The Value of Play for a Chinese Boy and His Mother

The authors present a mother's unusual application of play technique in a Chinese at-home situation and their second look at the play material after its discussion in a child consultation group. The Chinese mother, a counsellor who worked with adults and was attending basic child psychology courses, had seen demonstrations of play therapy technique. Worried about her latency age son's development, and eager to repair any harm she felt she had done to him, this mother conducted a series of play sessions to spend meaningful time with her child, satisfy his longing for connection, and hopefully diminish his anxious clinging and controlling of her. She hoped she could help him express his aggression towards her in a constructive way that might support his independence and release his social and academic inhibition. The authors describe the context of the group in which this case came to their attention and of the family in which the child is being raised. They provide a historical context for the application of analytic insight by parents, and discuss the unconscious communication of the play and its power for expressing and easing developmental and relational conflict.