Release play therapy

It is an extension of the work of David M. Levi

• It is used in the treatment of specific problems and focuses only on

those problems.

He also maintained that there are different types of release:

1. Simple liberation: aggression or childhood pleasures.
2. Release of feelings in standard situations: family or social interaction
problems.
3. Release of feelings in specific situations in which the therapist generates or
facilitates the creation of situations through play methods in which the
child's anxieties are given expression.

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It uses children's play as a means of healing or change, they
do not focus on interpretation .

Simple release gives children the ability to release any and all destructive
behaviors, including simple “mischief.”

Situational release (as in sibling rivalry) is more structured, the game can be
prepared by selecting the characters and the child is allowed to carry it out. In this
case, the game is facilitated and the child's insight increases in its own way.

Specific release used various forms of restoration of the situation in which the
anxiety arose and its accompanying symptoms.

Participation of the therapist in the preparation of the techniques that children

should use when they are unable to play on their own
 The choice of techniques or therapeutic modes of liberation play therapy
(specific or situational) is at the discretion of the play therapist based on
the child, the situation and the goals.

Children often manage their emotional problems through the use of pretend or
imaginative play, it is an important method to eliminate tension.

Many children have difficulties releasing tension, since childhood life is full of
situations over which they have no control, some manage to release it, others do
not and it remains inside them.

They show inappropriate affection for the situation.

There are reasons why children cannot “play” without the help of a
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 therapist

1. Strong stimulus that prevents facing it.

2. Intense fear that prevents them from facing the situation again on their
own.
3. Sum of very similar or close events that frighten them a lot.
4. The child's sensitivity makes certain stimuli very powerful
5. The child may be very sensitized to a stimulus, which makes the
stimulus very powerful for him.

If the child “disconnects” from affection due to this, there is a possibility that he or
she will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
 Simulation game. (Preoperational stage from 2 to 7 years) they use
this form of play to resolve emotional or other difficulties that they have
encountered and can solve them on their own.

• In the face of an extreme traumatic situation, they can disconnect

the emotional response, which produces consequences such as
post-traumatic stress disorder or oppositional defiant disorder.

Release play therapy involves the use of

game activities and techniques, as well as the game of
simulation, to help children express what they
they feel through the game.

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 BASIC CONCEPTS, GOALS AND TECHNIQUES.

Before use, certain conditions must be met:

• Offer children a sense of security and support.
• The therapist's ego strength is involved in the game and helps the child
express his feelings connected to the real experience.
• Have fun while releasing feelings of anxiety, anger and other
negative reactions, allowing psychological healing to begin.
• The tpta must facilitate the game so that the Ñ assimilates the
traumatic event slowly.

• If children jump into the game too quickly, they may become
retraumatized by the game or become too anxious to continue.

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• When they are older, simulation play is not the first choice; they prefer
games with rules or more activities to choose from.

• The play therapy environment, along with the therapeutic relationship,

allows the recreation or release of emotions to happen in a simple
way.

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Criteria for using release play therapy

• The criteria for using release play therapy in children depends on what
is required for a specific child in a particular situation.
• Is he a preschooler? Can he use pretend play? Is he withdrawn or very
anxious? Does he seem comfortable in the playroom? , etc. and
whether it will be used for a general release or a specific one.

General release (TJLG).

Latency stage or are older and
with externalizing symptoms.
ADHD, ODD, Disorders
behavioral.
or internalization: depression,
anxiety disorder
generalized, obsessive disorder
compulsive, etc.
Specific release (TJLE ).
Use the abreaction game and
create or
facilitates the creation of situations
specific things that children have
experienced

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The criteria for the two different types of release present
important differences
TJLG.
Little restriction on what is used and
how it is done.
Techniques that provide fun for
children, therefore allowing the
expression of feelings in a safe and
protected environment.
Some may start with this treatment
and then switch to TJLE
TJLE
Consider the following criteria so that
children are not retraumatized by the
game:
a) The presenting problems must be a
definite symptom precipitated by a
specific event in the form of a
frightening experience.
b) The duration of the problem should
not be excessive.
c) The event or problem that
happened must be in the past.
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 The Ñ who are still under the experience do not benefit from the
TJLE; but yes from the TJLG

Goals for the child

a) Develop understanding of your own feelings.
b) Be able to express your feelings to better meet your own needs.
c) Increase mastery of traumatic events or situations from the past.
d) Take care of your problems and solve them.
e) Release hostility towards parents, siblings and other people in your life.
f) Relieve feelings of guilt that may have attached themselves to thoughts you
had or have at the current moment.
h) Most importantly, desensitize yourself to past events through repetition

The therapeutic aspects of release play therapy include the ability of children to
vent their thought processes and openly express any hostilities or fears they may
have harbored within, as well as to incorporate therapeutic suggestions.

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The methods used in liberation play therapy make use of the
“acting-out principle in play to the highest degree.”

• Play offers them an experience of power and control that is rarely

allowed in other situations, and through play and fun children can
overcome many psychological problems.

When the Ñ uses the fantasy game they transform into people, objects or
situations different from themselves. This form of play is more assimilative than
accommodative, since children adapt reality to their own needs.

