Play Therapy - April 13 2026

 

Play Therapy

April 13 2026

Is there play therapy for grown-ups?

I’m tired of talk.

The pills bung me up.

And introspection is like a tub of tepid bath water

with grey scum on top,

spiralling down the same narrow drain

but never emptying out.

How about blocks

a waterslide

musical chairs?

Or, for adults, board games and playing cards

with low stake bets?

Potato sack races

with menacing strangers,

hide and seek with therapists,

British bulldog with your ex?

Could that be it, I’ve forgotten how to play?

When I could just as well

make paper airplanes with the mortgage,

arm wrestle the taxman

best two out of three,

or visit my parents’ graves

and do calisthenics on the grass,

instead of rehashing the past

and casting blame.

Simple play

like every kid just naturally does.

No winners or losers,

just a field day

when school’s out

and all that counts is fun.

I was idly flipping pages, and “play therapy” caught my eye. No context, just the words. My immediate thought: why just for kids? So I couldn’t help but start noodling around with the idea.

I’m of a generation that doesn’t go to therapists, or for that matter, easily open up. But I introspect constantly, and even worse, tend toward dark rumination.

But what if psychology isn’t the answer? Maybe the problem isn’t a failure to go deep, it’s living too much in your head:  too self-aware and self-absorbed; too much navel gazing. What’s wrong with a little distraction and denial, with the cleansing power of exercise and friendly competition?