggression, it is important to show in contrast that there is another model of behavior, and also that any dispute should end on a positive note. These games can be played from the age of two.

1. War game. A child and an adult throw various safe objects at each other: pillows, wads of paper, plush toys, using shields and shelters. And they end the fight with a draw and hugs.
2. Cats. The baby and the adult take turns turning together, either into kind, purring and caressing cats, or into angry and hissing ones. Instead of cats there can be dogs, hedgehogs and any other animals.

Games aimed at relieving tension and relaxation

The main goal of eliminating these parameters is a change in brain activity and physical calm.

1. The sea is agitated once. The well-known game works great for distraction and relaxation. The adult says: the sea worries once, the sea worries two, the sea worries three, the sea (terrestrial, vegetable, any other) figure freeze! While voicing the phrase, the child sways as if on the waves and freezes at the last word in some position until the presenter guesses what kind of figure it is. Then the players change roles, or do the same thing again. This entertainment is suitable for children from three years old.
2. Doll. The presenter tells the child to imagine that he is turning into a doll. Lists all the parts of the body that should become stiff, while pressing on them. The child freezes in one position, trying to tense all his muscles until the adult says that the baby has become human again. He becomes glorified and softens. This game can be played from the age of four.

Games that help correct fears

If a child is worried about internal experiences and fears, it is important to show him that in any situation you can find a way out and be saved.

1. Cat and mouse. An adult and a child take turns taking on the role of a cat or a mouse. The cat is sleeping, and the mouse is running around him and squeaking. He wakes up, starts hunting for the mouse, she runs away and saves herself in her hole. This game can be played from two years old.
2. Bringing. One of the players puts on a sheet and becomes a ghost. With a frightening “UUU” sound, he begins to run after the other participant and if he catches them, they change roles. This type of entertainment can be used from the age of three.

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It is based on the basic functions of children's play and is used primarily in psychotherapy for a wide range of mental disorders, behavioral disorders and social adaptation in children. The most famous definition of play is that of E. Erikson (1950): “Game is a function of the Ego, an attempt to synchronize bodily and social processes with one’s Self.”

From the point of view of influence on development, the functions of children's play are divided into:

• 1. Biological. Beginning in infancy, play promotes hand, body, and eye coordination, provides kinesthetic stimulation and the opportunity to expend energy and relax.
• 2. Intrapersonal. The game promotes the development of the ability to master situations, explore environment, understanding the structure and capabilities of the body, mind and world. In this sense, the game certainly stimulates and shapes cognitive development. In addition, and this function of the game is perhaps most used in play psychotherapy, the game allows the child, through symbolization and the mechanism of fantasy “wish fulfillment,” to react and resolve intrapersonal conflicts. Traumatic experiences are reproduced in play; however, being the “master” of the game, the child can, as it were, subjugate a situation in which in reality he feels powerless;
• 3. Interpersonal. First of all, play is one of the main means of achieving separation/individuation from the mother or the person replacing her. Games like "peek-a-boo, where am I?" or hide-and-seek - imitation of temporary separation in a comfortable situation, as if preparing the child for the possibility and reparability of real temporary separations from the mother or another loved one. In children with emotional disturbances the topic of separation is one of the most painful and is constantly reproduced in therapeutic sessions. Moreover, each session has a beginning and an end, and the child has to learn how to first make contact and then separate. Additionally, later in a child's development, play serves as a training ground for learning a huge range of social skills, from how to share toys to how to share ideas. This function of play is especially widely used in group or family play therapy.
• 4. Sociocultural. In every society, at every historical stage, there are both games that give children the opportunity to try on desired adult roles, gradually expanding their repertoire, and games that reduce the fear of death. In this type of play, children internalize the ideas, behaviors, and values ​​that are socially associated with these roles. In play psychotherapy, this process continues when the child plays out roles different people, causing him different emotions. For the first time, play began to be included in psychotherapeutic work with children by Hug-Helmut in 1919. Later, A. Freud and M. Klein described the systematic use of play as a tool for psychotherapy of children; Moreover, the game was a means of adapting the goals and techniques of psychoanalysis to work with children.

