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[chrostopherhenandex]

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[MAClinician]

what do you think?

Because it's not a joke?

 

[erg923]

because it has no punchline

 

[dynamicdog]

Because it isn't.

 

[Ollie123]

Seems an odd thing to pick on. Don't do it (work w/adults) but there is a literature base on it. My brief reading is that the literature base is not overwhelmingly great in quality, but equal or better to a lot of what goes on in the real world.

I guess just seems an odd thing to pick on?

 

[smalltownpsych]

If you don't play with the kids, how else are you supposed to interact with them? Is it very effective? Not nearly as effective as better parents, but we don't always have that luxury.

 

[ClinicalABA]

One problem is the tendency for folks to throw the word "therapy" after something, do it the same way, say it's therapeutic, and charge for it. For example, petting a dog can be enjoyable, maybe even have some non-specific positive emotional effects. Lots of people have dogs, so presumbably there's something good about them. Problem I have is when someone brings their dog into a classroom, hospital, nursing home, etc., has people line up to pet it, and then calls that "pet therapy". There may be specific therapies that incorporate pets as part of a prescribed treatment targeting a specific condition, and it may be accurate to call that "pet therapy". I'm pretty sure having some kids diagnoses with developmental delays pet your regular old dog (even though he's such a goooood boyyyy!) ain't that.

I work with toddlers. Everything we do is pretty much play- that's just what they're best at. I'm not doing "play therapy", but doing behavioral therapy or assessment in the context of play. As smalltownpsych alluded to, what the heck else am I going to do with them? Put them on a coach and ask them about their earliest memories of their mother? (it's been a while for me- isn't that what all you grown-up therapists do?)