Children reproduce what they see or things they have no control over
and then feel empowered.

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The recreation they do in the play therapy room must be followed
and facilitated to allow the processing of emotions through play.

Sessions should be devoted entirely to the release of anger, fear, or other

negative emotions that manifest through oppositional behavior at home or at
school.

The mastery that the child feels over the traumatic event when he recreates it
influences whether his behavior is difficult or positive.

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Social support

• The difficulties children experience after trauma sometimes arise when

they do not receive the social support they needed while experiencing
the trauma.

• Children need to be in the presence of adults who handle trauma with

authority so that they can let go and feel. If the support system breaks
down, they cannot rely on adults to help them get through the trauma
or event.

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 Man-made trauma versus natural disasters.

Traumas involving human aggression (domestic

violence or physical abuse).

Trauma that threatens life or involves significant destruction of property.

Parental distress or inability to act as parents after

Several factors have been
found to increase the risk
of children developing
post-traumatic stress
disorder.
the trauma.
The degree to which the child perceives that
significant others are in
physical danger.

• In some cases the release must occur through a

more directive approach, since the game is not so
easy for some children; It is usually observed in the latency age group (8 to

Lack of communication between parents and

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10 years)

General liberation play therapy techniques are used to

make them feel more comfortable and relaxed.

THERE ARE VARIOUS LEVELS OF LIBERATION IN THE TJLG

 Improve the expression of feelings
Guns and suction darts and a target with circles with different scores. It is
generally the first thing used in therapy.
“We will take turns shooting the target to get a high score. This is a little
different than other dart games because we will say what we hate when we
make the shots.” To exemplify this, the therapist shoots first and says
something generic that he hates.
Level 1 The child usually ends up firing with full force and the release is felt
immediately.
The therapist follows the child's guidance regarding the topic or severity. This
opens up the topic and allows the child to release anger within a fun, non-
threatening environment.
THE THERAPIST SHOULD NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING EXPRESSED BY THE
CLIENT, UNLESS THE CLIENT IS THE ONE WHO INITIATES IT.

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.
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Level 2
It occurs when customers throw something on the board but cannot break it.
The most suitable toys for this are called Sports Wall Rollers.
They use their entire body to launch the Wall Roller against the board.
Wall Rollers cannot be broken, the impact invites children to launch them
again and again, they are required to say what they hate for there to be
therapeutic power.
Level 3
It is achieved with the balls to crush.
Used not only with children of latency age, but also with adolescents and
young adults.
The therapist explains that it is used to get rid of the feelings that bother us; it
is explained that these feelings are often called “crazy.”
Let the therapist show that the stronger the throw and scream, the more fun it
will be. They end up throwing the ball with all their strength and the release is
felt immediately.
The funniest thing happens when you break the ball or egg to crush;

The goal is to release anger, fear, or other feelings, facilitate verbal

expression of them, and then allow abreaction
through play for as long as the child needs.
THERAPEUTIC POWERS OF
 THE GAME.
Various therapeutic factors :
• Overcoming resistance.

• Communication : at a conscious level in which the child recreates

events, thoughts or feelings that he is aware of but cannot express, to
express his unconscious conflicts.
Using language and having great verbal skills does not at all mean
that a child understands emotional expression.

• Mastery: satisfies children's innate need to explore and master

their environment, increases the child's self-esteem, helps them feel
like they are the master of their own destiny

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• Abreaction: consists of reliving a past experience in the safety of
play, which allows children to express emotions that were restrained
at the time of the original situation, children obtain a sense of mastery
over an event that traumatized them before.

• Catharsis: activation and discharge of strong emotions (positive and

negative).

• Desensitization: May reduce anxiety through the process of

systematic desensitization. In specific release play therapy the
therapist must be able to facilitate play.

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 ROLE OF THE THERAPIST
• Establish rapport.
• Contribute to the healing of children through any form of play therapy.
• Able to change role to whatever is needed at the time during treatment.
Managerial to non-managerial and vice versa.
• The therapist's ego strength is what helps children further explore a past
experience.
• The therapist prepares the game before the child arrives in the playroom; he
or she can help a child slowly recreate a previous trauma.
• Facilitate the game when the Ñ withdraws from it and also prevents it from
entering too quickly; respect this withdrawal from play, but should have the
child re-enter therapeutic play at a slower pace.
• Stop the game when it traumatizes the child again.

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 ROLE OF PARENTS.
• It has to do with signs of support and an open and understanding
attitude towards the child's problem.
• Parents who take control during some event that is frightening; They
provide an environment that is psychologically safe.
• You can facilitate your child's therapeutic experience by following
some of the guidelines established by the release play therapist.
• It is necessary to change parenting to a more positive approach.
• Notebook for them to keep a record of behaviors and they are shown
how to do it. Exaggerating the positive allows the child to feel more
secure when doing therapeutic work in the playroom.

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 CLINICAL APPLICATIONS

• It can be used in different types of alterations.

• The freedom to say what one “hates” without further
discussion allows children to process the information and
externalize it, instead of keeping it in and thinking about it
constantly.
• Release play therapy allows them to release anger and be
validated.
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

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