In 1928 A. Freud began to use play as a way to involve the child in analytical work. From a psychoanalytic point of view, this was motivated by the need to create a therapeutic alliance with the patient, which is particularly difficult in the case where the patient is a child. Children, as a rule, do not turn to a psychotherapist voluntarily; their parents bring them. Often it is the parents, and not the child himself, who see the problem and want to change something. In this case, a therapeutic alliance is possible with parents who are motivated to change, rather than with the child himself. Besides, therapeutic techniques analysis of dreams and free associations are alien to the child and at first cause bewilderment and rejection.

In order to maximize the child’s ability to form a therapeutic alliance, A. Freud began to use a familiar and pleasant form of establishing relationships for the child - play. Only after achieving a relatively strong positive contact with the child did the main focus of attention in the therapeutic session begin to shift to verbal interaction and gradually - since children usually cannot use the method of free association - to the analysis of dreams and fantasies.

The representative of the British branch of psychoanalysis, M. Klein, in contrast to Anna Freud, believed that play serves not only as a way of establishing contact with the child, but also, even primarily, as direct material for interpretation. In 1932, M. Klein proposed the use of children's play in a therapeutic situation as a replacement for verbalizations that children are not yet capable of, while play expresses complex affects and ideas.

Kleinian therapy does not have an introductory phase; the child’s play behavior is interpreted from the first meeting. This approach allowed M. Klein to significantly expand the range of applications of child psychoanalysis: if A. Freud believed that positive results are achieved in psychoanalysis mainly of neurotic children, then the patients of a Kleinian analyst can be children with very severe disturbances of mental functioning.

Currently, there are four main approaches to play psychotherapy: psychoanalytic, humanistic, behavioral and developmental.

Within the psychoanalytic model, the psychotherapist serves as a translator. His job is to interpret what the child brings to the therapy session, giving meaning to the child's behavior and communicating the results of his interpretations in a form that the child can understand. The goal is to achieve the child’s awareness of the unconscious motives of his own actions and internal conflicts. In this case, the game is considered both as a way of establishing contact with the child, and as a diagnostic tool, and as material for working through the child’s problems.

The humanistic approach emphasizes the role of the “toxicity” of the environment in blocking a person’s innate ability to self-actualize (K. Rogers). Play sessions therefore aim to create an environment conducive to the child’s self-actualization. This goal is achieved through empathic listening, setting boundaries of acceptable behavior, providing the child with personal information about the therapist, and maintaining ongoing interaction with the child, verbal and playful. The game is used both as a means of building warm, friendly relationships with the therapist, and as a source of information, and as a development tool.

Behavioral theory views psychopathology primarily as the result of positive and negative conditioning of certain types of behavior and emotional responses. The goal of play psychotherapy is therefore, first of all, to discover pathological patterns and the nature of their conditioning. Then, by changing the reinforcement system, you can change the pathological reactions themselves. The game is used as introduction material new system reinforcements, the game itself is not seen as having its own healing properties.

Game psychotherapy within the framework of developmental theory involves the therapist's use of games as the main development tool. The therapist actually imitates the role of the main caring figures for the child, structuring the child’s activity, forcing him to act in the “zone of proximal development”, intervening and organizing interaction in which the child receives a feeling of warmth and trust.

The theories, however, emphasize and highlight certain functional aspects of play that are useful from the point of view of the psychotherapist. The game remains a holistic, special and intrinsically valuable activity for the child with its own “secret”. The therapist's respect for this “secret” and awareness of his own abilities, attitudes, preferences, styles, etc. in the game creates the necessary base, without which the therapeutic use of the game degenerates into manipulation.

Actually, play psychotherapy was one of the first to be used by A. Freud for the psychotherapy of children who survived the bombing of London during the Second World War. After the war, play psychotherapy began to develop in different psychotherapeutic schools. Play psychotherapy is used in individual, family and group formats; in outpatient, hospital and school work. It is effective in children and adolescents with almost all disorders, except severe forms childhood autism and profound autism in schizophrenia.

Play psychotherapy is non-directive. Introduced by V. Exline (1947): “The gaming experience is therapeutic, since in the game a safe relationship is created between a child and an adult, due to which the child is free to assert himself as he knows how, in full accordance with what he is at the moment, in my own way and at your own pace."

