This SIG focuses on the psychology of play and the value of play as a means to help residents understand the child’s development of internal representations of the world, particularly primary object relations. Participants are introduced to the Children’s Play Therapy Instrument, developed by Pauline Kernberg, M.D. as a tool for focusing residents' observations of play. Finally, there is discussion on approaches to using board games, the use of displacement in fantasy play, and the enactment of passive to active role reversals in dramatic play with the therapist.