with Eleanor C. Irwin
In this video, a young child comes for his first diagnostic session-not in a playroom, but in a studio, with an unknown therapist AND two videographers trying to capture the nuances of his play. Said to be almost nonverbal, he is understandably anxious and inhibited, but he slowly, gradually, engages with the toys, and finds ways to express his troubling fantasies through his play.
The therapist narrates his play–both for herself and for him, hoping in this way to help him to gradually find coherence in his play. She “personifies” the play, speaking to the toys, as though to bring them to life. The child is thus encouraged to project life and meaning into the toy interview, hoping in this way to access the child’s hidden language of play. And while there are inevitable disruptions along the way, this inhibited, anxious child slowly, gradually, responds to the invitation to play, revealing his hidden world of worries.