Play psychotherapy of response. Introduced in the 1930s by D. Levi. By recreating a traumatic situation in play, acting it out and enacting it, the child restructures his experience and moves from a passive-passive to an active-creative position. The therapist’s task is to reflect and pronounce the feelings expressed by the child.

Game psychotherapy for building relationships. Introduced by J. Tafta and F. Allen in the early 1930s. and is focused on the child-therapist relationship here and now, rather than on the history of the child's development and his unconscious.

Containing anxiety. Therapeutic technique developed by L. Di Cagno, M. Gandione and P. Massaglia in the 1970-1980s. for working with parents of children with severe organic and life-threatening diseases (severe congenital disorders, different shapes deep mental underdevelopment, tumors, leukemia, etc.). The intervention is based on psychoanalytic premises and is aimed at parents identifying adult personality roles and transitioning to them from regressive childhood roles into which the child’s illness threw them. The reception is aimed at working with parents of young children.

Introduction

Game therapy is a method of psychotherapeutic influence on children and adults using games. The various techniques described by this concept are based on the recognition that play has a strong influence on personal development. Game is a unique phenomenon of universal human culture, its source and peak. From the earliest beginnings of civilization, play has become a benchmark for the manifestation of all the most important personality traits. In no other activity does a person demonstrate such self-forgetfulness and exposure of his intellectual resources as in a game. Both adults and children, in such eternal game models as football and hockey, for example, act as they would act in the most extreme situations at the limit of their strength to overcome difficulties.

Play therapy is a relatively young branch of modern psychology, which focuses primarily on working with children. Having appeared in the first half of the 20th century in the depths of psychoanalysis, play therapy gradually spread across a wide range of areas of modern psychology, finding theoretical justification for the variety of its methods.

Thus, S. Freud, describing the games of children (the case of Hans, the case of playing with a reel, etc.), pointed out that the child turns into the activity of play what he previously experienced passively. M. Klein first began to use toys in the psychoanalysis of children in the 20s of the last century. She considered the child's play activity to be an analogue of free associations, which provided access to unconscious material. She interpreted the child's play in terms of oedipal problematics.

Game therapy as a method was voiced and implemented in 1992 at a special course in psychology at a private University for future art teachers. And in 1997, doctors were theoretically and practically familiarized with the method of play therapy during advanced training courses at the Department of Homeopathy at the Academy of Postgraduate Education of Doctors of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation.

In this work we will look at the use of play therapy in psychocorrection: main types and forms.

1. Play therapy in psychological correction

play therapy psychological correction

Play psychotherapy is a psychotherapeutic method based on the principles of dynamics mental development and aimed at relief emotional stress through a variety of expressive and imaginative play materials for both adults and children.

For adults, the game is used in group psychotherapy in the form of special trainings, exercises, tasks on non-verbal communications, acting out various situations, etc. The game helps create close relationships between participants, relieves tension, anxiety, fear of others, increases self-esteem, allows you to test yourself in various communication situations, removing the danger of socially significant consequences.

Play for a child is a form of self-therapy, thanks to which various conflicts and troubles can be responded to. Often for a child, play therapy is the only way to help. General indications to play therapy: social infantilism, isolation, unsociability, phobic reactions, over-conformity and over-obedience, behavioral disorders and bad habits, inadequate gender-role identification in boys.

The main tasks of play therapy:

) alleviation of the child’s psychological suffering;

) strengthening the child’s own self, developing a sense of self-worth;

) development of the ability of emotional self-regulation;

) restoration of trust in adults and peers, optimization of relationships in the “child - adults”, “child - other children” systems;

) correction and prevention of deformations in the formation of self-concept;

) correction and prevention of behavioral deviations.

A characteristic feature of the game is its two-dimensionality, which determines its developmental effect. The psychocorrective effect of play activities in children is achieved through the establishment of positive emotional contact between children and adults. The purpose of the correction is to help him affirm his “I”, his sense of self-worth. A child, like any person, is unique, self-valued and has internal sources of self-development. The game corrects suppressed negative emotions, fears, self-doubt, expands children's ability to communicate, increases the range of actions available to the child with objects.

Distinctive features deployment of the game - rapidly changing situations in which the object finds itself after actions with it, and the equally rapid adaptation of actions to a new situation.

