ABSTRACT
Concerns around the mental health well-being of young people in the community in Malaysia are on the increase. The level of education in acquiring therapeutic play skills among the allied health professionals is still low and lacking in training and support. This chapter focuses on facilitating the therapeutic sessions using art, sand play, and creating and writing stories. Doctors in the paediatric wards will refer chronically ill children for therapeutic play sessions. Children who are chronically ill often experience fear of death and loneliness, not being able to go back to school and an indefinite stay in the hospital. The chapter provides some examples of the work that are carried out at the ‘Creativity at Heart’ centre in Malaysia. It presents a case study of a five-year-old child whose parents were divorced when he was four years old and the initial custody was given to the father as the mother was not able to take care of him.
