Theraplay for Adults

[Banned]

I've been reading up on Theraplay and I know it's quite useful in children. I managed to find one article that talks about using Theraplay in adults - same concepts and ideas but, well, with adults.

Does anyone know anything more about this - good, bad, or otherwise? I would jump all over this if I could do it.

 

[Banned]

Ok well apparently no one has heard of this!!

Anyway, my therapist has agreed to do it with me. I'll share my experiences here in case anyone is looking in the future, or may find it helpful. I"m not sure when we're starting but I'll keep you all posted.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Actually, I'd be interested in hearing about your experience. I've never heard of play therapy for adults either.

 

[Halo]

Sounds very interesting and my curiosity is definitely peaked. I look forward to hearing your experiences and your updates when you start.

Good luck and take care
:hug:

 

[Banned]

Theraplay is actually quite different from Play Therapy. Play therapy uses toys, sandboxes, etc and lets the child develop his/her thoughts through play instead of talking. Theraplay is much more therapist-directed. Each session is about half an hour and activities are planned and executed by the therapist that provide challenge, nurturing, engagement, and structure. The "props" are minimal - cotton balls to play "hockey", popsicle sticks and shaving cream to "shave", etc...but again - all therapist directed.

Here is a good link:

www.theraplay.org

 

[Banned]

So just an update on this. My first app't with the "new" therapist and my existing therapist (it takes two for Theraplay) is on November 30th. I'm pretty scared. Terrified would be more accurate. But not in a bad way. I'm the one that asked for this, and I truly believe that it is going to be extremely beneficial, but I'm scared because a) it might work (!), b) I've never, ever let anyone do anything for me in my life and I will have to let down that guard, c) despite everything I've read, I don't really know what I'm getting myself into beyond the bare basics. I imagine we'll talk about it this week so I know what to expect next week. I'm super excited, and super scared!

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I'm not sure what it is, BG, but I wish you good luck.

 

[Banned]

So I had my first Theraplay session today. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! We started out just chatting a bit. She asked how was I feeling now that it's reality. She introduced me to the co-therapist (we'll call her Beth and my regular T Sue), told Beth a bit about my background so she had a bit of an understanding, and then we started!

So first we played a game where Sue and I were laying on the ground, facing each other on our stomachs, about three feet apart. There was a cotton ball about half way between us. We picked a word (I picked the word 'dog') and Beth said a whole bunch of words at random and when she said 'dog' Sue and I had to blow the cotton ball back and forth - she tried to get it to my side and I tried to get it to hers. She was winning, so I cheated and stopped blowing and started flicking (whatever it takes to win!). After that she upped the ante a bit and had six cotton balls on the floor, so we had to do the same but with all six. I think she won most of the time...and I just kept cheating . Then we did a game where Sue and Beth held some newspaper between them and using the word thing again, when they said the word I would punch the paper. We did it a few times, making the paper thicker and thicker until I couldn't punch through it. Then we took all the paper scraps and scrunched them up and had a "snowball" fight. Then we played "basketball" trying to get them in the garbage bag. We had a staring contest to see who could stare without blinking the longest, and then we had a staring contest to see who could go the longest without laughing. After that we tried finding our initials in our palms, we drew on each other's backs and tried to guess the picture...so Sue and Beth drew on me and then I drew on Sue and Beth drew on Sue, etc...we finished with a couple other quiet activities - seeing who has the longest ring finger...oh I punched some pillows...but I was out of energy at that point so it was pretty wimpy!

We wrapped up just going over how I felt, was it what I expected, did I want to continue, and if so, how often...all in all it was SUPER! Sue commented that she was amazed how quickly I entered into it (I was amazed too, to be honest!) and how much I really, really enjoyed it. We've decided that we'll do or three "normal" sessions and then throw in a Theraplay...so about one every two or three weeks. It also depends on Beth's availability as well.

I wasn't sure how comfortable I'd be with a stranger there (I'd never met Beth before) but once we started playing, I really saw them as a unit, and because I have so much trust in Sue, it just naturally transferred to Beth.

I can totally see why the kids love this so much! I can't wait for the next one. It was SO fun!!

 

[Halo]

BG, I am so glad that you had a good session and that your trust in Sue transferred to Beth. I know that you must have been nervous not knowing Beth and then not really knowing what to expect with Theraplay but from your reaction it sounds like everything turned out really well.

Congrats on a good session
I can't wait to hear about the next one

 

[Cat Dancer]

That sounds very cool. And kind of fun.

 

[Banned]

It was a TONNE of fun!! It was really nice to be able to escape from the world of adulthood and be a child again - if only for 90 minutes. It was awesome....

 

[Halo]

90 minutes :shocked: .....wouldn't that be nice to escape anything for that length of time

 

[ThatLady]

That does sound like fun!

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Actually, it does. Kinda like when my kids were small....

I think I'm ready for grandchildren. Two granddogs and three grandcats just are doing the trick any more... :shocked:

 

[Banned]

Exactly! I didn't get to do any of this stuff when I was small, so we're not trying to "undo" or "redo" anything, but let me experience something I've never been able to. I can't even tell you how much fun it is. If you interact with kids (or grandkids!) this is stuff you'd do anyway...but I've never done.

Just a note Dr B -> granddogs ALWAYS trump any two-legged possibilities .

 

[Into The Light]

alright phoenix you heard the man.. he wants grandchildren.. hop to it and produce some grand nieces and nephews

 

[David Baxter PhD]

LOL! Yeah... get to it...

 

[Cat Dancer]

She was winning, so I cheated and stopped blowing and started flicking (whatever it takes to win!). After that she upped the ante a bit and had six cotton balls on the floor, so we had to do the same but with all six. I think she won most of the time...and I just kept cheating

I think this is so funny.

I hope you have so much fun with this.

 

[Halo]

David, you just want grandchildren (or grandnieces and nephews) so you can spoil them, play with them and then give them back to their moms and dads. Isn't that what grandparents do :lol:

 

[Banned]

Janet,

I'm very competitive, so I told her because I was losing I was going to have to start cheating:dimples: . We were both laughing too hard to care!! Besides, I still lost! I guess cheaters never do win after all! I won one of the staring contests - out of about six.

I'm kind of sad the next one isn't til January. That part sucks, but it's something to look forward to!