Deck 10: The Uses of Play in Therapy

Question 1

Which of the following therapists maintained that play is to the child what free association is to the adult?

A) Axline
B) Rogers
C) Klein
D) Freud
E) Moustakas

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which is not a limit set by a relationship therapist? Children may not

A) stay longer than the scheduled time.
B) destroy the play materials.
C) physically attack the therapist.
D) engage in activities that might be harmful to themselves.
E) simply sit and do nothing for an entire session.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

According to Anna Freud, why should play not be seen as the childhood equivalent of free association?

A) The child at play doesn't have the intention of being helped.
B) Much of children's play is non-verbal.
C) Children who have problems usually do not want to play.
D) Play in a therapy setting is not a freely-chosen activity.
E) all of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

According to relationship therapists, the main reason why children need psychotherapy is because they

A) have never been fully accepted by those around them.
B) have unresolved sexual conflicts.
C) have been raised in hostile homes.
D) are unable to relate to their peers.
E) have been physically or sexually abused.

Question 5

In the technique known as mutual storytelling, the child would tell a story and then the therapist would

A) tell the story back with a more constructive resolution.
B) analyze the important elements of the story for the child.
C) ask the child to tell it again and include a more positive ending.
D) ask the child a series of questions about the story.

Question 6

The modern view of the use of play in therapy, unlike the view expressed in the 1920's, puts an emphasis on

A) shorter treatments.
B) specific, predetermined, goals and strategies.
C) an avoidance of heavily symbolic interpretations.
D) the quality of the therapist-child relationship.
E) all of the above

Question 7

The child reads a book about a character with problems similar to his or her own, and then discusses the problem with a therapist. This technique is

A) non-directive therapy.
B) bibliotherapy.
C) storytelling.
D) release therapy.
E) psychodrama.

Question 8

Which of the following conditions is not seen as essential to the success of psychoanalytic therapy?

A) The patient must really want to change.
B) The patient must be able to achieve transference.
C) The patient must be willing to "substitute" the therapist for some other important person in his or her life.
D) The patient must be able to free associate.
E) The patient's problem must have first appeared during childhood.

Question 9

The type of therapy that required parents to attend training sessions under the supervision of a therapist for twelve months, during which they were conducting therapy sessions for their own children at home, was

A) play analysis.
B) family therapy.
C) relationship therapy.
D) humanistic therapy
E) filial therapy.

Question 10

The "Play Analysis" of Melanie Klein differed from other play therapies in that Klein

A) emphasized the importance of the therapist-child relationship.
B) engaged in extensive amounts of interpretation of the child's actions.
C) worked only with children between the ages of two and five.
D) wouldn't take a child patient unless she could work with the whole family.
E) established no limits for the children in therapy.

Question 11

Richard Gardner's contribution to play therapy is the technique of

A) bibliotherapy.
B) costume therapy.
C) release therapy.
D) mutual storytelling.
E) storytelling.

Question 12

The first person to use play in psychoanalytic therapy with children was

A) Melanie Klein.
B) Anna Freud.
C) Virginia Axline.
D) Sigmund Freud.
E) Hermine Hug-Hellmuth.

Question 13

Psychoanalytic and relationship therapists agreed that

A) troubled children are internally motivated to help themselves.
B) play is a valuable form of self-expression.
C) a warm, intimate relationship must be established between therapist and child.
D) a therapist's major role is to interpret the symbolism in a child's play.
E) a climate of permissiveness must be established in the therapy room.

Question 14

Which of the following statements would Virginia Axline disagree with?

A) The therapist must completely accept the child who is in therapy.
B) The therapist should never criticize the child in therapy.
C) The therapist should provide a good deal of praise and encouragement.
D) The therapist must establish a climate of permis?siveness.
E) The therapist recognizes the child's feelings and attempt to reflect them back to the child.

Question 15

Therapy with children seems to be most effective if

A) a directive rather than a non-directive approach is used.
B) the child attends for at least 50 sessions.
C) the child can play freely rather than have restrictions placed on the play.
D) a psychodynamic rather than a relationship approach is used.
E) the therapist is acquainted with the child before the therapy begins.

Question 16

Claire was unable to open up, to express her innermost thoughts freely and openly to her therapist. She was obviously having trouble with

A) transference.
B) free association.
C) cathexis.
D) motivation.
E) reaction formation.

Question 17

Freud observed that children have difficulty achieving transference when they are in therapy because

A) they already have loyalties to significant adult figures in their lives.
B) it is not they but their parents who decide that the therapy is needed.
C) they lack the necessary verbal skills.
D) they see the therapist as a powerful and intimidating figure.
E) they won't admit that anything is wrong with them.

