Guest Article

Rediscovering Joy: The Importance of Play for Our Older Clients

Kim Scott, LMFT

As summer unfolds, it’s the perfect time to talk about helping our older clients bring more play into their lives. The lyrics from the opera Porgy and Bess remind us, "Summertime and the livin’ is easy," making it an ideal moment to explore how play, or the lack thereof, affects our older clients. 

In our hard-working, high-pressure society, play often takes a backseat unless it is paired with the concept of working hard to earn the right to play hard. But what about relaxing play—non-competitive, languid, and lazy play that can enrich life during retirement? Is play only for children? Absolutely not!  Play is vital for all ages.

Frequently older clients come to therapy due to feelings of depression and anxiety, loss of loved ones and loss of activities that they used to enjoy, loneliness, isolation, and concerns about cognitive decline. Play can be a powerful antidote to such suffering. In this post, we will delve into the health benefits of play, the different types of play, and practical ways we can help our clients rediscover the joy of play.

Some of the benefits of play for our older clients (well, really for all of us) include:

• Improve Cognitive Functioning: Engaging in different types of play activates enhance cognitive functioning, delaying the onset of dementia and other cognitive impairments, and maintain brain health as we age. Activities like puzzles and learning stimulate the brain, while physical activities like golf, walking, or swimming also contribute. 

Researcher Jaak Panksepp found that play even stimulates nerve growth in parts of the cortex that are responsible for executive functions and in the amygdala, which manages our emotions.  Play helps us make new neural connections.

• Enhance Mood and Wellbeing: Play can improve one’s mood, reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, and release endorphins, leading to feelings of happiness and a sense of wellbeing.
• Creative Engagement: Creative play keeps the mind active and engaged, contributing to an overall better quality of life.  
• Reduced Boredom: Play provides psychological arousal, which decreases feelings of boredom.
• Increased Optimism: Play fosters feelings of optimism and positivity. 
• Improved Health and Immunity: New research suggests that play can enhance overall health and strengthen the immune system. 
• Inherent Fun: And, of course, play is inherently fun!

How do adults play?

In Stuart Brown, MD’s, book Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, he identifies 8 different play personalities in adulthood.  

• The Joker: Enjoys lighthearted play, often through jokes and humor.
• The Kinesthetic: Loves physical activity and movement.
• The Explorer: Thrives on discovering new places, ideas, and experiences, weather through travel, books, or classes.
• The Competitor: Finds joy in competitive games and challenges.
• The Director/Planner: Enjoys organizing events and activities.
• The Collector: Finds pleasure in gathering and organizing collections.
• The Creator: Loves making things, from art to inventions.
• The Storyteller: Enjoys creating, hearing, and sharing stories.

These categories expand our understanding of play.  For instance, being an Explorer does not just mean traveling; it can also mean learning and exploring through books and classes.  Reflecting on these categories can help our clients identify their play personality and find new ways to play within their current abilities. For instance, the older person with an Explore play personality may no longer be able to travel but may be able to fulfill their exploration need through learning, books, classes, virtual reality, or the travel channel. 

To help your clients add more play into their lives, Dr. Brown suggests that we start by taking a play history.  Have your client think back to their childhood and share the activities they enjoyed doing just for the fun of it. Simply talking about past joys can help rekindle those good feelings. Adding a guided visualization can make this experience even more vivid and emotionally engaging.

Next, introduce the different play personality types to your client and help them identify their primary play personality. From here, you can explore how they might recreate that joyful feeling in their current life.  What activities might work for them now?

Sometimes, clients have a hard time engaging in new play activities because they fear they won't be good at it or will look silly. You may need to help your client work through these fears, let go of the need for perfection, and give themselves permission to be a beginner.

Once your client has identified their play personality, help them make a list of small and large activities they can do daily to reintroduce play into their lives. For instance, if your client loves storytelling, a small step might be to share a short anecdote from the past in each session or start by writing micro stories or flash stories each day. A micro story can be as simple as a two-sentence response to a prompt, or they might start with journaling.

I knew an artist who began making collages when she no longer had the fine motor skills to draw as she once did. To truly flourish, play needs to become a natural part of our clients' daily lives.

My play personalities are Storyteller and Explorer. I love exploring through books, classes, visiting new local restaurants, and learning rather than through travel. Every day I read and I also belong to a book club, which allows me to share this kind of play with others. And although Explorer and Storyteller are my primary play personalities, it’s important to add in other types of play for interest, novelty, and health. I do this by walking and playing Wordle daily, swimming during the summer months, and playing board games with my husband and friends.

Plus, we can make our sessions fun. As the old saying goes, “laughter is the best medicine.”

To learn more about play, Stuart Brown’s book Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul is a great resource, or visit the National Institute for Play website.

Kim Scott, LMFT is a licensed marriage, family and child therapist. She has a private practice in Granada Hills where she works with couples and individuals, in-person and via Telehealth. Kim has been licensed for 30 years and has expertise in working with older adults and women issues. To learn more about Kim's practice and to read more of her articles visit her website: www.kimscottmft.com.