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Developmental Delay, Symbolic Play and Non-Directive Play Therapy

University of York, UK

This paper focuses on non-directive play therapy with maltreated and neglected young children, and explores ways in which their symbolic play seems to be activated and accelerated during play therapy. The frameworks of attachment and cognitive development are utilized to examine therapeutic relationships. Examples from normal development and from therapeutic work are given in order to describe more precisely the seemingly essential features in the development of symbolic play in young children. The important features of a child’s social environment, physical environment and internal state which seem to contribute to the activation of symbolic play are then discussed in more detail. Finally, it is argued, studying a child’s transition from concrete to symbolic play during play therapy contributes to our understanding not only of damaged and delayed children’s development, but also provides additional information on normal children’s development of this capacity.

Key Words: atypical development • child maltreatment • developmental delay • non-directive play therapy • symbolic play

Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Vol. 4, No. 2, 167-185 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/1359104599004002004


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