– Friedrich Froebel
Play Therapy combines aspects of mental health therapy into a medium that is easily understood and embraced by children aged 3-12. Children are able to express so much more of their inner worlds by play than they are simply sitting still on a couch and talking to a person they hardly know or trust. By playing with your child, the therapist is able to build this trust. Play Therapy allows your child to explore, at his or her own pace, issues that are affecting their life in some way, whether conscious or unconscious. Through Play Therapy, your child will learn how to express feelings, modify behavior, develop important problem-solving skills, and better communicate and interact with others.
During Play Therapy, your child and I will form an alliance to meet on a weekly basis to have fun, meaningful expression, and to gently face the issues that are affecting him or her at present. In addition to the stress relieving qualities of play and social bonding, your child will also have the opportunity to communicate complex themes and ideas through play that they may not be able to verbally at their current level of cognitive development. As a Play Therapist, I am keenly aware of picking up these complexities and will help your child explore these concepts at their own pace. I will also provide you, the guardian(s), with insight into these findings and will collaborate with you to explore the implications of said insights.
Why does Play Therapy work?
Second, a Play Therapist creates an environment where the child is in almost complete control (so long as everyone within the Play Therapy session stays safe). The child has free reign to play however they want, with whatever they want, even making messes they aren’t obligated to clean up later. Third, the child learns about self-regulation of emotions and behaviors. This is accomplished by learning about boundaries within Play Therapy, such as a consistent time at which each session ends until the following week. Finally, Play Therapy is designed to instill the child with confidence in oneself, and to empower their sense of self-motivation.
A Play Therapist provides a positive environment where the child is in full control of their choices and actions, and are never “wrong,” “incorrect,” or “bad.” A child may make choices that lead to consequences (e.g. “You chose to throw the toy against the wall, therefore you have chosen to have that toy put away for the rest of the session), but never is the child made to feel guilty or inferior because of their choices.
Who is Play Therapy for?
Play Therapy can be very effective in children who have had abusive or traumatic experiences, have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, or are going through various behavioral challenges. Play Therapy has been proven to significantly help with:
- Physically aggressive toward siblings, peers, or adults
- Relationship difficulties with peers and siblings
- Extremely shy, fearful, or socially withdrawn
- Selectively mute
- Refusal to eat or sleep
- Target for repeated bullying
- Bullies others
- Self control and impulsivity
- Difficulties adjusting to a big life change (e.g. relocation or divorce)
- Refusal to attend school
- Recurrent nightmares, bedwetting and other sleeping problems
- Anxiety and Depression
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Attention deficit disorders
- Disruptive behavior disorders (e.g. Oppositional Defiant Disorder)
- Experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse; physical and emotional neglect
- Experienced a single or multiple traumas
- Witnessed domestic abuse or violence
- Have parents with physical and/or mental illnesses
- Have parents with physical and/or mental disabilities
- Have had bereavements and/or other significant losses
