ABSTRACT
Embodiment or sensory play during the traditional play therapy process provides opportunities for a new, more positive and integrated sense of body self. In non-directive play therapy texts, it is difficult to find explicit reference to the notion of transference and countertransference but McMahon comments on the strong feelings that may be unleashed by spontaneous play and how these can leave the therapist feeling overwhelmed. For children, the verbalization is an even more monumental task since the development of their language may not be sufficient for them to have ever learned the words for the more usual emotions experienced, hence the appropriateness of play therapy, where the 'narrative' is told symbolically and through metaphor and so does not rely on language at all. The dramatic and playful interactions take place in the period before birth and in the early months after and overlap with the idea of Embodiment, Projection and Role (EPR) development from birth to seven years.
