Elementary School Counseling with Unstructured Play Media

The need for utilizing unstructured play media in counseling with elementary school children is discussed. The suggestion is made that through play activities the child learns ways of operating in social situations, tests various roles, and expresses his frustrations and concerns. Limiting the child to verbal expression in counseling is seen as being as inappropriate as limiting an adult to the use of puppets. The elementary school counselor's use of play in counseling is designed to facilitate the expression and communication of the normal child rather than to provide data for analytical purposes. Responses to verbal and nonverbal clues, therefore, include reflection and summarization more often than interpretation. Advantages of unstructured over structured materials are discussed; illustrations show the need children feel for amorphous materials in communicating feelings.