Theraplay is an play therapy which has intention of helping parents and children build better attachment relationships through attachment-based play. It was developed in 1967 in Chicago by Ann M. Jernberg. Play Therapy is defined by the Association for Play Therapy as the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development. ... Attachment theory is a theory (or group of theories) about the psychological concept of attachment: the tendency to seek closeness to another person and feel secure when that person is present. ... Attachment theory is a theory (or group of theories) about the psychological concept of attachment: the tendency to seek closeness to another person and feel secure when that person is present. ...

History of Theraplay

Ann Jernberg, Ph.D., became 1967 the Director of Psychological Services for the new Chicago Head Start program with one of her assistants Phyllis Booth. She and her team were asked to identify children in need of psychological services and refer them to existing treatment centers. However, there were very few resources for childrens' mental health at the time, and the existing ones could not possibly handle the hundreds of children identified as needing help. From that starting point Ann Jernberg started to create her own program that would treat children at the Head Start centers, rather than at outlying clinics, and could use paraprofessionals supervised by mental health professionals to do the actual work. The result was a model based upon healthy parent-infant attacment and interaction which borrowed elements from the work of Austin Des Lauriers and Viola Brody.

The therapeutic efficacy of Theraplay has not yet been proven scientifically. Some contend, however, that it is virtually impossible to scientifically prove the efficacy of any psychotherapeutic modality, new or old. They argue that the variables are simply too vast, infinite in fact, making a controlled experiment impossible. In fact, the efficacy of several scientifically-based therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, has been well established as one of the most effective forms of treatment for many mental illnesses. Theraplay or other Creative Arts Therapies, not unlike Psychoanalysis, may elude scientific validation as the goals and methods of the modality is fundamentally based in art, not science. For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ... Cognitive therapy or cognitive behavior therapy is a kind of psychotherapy used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, phobias, and other forms of psychological disorder. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Attachment theory, upon which Theraplay is founded, is also controversial. While accepted by many within the therapeutic community, its application to assessment, diagnostics, and therapy has been widely called into question by psychologists who adhere to the Scientist-Practitioner model of practice. Attachment theory is a theory (or group of theories) about the psychological concept of attachment: the tendency to seek closeness to another person and feel secure when that person is present. ... A psychologist is a scientist who studies psychology, the systematic investigation of the human behavior and mental processes. ...

See also

• Play therapy
• Play (activity)
• Drama therapy
• Therapy
• Attachment Therapy
• Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy
• Human bonding
• Object relations theory
• Reactive attachment disorder

Play Therapy is defined by the Association for Play Therapy as the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development. ... Play might be described as unrestrained, amusing interaction with people, animals, or things, often in the context of learning. ... Drama therapy is a health and human services profession that seeks to facilitate physical integration and personal growth for individuals, couples, families, and various groups through the use of theatrical and dramatic processes. ... Look up Therapy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Therapy (in Greek: θεραπεία) or treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a diagnosis. ... Dyadic developmental psychotherapy is an evidence-based treatment(1) approach for the treatment of attachment disorder and reactive attachment disorder. ... The term human bond, or more generally human bonding, refers to the process or formation of a close personal relationship, as between a mother and child, especially through frequent or constant association. ... Freud invented the concept object relation to describe or emphasize that bodily drives satisfy their need through a medium, an object, on a specific locus. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Attachment disorder. ...

References

• The Theraplay® Institute [1]
• Jernberg, A. M.Booth, P. B. (1999) Theraplay: Helping parents and children build better relationships through attachment-based play / Ann M. Jernberg, Phyllis B. Booth. San Francisco.