The Dubai Foundation for Women and Children organised a training workshop for specialists on Play Therapy and its latest applications which concluded last Thursday, as a part of the foundation’s plan to build and develop social and psychological skills.

Afra Al Basti, Director General of Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, said that DFWAC is one of the first entities within the UAE that implemented Play Therapy, one of the latest psychological and social rehabilitation methods, especially for children, and this type of therapy showed positive results on abused children.

"As DFWAC believes that supporting the stability of families and the community is a shared responsibility by everyone, we are keen to share our expertise with the various stakeholders and specialists within the UAE, about latest international practices in the field of psychosocial care, which includes Play Therapy."

Al Basti said that organising the workshop came within a series of training workshops by the foundation throughout the year, as part of its plan for building and developing the social and psychological skills of specialists in the field, which DFWAC hopes will contribute to the improvement of the psychological health care provided to the members of the community.

Al Basti thanked all those who contributed to organising the workshop and thanked all the participants for their keenness to develop their scientific skills by participating.

Ghanima Al Bahri, Care and Rehabilitation Director at DFWAC, confirmed that more than 50 specialists of psychologists and social workers participated in the work shop, from shelters, the police, social institutions, the courts, prosecutors, and the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Social Affairs.

She added that Play Therapy significantly contributed to the rehabilitation of many victims of abuse who were supported by DFWAC, especially children, which encouraged the foundation to work on spreading this method among those working in the field.

She explained that the foundation is currently following the latest applications used in Play Therapy for the rehabilitation of adults, not just children, to be applied in DFWAC.

During the workshop, Dr. Amjad Abu Gedy, Counseling Professor and Psychological Evaluation in Amman University, reviewed the concept of Play Therapy and its theories, methods, stages and skills, and how to build a therapeutic relationship, in addition to carrying out assessments using play methods, and applications of Play Therapy with victims of abuse.

He also reviewed the design of therapeutic games, their applications with abused children and those at risk, and the theoretical foundations for treatment using a sand box to identify the strength of sand therapeutic treatment, identifying the areas for use of sand box treatment, and to identify the standards of interpreting symbolic indications, as well as storytelling in Play Therapy.

Dr. Amjad said that Play Therapy, according to the American Society of Therapy, is defined as the systematic use of theoretical models to establish a relationship between personalities, while employing the therapeutic ability of play to help the child deal with current challenges, and the prevention of future problems, to achieve normal growth in developmental aspects.
Source: WAM