Dr. Landreth Play

In the video The Play Therapist’s Language of Change, Dr. Landreth explains the ways that the therapist should express language to the child. Dr. Landreth explains the importance of verbal tracking rather than using talk therapy with the child. The important points made in the video were the examples the audience gave about things children would say. For example, when children come into the playroom they may things like, “Can I leave? Can my brother come in? Why do you talk strange? It was interesting to hear the response that Dr. Landreth gave to every question. This aspect of the video was important because as a beginner therapist it is essential to be prepared to respond and react to any question a child may ask. While Dr. Landreth continued

Setting a limit to stop a certain behavior, but allowing the child to facilitate what they need to express is important. Providing a choice to the child allows the child to still be responsible and make a decision in the playroom. Furthermore, if you set a limit on shooting certain objects, providing an alternate object to shoot continues to allow the child to express that behavior rather than hindering it. A helpful tool and perceptive that I learned from the video was keeping your responses to the child brief. Children may become confused with long responses and might not remember what was said to them. Keeping responses short allows the child to understand and interpret what the therapist said. Furthermore, while the child is playing in the playroom, making a response too long might distract the child from play because now they have to try to listen to what the therapist is telling them. Hence, keeping the response short allows the child to be able to focus on their play and not become