Games Children Play Board Games in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Children of latency age have typically outgrown dramatic play but have not yet developed the ability to talk about their thoughts and feelings in therapy; at this stage they often play structured board games, during their own playtime and during therapy sessions. This article discusses ways to use board-game play therapeutically, by watching the way children stretch and bend the rules to display their psychological self-states, and by interpreting their experiences within the play.