In nursing pediatric practice, play therapy is widely used to support the psychological, emotional, and social well-being of children. Among children, engaging them in play is the only known and most applicable form of therapy that can be used when dealing with children. Childhood is a key stage in development that influences the development of a person; hence, why maintaining their well-being through a holistic approach is essential. Understanding the role of play therapy among children is essential to determining its impact and importance in pediatric services. An exploration of the role of play therapy in pediatric services shows that it is beneficial to hospitalized children for the effective development of their well-being by improving their behavior, decreasing their pain after surgeries, and developing their psychological faculties.
Play is an essential element used in offering support to children facing medical challenges, trauma, and developmental issues. According to Santos et al. (2020), dramatic therapeutic play session is used to articulate the child’s psychological faculties and help them better manage imaginary situations. Through play therapies, children with heart disorders can find it easy to face their condition and improve it in a meaningful way. Essentially, the integration of play in the treatment of children in pediatric nursing acts as a way of helping the children retrieve previous symbols in their memory and establish connections with what they are observing, thereby helping them internally reorganize their feelings. In most cases, speech acts as a meditating aspect in children, which helps them address a problem and reach their goal through interactions with other children. Besides, during their interactions with others, children are bound to develop their psychological functions, especially the aspects of thought and language, by redefining their dynamic process of internalization.
Play therapy is also associated with benefits such as the reduction of anxiety in the hospitalization process, reduced pain among the children after undergoing surgical processes, and improved attitudes and behavior of the children towards diseases and procedures. The integration of play therapy in pediatric nursing centers not only helps the children in their recovery processes but also is essential in the alteration of their attitudes and perceptions towards the treatment procedures in the hospital, making them more compliant with the medical procedures (Santos et al., 2020). Play therapy among children is essential in complementing medical interventions in the treatment process by promoting the child’s emotional well-being and reducing their levels of anxiety, thereby improving overall well-being. Pediatric nurses can successfully use play therapy to reduce anxiety and fears that they have about medical procedures, thereby assuring efficiency in the delivery of services to the children. For instance, in liver transplantation, which is a standard treatment for acute liver failure, the children may be anxious about the entire procedure, and the use of play can help them conquer their fears and cooperate in the procedure (Zengin et al., 2021).
Therefore, the integration of play therapy in pediatric nursing is beneficial in offering the children support in facing medical challenges, helping the development of their psychological faculties, and reducing hospital anxiety and pain, thereby streaming the treatment process. Through this, the integration of play therapy promises efficient delivery of services to the children and helps them enhance their overall well-being, hence why it should be integrated into pediatric nursing. Although beneficial, its implementation can be challenging as it relies on resources and time. Limited resources and time constraints, as well as specialized training for the nurses, can significantly challenge the integration of play therapy in pediatric nursing. Before implementation, it is important for the facility to ensure that the nurses and other hospital staff have the necessary training to integrate play therapy into nursing practice fully as an assurance of its effectiveness in the entire hospital process.
References
Godino-Iáñez, M. J., Martos-Cabrera, M. B., Suleiman-Martos, N., Gómez-Urquiza, J. L., Vargas-Román, K., Membrive-Jiménez, M. J., & Albendín-García, L. (2020, July). Play therapy as an intervention in hospitalized children: a systematic review. In Healthcare (Vol. 8, No. 3, p. 239). Mdpi.
Santos, V. L. A. D., Almeida, F. D. A., Ceribelli, C., & Ribeiro, C. A. (2020). Understanding the dramatic therapeutic play session: a contribution to pediatric nursing. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 73.
Zengin, M., Yayan, E. H., & Düken, M. E. (2021). The effects of a therapeutic play/play therapy program on the fear and anxiety levels of hospitalized children after liver transplantation. Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing, 36(1), 81-85.
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