Play therapy represents a unique experience for the social development of a child, opening up the opportunity for him to enter into a meaningful personal connection with an adult, rightly emphasizing the crucial importance of communication between a child and an adult for optimal development child's personality. Play is an activity in which a child can freely express himself and free himself from the stress and frustration of everyday life.

Positive dynamics can also be a nonspecific effect of play therapy mental development child. This is achieved by relieving emotional stress, allowing children to more fully and adequately realize their true abilities.

Thus, the relevance of studying the processes of the game for its use as a psychocorrectional tool is undeniable. Only knowing well the mechanism of the game’s influence on deep psychophysiological structures human brain, psychocorrectional support can be effectively provided. In many cases, play acts as the leading method of reconstructive therapeutic and correctional influence (as, for example, when a child has emotional and behavioral disorders of a neurotic nature); in other cases - as an auxiliary (symptomatic) means to stimulate the child, develop his sensorimotor skills, reduce emotional stress and the degree of social deprivation (in the case of mental retardation, autism, mental illness, etc.).

. Main types and forms of play therapy

So, play therapy is all psychotherapeutic methods of work that use children's games and toys. G.L. Landreth identified the following areas of play therapy:

parent therapy (B. Guerni, L. Guerni), which is a structured program in which parents are taught the skills necessary to conduct play therapy sessions at home;

play therapy with adults; techniques of play therapy in family therapy (involving all members of the game in the game contributes to their active interaction and provides therapeutic effect);

group play therapy, which is a psychological and social progress, in which children, naturally interacting with each other, acquire knowledge both about other children and about themselves;

play therapy in hospital settings.

A.A. Osipova identifies the following main types and forms of play therapy.

1) According to theoretical approaches:

Game therapy in psychoanalysis, where the correctional capabilities of the game are associated with its symbolic nature (M. Klein, A. Freud, G. Gut-Helmut). The possibilities of using the game in this way are associated with two of its characteristics:

A child's play is a symbolic activity in which unconscious impulses and drives that are suppressed and limited by social control find free expression. The roles assumed by the child and play actions with toys contain a certain symbolic meaning.

Play is the only activity where a child is free from coercion and pressure from an environment hostile to him. This means that wide possibilities for expressing unconscious drives, feelings and experiences are revealed to him, which cannot be accepted and understood in the child’s real relationship with the world.

M. Klein believed that almost any play action of a child has a certain symbolic meaning and expresses conflicts and suppressed desires of the child. This symbolic meaning must be interpreted by the therapist and brought to the child's consciousness. Main goals:

Establishing an analytical connection, emotionally positive contact between a child and an adult, allowing the play therapist to carry out the functions of interpretation and transmission to the child symbolic meaning children's game; take part in the child’s play and organize in the game the actualization and playback of conflicts that are significant for the child.

Catharsis is a form of emotional response leading to overcoming negative emotional experiences and liberation from them.

The game provides two opportunities for catharsis, the free expression of the child's feelings and emotions and the verbalization of feelings.

Insight is both a result and a mechanism of play therapy. As a result, insight can be defined as the child achieving a deeper understanding of himself and his relationships with significant others. Insight does not require interpretation or explanation on the part of the play therapist, but is achieved suddenly by the child. IN childhood insight is often non-verbal.

Research (testing) of reality. The process of research and testing by a child various forms and ways of interacting with the world of people, interpersonal relationships.

The special atmosphere of personal safety and trust that prevails in classes relieves children’s fears and anxiety of possible failures and sanctions. And they are encouraged to explore new ways of behaving and communicating with both adults and peers.

Sublimation as a transfer and deviation of the energy of primitive sexual drives from their direct goal (receiving sexual pleasure) to socially approved goals not related to sexuality.

Sublimation as a form of switching sexual energy for socially approved purposes is considered in psychoanalysis as the highest form of resolving the difficulties of personality development in childhood.

play therapy, centered on the client, where the main importance is attached to the practice of real relationships between a child and an adult during the game (K. Rogers, V. Exline).

The goal of therapy is not to change or remake the child, not to teach him special behavioral skills, but to give him the opportunity to be himself. A play therapist does not try to raise a child, but creates optimal conditions for growth and development for everyone. He is completely involved in the child's play, he is interested in being with him, no matter what he does. He concentrates all his attention and professional excellence, hears, feels and understands any emotional states of the child and reflects them, i.e. reveals to the child these emotional states clearly and briefly.

