Play, Slade and Human Development

Sesame sessions offer participants the chance to re-experience the spontaneous, creative qualities that can be seen when children instinctively play. Our assertion that play is a vital part of therapy comes from the work of Peter Slade, described in his obituary as 'The First British Dramatherapist'.

'At the best moments of playing they are … unconcerned with audience; they are far away in The Land. But sometimes a petering out gives the indication of the near finish and we can clearly see or feel them coming back to earth.' (Slade 1954: 55)

The child within

Whilst this play experience will be offered in a way that is suited to the age of the participant, it is our belief that their emotional response comes from the child . Jenny Pearson writes, 'Deep therapy has always been about making contact with the child within the patient, whatever the patient's age and troubles may be. The child self is ever present in all of us, below the surface, a powerful emotional aspect of the timeless unconscious that needs to be brought into play if a patient is to come back into the flow of life.'

From birth a normal healthy child responds to playful activities. Adult/child interaction sets the beginning of communication and healthy emotional mental growth. A baby revels in the excitement of a clapping game and loves the thrill of being discovered in a hide and seek game, testing out those all-important feelings always within the safety and boundaries of a caring adult. As bonding strengthens so the child can grow in experience and understanding, and progress through the stages of development with confidence and support. In a safe and secure environment a child's emotional needs can be met as role models feed in patterns of behaviour. Interaction with playmates, siblings and extended families strengthens the ego. Imaginative play enables the child to transform the world, to play out any role or situation and to play out hurt and pain, good and bad feelings and not fear that fun and silliness is being judged or misinterpreted.

Activating unconscious potential

Anthony Stevens writes, 'By ensuring that children play, nature provides the means of activating the unconscious potential and training the behavioural systems that are vital to life: social co-operation and conflict, intimacy with peers, sexuality, physical combat, the control of aggression, hunting, ritual, marital relations, child rearing and creativity. Childhood is a period of immense vitality and inventiveness when imagination is given a free rein to complement the realities or compensate for the efficiencies of everyday existence. This is why all children are artists, actors and showmen.'

But what if there is no safe environment, where children are often receiving mixed messages, where boundaries are given and then demolished, where play is controlled and restricted, always to suit the adult?

Sesame sessions provide the times when games, songs, fantastical improvisations and working closely with others remind us of the delight that children have in just being with each other. Sesame is not childish or about getting people to let too much of their guard down - it's about learning to discover and enjoy all the parts of yourself which make you…you!

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