Question 18

Which therapist is most likely to argue that therapy should never be hurried, and should proceed at the child's own pace?

A) Klein
B) Freud
C) Gardner
D) Hug-Hellmuth
E) Axline

Question 19

An analysis of nearly 100 studies of the effectiveness of play therapy indicates that

A) we can't really say if such therapy is effective.
B) play therapy has an impressive record of success.
C) there are no improvements that can be seen outside the therapy session.
D) parents are satisfied with the results, but teachers see no difference in children after therapy.

Question 20

Every school of psychotherapy shares the belief that play is indispensable in the diagnosis and treat?ment of children with problems. Which is not a reason for the use of play?

A) Children in therapy have probably not had enough opportunities to play in the past.
B) Play is a natural form of expression for children and it allows them to communicate their feelings effectively.
C) When playing the child is less likely to feel threatened by an adult.
D) Observing children at play helps adults understand them better.
E) Play encourages children to relax and so reduces their anxiety and defensiveness.

Question 21

The most effective treatment seemed to involve between ___ and ___ sessions, and the results are less impressive when more or fewer sessions are conducted.

Question 22

Anna Freud believed that she could work effectively with a child even if that child had no motivation to bring about change.

Question 23

Melanie Klein was more likely to use interpretation in her therapy with children than was Anna Freud.

Question 24

The psychoanalytic approach has evolved into what is today referred to as the __________ approach.

Question 25

Virginia Axline believed that children have an internal motivation to help themselves in therapy.

Question 26

_________ play therapy requires the parent to attend training sessions under the supervision of a therapist and to conduct therapy sessions for their children at home.

Question 27

Bibiliotherapy and mutual storytelling are identical to one another.

Question 28

It seems as if the ideal number of play therapy sessions is between five and ten.

Question 29

The relationship approach to psychotherapy was inspired by the work of the psychotherapist _______ ________.

Question 30

Play Analysis was an approach to therapy developed by ________ ________.

Question 31

Directive approaches to therapy seem to result in more significant improvements than non-directive approaches, such as the relationship approach.

Question 32

In art therapy, children who draw huge figures may be __________, while withdrawn, insecure, or depressed children may produce small figures.

Question 33

Anna Freud's therapy was influenced by the pioneering work of Carl Rogers.

Question 34

It has been discovered that therapy conducted by parents has been more effective by therapy conducted by professionals.

Question 35

Psychoanalytic therapist today focus on present realities rather than on __________ mechanisms rooted in the past.

Question 36

Freud typically used play in the early stages of therapy with a child as a way of __________ ____________.

Question 37

Reading about the experiences of others often helps people gain insights into their own lives, and this phenomenon forms the rationale for ___________.

Question 38

Unlike other forms of therapy, art therapy can be conducted by anyone who knows how to draw pictures.

Question 39

Psychologists warn about the danger in _________ children's art, and remind us that one creative work is never enough to tell the whole story about a child's psychological life.

Question 40

Transference refers to the ability of patients in psychoanalytic therapy to speak openly about anything on their minds at a given moment.

Question 41

Most therapists agree that play has an important role in psychotherapy with children, but is there proof that play really helps children to deal with their emotional problems? What is the nature of this proof? What are the limitations of the research on the subject? Why is it difficult to provide definitive

Question 42

List and discuss five reasons why play is seen by psychologists as an essential component of child psychotherapy.

Question 43

List and describe in a sentence or two each of Virginia Axline's eight basic principles of relationship therapy.

Question 44

According to relationship therapists, children come into therapy for specific reasons. Nevertheless, all children who need therapy do so because they did not receive what Carl Rogers called "unconditional positive regard" from society. What do Rogers and other relationship therapists mean when they say this?

Question 45

Anna Freud and Melanie Klein shared similar views about the meaning of play, but they also disagreed on how play should be incorporated into therapy with children. What points did they agree on? What was their major disagreement about the uses of play?

Question 46

What are the limits that are usually established in non-directive therapy with children, and why are these limits seen as necessary?

Question 47

What is mutual storytelling and how does it differ from the techniques of (a) simple storytelling and (b) bibliotherapy that are also used as therapy. Be sure to include all the components of mutual storytelling in your answer - what the child does as well as what the therapist does.

Question 48

Describe the technique of "play analysis" that was practiced by Melanie Klein in terms of (a) the physical environment in which the therapy took place, (b) the specific procedures that were followed, and (c) the therapist's assumptions about the meaning of play for children.

Question 49

What are the three conditions that are essential to the success of psychoanalytic therapy? Explain why each condition is difficult to achieve when a therapist is working with a child patient.