Child-centered play therapy is based on the idea of ​​the spontaneity of a child’s mental development, who has internal sources of self-development and the potential to independently resolve problems of personal growth. At the same time, the process of personal realization and self-development can be disrupted or limited due to either unfavorable environmental conditions or disruptions in interaction and communication with significant others, and primarily with parents and close adults. Relationships, connection with another person are a necessary condition personal development.

The main goal of correction is to create or restore meaningful relationships between a child and an adult in order to optimize personal growth and development. The main indications are:

disturbance of the growth of the “I”, reflected in behavioral disturbances and disharmony of the “I-concept”;

low degree of self-acceptance, doubt and uncertainty about the possibilities of one’s own personal growth;

high social anxiety and hostility towards the outside world;

emotional lability and instability.

IN in a general sense The goals of child-centered play therapy are consistent with the child's inner desire for self-actualization. Prerequisite which is often overlooked, is to provide the child with a positive growth experience in the presence of an adult who understands and supports him, so that the child can discover in himself internal forces.

response play therapy - structured play therapy using toys that allow you to respond to a conflict situation (D. Levy). D. Levy based his approach primarily on the belief that play provides children with the opportunity to respond.

In this approach, the play therapist recreates the environment so that specially selected toys help the child recreate the experience that caused the anxiety reaction. The child is allowed to play freely so that he becomes familiar with the environment of the room and with the play therapist. The play therapist then uses certain play materials to introduce a stressful situation into the child’s play at the right time. Recreating the traumatic event allows the child to release the pain and tension caused by the event. Three forms of play activity are possible in the game room:

Releasing aggressive behavior: The child throws objects, blows up balloons, or engages in infantile behavior (such as sucking on a pacifier).

Releasing feelings of standardized situations: stimulates feelings of jealousy towards a sibling by placing a doll on the mother's chest.

Releasing feelings by re-enacting specific stressful experiences from a child’s life through play.

relationship-building play therapy, which focuses on healing power emotional relationship between a psychologist and a child (D. Taft and F. Allen), focusing on what happens “here and now” in the therapist’s office.

Relationship play therapy focuses on the healing power of the emotional relationship between therapist and client. No effort is made to explain or interpret past experiences. The focus is primarily on immediate feelings and reactions. F. Allen and J. Taft especially emphasized the need to treat the child as an individual with inner strength and the ability to constructively change his own behavior.

Children are given freedom of choice - to play or not to play and the opportunity to manage their own activities. The hypothesis was that children gradually come to understand that they are individuals with their own desires and can exist in a system of relationships with other people who have their own specific qualities. In this approach, the child has to take responsibility for the growth process, and the play therapist focuses on the child's difficulties rather than on his own.

The goal of the correction carried out as part of relationship therapy is not to change the child, but to help him affirm his “I”, his sense of self-worth. A child, like any person, is unique, self-valued and has internal sources of self-development. The main mechanism for achieving correctional goals is the establishment of relationships and connections between the play therapist and clients, with the help of which the play therapist demonstrates constant and complete acceptance of the child, his attitudes and values ​​and expresses constant and sincere faith in the child and his abilities.

Play therapy represents a unique experience for the social development of a child, opening up the opportunity for him to enter into a meaningful personal connection with an adult. Play is an activity in which a child can freely express himself and free himself from the stresses and frustrations of everyday life.

primitive play therapy. The appearance of programs in the 60s in the USA psychological assistance children in elementary school opened the way for the development of another direction - the use of the play therapy method in the work of a school psychologist in order to meet the needs that arise in the life of any child, and not just a child with a mental development defect.

The main purpose of primary school is to help children in their intellectual, emotional, physical and social development by providing them with appropriate learning opportunities. Thus, the main goal of using play therapy with children in primary school is to help children prepare to learn what is being offered. in the best possible way. Children cannot be forced to learn anything. Even the most effective teachers cannot teach children who are not yet ready to learn. Play therapy, then, is an addition to the learning environment, an experience that helps children make the most of their learning abilities.

play therapy in domestic psychological practice: the use of this method is based on the theory of the child’s mental development, the theory of play as a leading activity, developed in the works of L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontyeva, D.B. Elkonin and continued in research by L. Abrahamyan, A.I. Zakharova, A.S. Spivakovskaya, V.V. Stolina, O.A. Karabanova and others.

