Abstract:

This material aims at analyzing the experience of conducting online play therapy with primary school children.

Covid 19 pandemic became a huge challenge for all schoolchildren. But a specific group needed extra attention – children that met lockdown while attending a therapist. Although some families decided to pause or to stop seeing a counselor altogether, many children were having a condition that would deteriorate without due help. Besides, some children starting manifesting mental health issues (panic attacks, anxiety etc) after the lockdown measures were introduced.
Transition to online counseling may have been easier for children and adolescents who were involved in any type of talk therapies. But children of preschool or primary school age needed play therapy employing different activities.

So we counselors as professionals were faced with a challenge of bringing play therapy online. That meant several important changes to the counseling process.

First, it was necessary to discuss with the family what devices were available as that determined possible methods and activities. Stable Internet connection and video were prerequisite. If a computer or a tablet was available, online whiteboards such as Twiddla might be used.
Second, therapeutic boundaries have to be re-discussed and re-settled. The importance of providing space where the child would not be disturbed or interrupted during the meeting had also to be cleared.
Third, new methods and activities need to be applied.

Technically the following tools have been efficient:
- Drawing activities: child’s drawing commented by the counselor, collaborative drawing by the child and the counselor.
- Narrating stories, possibly illustrated by pictures.
- Games that might be played using online whiteboard (kinds of tic-tac-toe)
- Discussing pictures and videos provided by the counselor

Fourth, online therapy need more self control as it is harder to vary body positions. So it is necessary to apply physical activities and let children move during the session.

Online play therapy have proved efficient for providing therapeutic results. Sometimes it even provided extra impact not possible while doing face-to-face meetings. Namely, for many children seeing a counselor while based at home meant a chance to share more details about their personal life. Besides, in some cases transition to online meetings as new experience stimulated children to explore new behaviour patterns.

There are though certain limitations to bringing play therapy online connected with technology (low Internet connection, no devices available for the children), age factors and specific mental health issues.

Keywords:

Lockdown, pandemic, children counseling, play therapy.