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“Put a lot of store on a child's ability to play. If a child is playing, there is room for a symptom or two, and if a child is able to enjoy playing, both alone and with other children, there is no very serious trouble afoot.”
Creativity throughout life relies heavily on the individual's capacity to play with ideas and experiences in the inner world. Innovative work in the Arts and Sciences is often the result of straying from well-established paths and juxtaposing apparently unconnected concepts in a manner which is quite original. For some people this may be a very threatening experience as conforming to the existing book of rules is fundamental to their way of living. Others find these explorations in the inner world exciting, and even fun. “Toying” with ideas confirms and enhances their enjoyment of life, in everyday mundane matters, as well as in their deeper creative experience. This capacity to play in the adult has its roots in childhood and infancy. It is indeed a great gift to be able to play, and without it there is an impoverishment of the quality of relationships to others and relationship to oneself.
Melanie Klein in her development of the psychoanalytic play technique conducted that by providing an analytic setting for the child, such as regularity of session times and constancy of suitable play materials and playroom, the child's free play as well as verbal communication could be used in a similar way to free association in adults. The transference and counter-transference could also be understood through the medium of a child's symbolic play. Inhibition in play was recognised as an important symptom, indicating inhibition in phantasy life and emotional development (Klein, 1955). “The Narrative of a Child Analysis” (Klein, 1961) is a fascinating and detailed example of how she used her understanding of a child's play in her interpretations. Richard was a neurotic child who could express himself symbolically through his play. There are