3 Themes Related To Games in Child Centered Play Therapy

Do games belong in Child Centered Play Therapy?
 
My hot take? YES! 

I have a small set of simple games (I’m talking therapist favorites like UNO) that are available to the children that I see for Child Centered Play Therapy.  
 
Now, how I play these games with my Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy clients is wildly different from my CCPT clients. 
 
For starters I adhere to no asking or answering questions (unless they are repeatedly asking and I handle that as I would any repeated questions in CCPT).  I also don’t name the game.  This means if they take out UNO I don’t immediately say “You want to play UNO!” and start dealing out cards. With CCPT the client leads the way.  
 
Oftentimes we are playing an absolutely made up version of the game and it is my job to attempt to adhere to whatever instructions they are making up.  This can also come up in a number of different situations in CCPT when a client makes up a game (think of 1,000 games you can make with a simple balloon).  The format just happens to be the cards or the game. 
 
AND if clients want to cheat while playing games - they can! In Child Centered Play Therapy we can do almost anything, including cheat.  
 
So, I wanted to share with you the top 3 themes that come up when children use games in CCPT.
 
The first is a sense of self and self esteem.  Clients who gravitate towards cheating often don’t have many “wins” in their day to day life.  If they can set up the game where they frequently win they are setting up the conditions they wish they had in their everyday life. 
 
Second is a sense of power and control.  Sometimes kids play games that are older than their age level and they want to feel powerful, older, or more mature.  Other times they are hoping to win they game (with or without cheating) to feel powerful and in control.  
 
The last theme I see most frequently when children use games in CCPT is overwhelm.  Sometimes they pick a game that is above their level, get into the rules, and become completely overwhelmed with how complicated it is.  And it makes sense.  Often times kids feel over their heads, confused, or lost in their everyday life! 
 
This list is nowhere near comprehensive, but these are the top three themes I see when kids in CCPT gravitate towards games!  Drop a comment below with what themes you see with kids and games in your CCPT practice! 
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