The Therapeutic Powers of Play and Play Therapy

LAY IS AS natural to children as breathing. It is a universal expression of children, and it can transcend differences in ethnicity, language, or other aspects of culture (Drewes, 2006). Play has been observed in virtually every culture since the beginning of recorded history. It is inextricably linked to how the culture develops poetry, music, dance, philosophy, social structures—all linked through the society’s view of play (Huizinga, 1949). But how play looks and is valued differs across and within cultures (Sutton-Smith, 1974, 1999). The use of fantasy, symbolic play, and make-believe is a developmen-tally natural activity in children’s play (Russ, 2007). Play is not only central but critical to childhood development (Roopnarine & Johnson, 1994). For a variety of species, including humans, play can be nearly as important as food and sleep. The intense sensory and physical stimulation that comes with playing helps to form the brain’s circuits and prevents loss of neurons (Perry, 1997). Play is so critical to a child’s development that it is promoted by the United Nations 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 31.1, which recognizes ‘‘the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.’ ’ Play is perhaps the most developmentally appropriate and powerful medium for young children to build adult-child relationships, develop cause-effect thinking critical to impulse control, process stressful experiences, and learn social skills (Chaloner, 2001). Play can provide a child the sense of power and control