The following domestic research practitioners turned to the use of the game directly for correctional purposes: L. Abramyan, A. Varga, A. Zakharov, A. Spivakovskaya, etc. So, according to A.S. Spivakovskaya’s main principle of play correction is the impact on the child, taking into account the specificity of the situation and contact. The essence of the principle: in order to activate the mechanism for restructuring the behavior of children who are timid in communication, the conditions should be changed, i.e. remove them from the environment in which they developed undesirable forms of behavior.

L.A. Abrahamyan, exploring ways to overcome negative emotional states through the means of play, reveals in detail the process of reincarnation as an important condition for the restructuring of the emotional and personal sphere. In a dramatization game, a child experiences dual experiences: he “sculpts” an image, transforming himself, and, looking at it as if from the outside, rejoices at the change in the game, at the same time discovering certain attitudes towards his character.

For the purposes of correction, according to B.D. Karvasarsky and A.I. Zakharov, serves to transfer the child’s negative emotions and qualities to the play image. Children endow the characters with their own negative emotions, character traits, and transfer their shortcomings onto the doll, which cause them trouble.

A significant contribution to the development of methods of play therapy for neuroses in children and adolescents was made by A.I. Zakharov. He developed indications and clinical and psychological criteria for the formation of a child psychotherapeutic group, explored the possibilities of combining family and group play therapy, as well as the methodology of play psychotherapy, which is part of a whole complex of various influences on a neurotic child, including family psychotherapy. The game is viewed by him and how independent method, and how component, combined with rational and suggestive psychotherapy. He offers a certain sequence of correctional techniques: conversation - spontaneous play - directed play - suggestion.

In organizing the therapeutic process, Zakharov identifies the diagnostic, therapeutic and educational functions of the game. All three are interconnected and are implemented both at the initial stage, in spontaneous play, and in directed play, which usually represents an improvisation of a plot.

2) by adult function in the game:

Directive (directed), in which the active participation of an adult is assumed with the aim of updating unconscious suppressed tendencies in a symbolic play form and playing them in the direction of socially acceptable standards and norms. Here the adult - the central person in the game - takes on the functions of organizing the game and interpreting its symbolic meaning.

An example of directive therapy can be considered Levy's facilitative psychotherapy, which is characterized by pre-developed game plans, a clear distribution of roles, clarification of all conflict situations. The child is presented with several possible solutions to the problem. As a result of the game, the child becomes aware of himself and his conflicts.

non-directive (non-directional), which uses free play as a means of self-expression for the child, allowing simultaneously to successfully solve three important correctional tasks: expanding the child’s repertoire of self-expression; achieving emotional stability and self-regulation; correction of relationships in the “child - adult” system.

In non-directed play therapy, the ideas of correcting a child’s personality through the formation of an adequate system of relationships between a child and an adult, a child and a peer, and a system of congruent communication come to the fore. The psychotherapist does not interfere with children’s spontaneous play, does not interpret it, but through the play itself creates an atmosphere of warmth, safety, and unconditional acceptance of the client’s thoughts and feelings. Play therapy is used to influence children with neurotic disorders, emotionally tense, suppressing their feelings.

The purpose of the game in this approach is to help the child understand himself, his strengths and weaknesses, difficulties and successes.

3) according to the form of organization:

Individual play therapy. If a child does not have a social need, a special task arises of developing the need for social communication, which can be optimally solved in the form of individual play therapy.

group play therapy. If the social need has already been formed, then the best form of correction of personal communication disorders will be group play therapy.

Moreover, in domestic psychological practice, preference is given to a group form of work, in which there are two centers in the game: an adult and an “ideal form” of development, primarily here we mean the role of an adult and the communication of children with each other, their real connection (D.B. . Elkonin).

Group play therapy is a psychological and social process, in which children naturally interact with each other and acquire new knowledge not only about other children, but also about themselves. This method involves play as a therapeutic process and is effective means correction of functional neuropsychic disorders, psychosomatic diseases and psychoprophylaxis.

Group play therapy is designed to: help the child realize his real “I”, increase his self-esteem and develop potential capabilities, respond to internal conflicts, fears, aggressive tendencies, reduce anxiety and guilt.

