Introduction Developmental psychology makes an attempt to comprehend the types and sources of advancement in children’s cognitive, social, and language acquisition skills. The child development theories put forward by both Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson have had substantial impacts on contemporary play therapy. In this essay, I aim to highlight the contribution of these two theorists in their study of various developmental stages, the differences and similarities in their theories, and their contributions to the theory and practice of play therapy. Jean Piaget Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland in 1896. His interest initially lay in natural sciences, which he studied before his interests moved to psychoanalysis. He later moved to France, …show more content…
According to him, symbolic play is fundamentally important for children’s development, as it enables children to understand what they experience, and put these experiences into perspective (Piaget, 1962). Piaget also suggests that symbolic play develops a child’s understanding of the role of self and others, their boundaries, why things work how they do, and teaches them how to interact with others (1962). These concepts influenced how we understand play, and its value to …show more content…
He proposed that this evolution involves the constant interaction between heredity and environmental influences (Kindersley, 2012). Erikson postulated that people face eight key crises or conflicts over the course of their lives. He believed each conflict to arise at a distinct time determined by a combination of biological maturation and social demands experienced by developing people at certain stages of life. According to Erikson, each crisis needs to be successfully resolved to prepare for satisfactory resolution of the subsequent life crisis (Shaffer,