Psychology Lecture at New York College: "Play Therapy: speaking to children in their own language"

On Tuesday 8th November, the Department of Psychology at New York College organized the first of the monthly Psychology Invited Speaker Series for the academic year 2016-17. Ms Nefeli Koskina, MA, Play Therapist (Canterbury Christchurch University, Academy of Play and Child Psychotherapy, UK) and Counseling Psychologist (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens) trained in Person-Centered Counselling (Strathclyde University, UK) gave a talk entitled "play therapy: speaking to children in their own language".

The event was attended by BSc Psychology students, MSc CBT postgraduate students, IIEK New York students training to be teachers and nursery teaching assistants, NYC graduates and members of the general public. The participants learnt about the symbolic nature of play and discussed the establishment of a trusting relationship with young children, using play as a medium of communication.

The final part of the talk involved an interactive exercise through which the participants were able to experience how play can be a powerful medium for emotional expression, which is not only relevant for trainee psychologists but for anybody who works with children or who is a parent of young children (play therapy is mainly practiced with children aged 3-13).

The entire talk can be found on YouTube (please note that the images of children's creations which appear in this presentation were used with the consent of their parents or legal guardians. In addition to this, appropriate efforts were made to conceal the children's true identities in the interest of protecting the therapeutic confidentiality).

If you would like to receive notifications of the free seminars organized by the Department of Psychology please email Dr. A. Svensson svensson@nyc.gr