The goals of group therapy should be defined as therapeutic in a broad sense rather than individualized, prospective goals for each child as a whole. Otherwise, the play therapist inevitably subtly or openly pushes the child in the direction of a goal related to a particular problem, thus limiting the child’s ability to manage his own activities.

In this sense, goals and objectives can be designated as follows. Group play therapy is designed to help the child develop a more positive self-concept; become more responsible in your actions and actions; become more self-directed; become more self-reliant and gain a sense of control; develop greater ability for self-acceptance and independent decision-making; develop internal source grades and gain confidence in yourself.

4) according to the structure of the material used:

With structured (toys from real life, toys that help respond to aggression, construction games). Structured games include family games (people and animals), aggressive games, with puppets (puppet theater), construction games, expressing constructive and destructive intentions. Structured material provokes the expression of aggression (firearms, cold steel), direct expression of desires (human figures), as well as communicative actions (games of telephone, telegraph, trains, cars). It is assumed that the age of children from 4 to 12 years is optimal for using this method

with unstructured (a group of games belonging to art therapy (drawing with fingers, brushes, pastels, colored pencils); motor games and exercises (jumping, climbing), games with water, sand, clay.

Unstructured materials include water, sand, clay, plasticine; with its help, a child can indirectly express his desires. This material also promotes the development of sublimation. In particular, classes with unstructured material are especially important in the early phases of play therapy, when the child’s feelings have not yet been identified and recognized by him. In particular, playing with water, paints, and clay provides an opportunity to express one's feelings in a nondirective form and experience a sense of achievement. Further dynamics of changing games in the process of play therapy brings the child to structured games that open up ways for expressing the child’s feelings and experiences, including aggressive ones, in a direct directive form in socially acceptable ways.

Thus, the forms and types of play therapy are determined by the characteristics of a particular child or group of children, the specific tasks of the work and its duration. When choosing forms of play therapy, one should proceed from specific tasks corrections of mental development that can be solved by these very means, as well as how stable the indicators of the effective impact on the child are of play therapy.

Therefore, play therapy is widely used not only for correction purposes, but also for preventive and psychohygienic purposes.

Conclusion

Thus, summarizing the above, we note that play therapy is a method of psychotherapeutic influence on children and adults using games. The various techniques described by this concept are based on the recognition that play has a strong influence on personal development.

The game has a strong influence on personal development, promotes the creation of close relationships between group members, helps relieve tension, increases self-esteem, allows you to believe in yourself in various communication situations, removing the danger of socially significant consequences.

General indications for play therapy: social infantilism, isolation, unsociability, phobic reactions, over-conformity and over-obedience, behavioral disorders and bad habits, inadequate gender-role identification in boys.

The following main types and forms of play therapy are distinguished.

The theoretical approach identifies types: play therapy in psychoanalysis; client-centered play therapy, response play therapy; game therapy for building relationships, primitive game therapy; play therapy in domestic psychological practice;

According to the functions of an adult in play, they are distinguished: non-directive play therapy; directive play therapy;

According to the form of organization of activities, they are distinguished: individual play therapy; group play therapy;

according to the structure of the material used in play therapy: play therapy with unstructured material; play therapy with structured material.

The forms and types of play therapy are determined by the characteristics of a particular child or group of children, the specific tasks of the work and its duration

List of used literature

1.Kiseleva M.V. Art therapy in working with children: A guide for child psychologists, teachers, doctors and specialists working with children / M.V. Kiseleva. - St. Petersburg: Rech, 2007. - 160 p.

2.Lavrova G.N. Methods of diagnosis and correction of children of preschool and primary school age: Tutorial/ G.N. Lavrova. - Chelyabinsk: SUSU, 2005. - 90 p.

.Osipova A.A. General psychocorrection: Textbook / A.A. Osipova. - M.: TC Sfera, 2002. - 512 p.

.Psychological correction: textbook. allowance / comp. Ya.A. Mazurenko. - Novosibirsk: NSTU Publishing House, 2007. - 132 p.

.Slyusareva E.S. Methods of psychological correction: Educational manual / E.S. Slyusareva, G.Yu. Kozlovskaya. - Stavropol: SGPU, 2008 - 240 p.

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