ABSTRACT
Children’s pretend play is important in child development and in psychotherapy (Russ, 2004; Singer & Singer, 1990). Children’s play provides a window on both cognitive and affective processes. Russ (2004, pp. 2-5) categorized different play processes that can be observed and measured in play. They are: Cognitive Processes
• Organization-the ability to tell a story with a logical time sequence and indications of cause and effect• Divergent thinking-the ability to generate a number of different ideas, story themes, and symbols• Symbolism-the ability to transform objects (blocks, Legos) into representations of other objects (e.g., a block becomes a telephone)• Fantasy/make-believe-the ability to engage in “as if” play behavior; to pretend to be in a different time and space 87
Affective Processes • Expression of emotion-the ability to express positive and negative affect states and actual emotions in a pretend play situation• Expression of affect themes-the ability to express affect content and images in play A doll becomes a monster, which is aggressive or scary content, even if no emotion accompanies it• Comfort and enjoyment in the play experience-the ability to be involved in play• Emotion regulation and modulation of the affect in the play-the ability to contain the emotion within a narrative
Interpersonal Processes • Empathy-The ability to express concern for others and to take the role of the other• Communication-the ability to express ideas and emotions to others• Interpersonal schema-capacity for self-other differentiation and trust in others
Play processes relate to important areas of adaptive functioning in children. For example, play has been found to relate to creative problem solving (Dansky, 1980; Russ & Grossman-Mckee, 1990); perspective-taking (Fisher, 1992), and coping (Christiano & Russ, 1996).In child therapy, play is often used as a form of communication with the therapist. In addition, children use play for expression of thoughts and feelings, and for working through and processing emotional material. Assessment of play skills can help determine whether and how a child can use play in therapy.
