Play therapy is a form of psychotherapy primarily for children (but oftentimes for people of all ages as well) working through emotional and mental health issues. Simply put, child play therapy is a way of being with the child that honors their unique developmental level and looks for ways of helping in the“ language” of the child – play. Licensed mental health professionals therapeutically use play to helptheir clients, most often children ages three to 12 years, to better express themselves and resolve their problems. Play therapy works best when a safe relationship is created between the therapist and client, one in which the latter may freely and naturally express both what pleases and bothers them.
Many different techniques can be applied during play therapy. The technique used during a therapy session largely depends on your child’s needs and what play mediums they feel most comfortable using.
A typical play therapy session usually lasts between 50 to 55 minutes. During a play therapy session, the therapist will create a comfortable and safe environment for the child to play. The therapist will then observe the child’s interactions with the toys that are provided.
As the child grows more comfortable in the therapist’s playroom, more specific play activities that targetthe issues the child is dealing with will be introduced. Some of the most common techniques used byplay therapists across the world include:
Play therapy is particularly beneficial for children who struggle with communicating and expressing themselves in a positive and healthy manner. Children who have been abused or experienced extremely traumatic or stressful events might benefit from play therapy to regain a sense of normalcy in their lives. Children with certain mental health disorders which hamper their emotional and social expressions typically benefit greatly from play therapy as well.
These could include children with behavioral disorders or learning disabilities. There has been some research into the effectiveness of play therapy on children with the following conditions:
Play therapy allows trained mental health practitioners who specialize in play therapy, to assess and understand children's play. Further, play therapy is utilized to help children cope with difficult emotion sand find solutions to problems By confronting problems in the clinical play therapy setting, children find healthier solutions. Play therapy allows children to change the way they think about, feel toward, and resolve their concerns Even the most troubling problems can be confronted in play therapy and lasting resolutions can be discovered, rehearsed, mastered and adapted into lifelong strategies.
Many people are dismissive of play therapy and its effectiveness. Concerned parents often find it hard to understand what benefits their children gain from “just playing.” However, the fact is that with or without the guidance of a therapist, children like to communicate through play, whether we may have noticed it or not.
A child playing violently with toys might be dismissed as aggressive when in reality, he might be mirroring a violent domestic situation he has been witnessing.
These could include children with behavioral disorders or learning disabilities. There has been some research into the effectiveness of play therapy on children with the following conditions:
Here are some of the benefits of play therapy:
Our Play Therapy in San Antonio, TX is helping children, and families overcome traumatic experiences through trauma focused counseling services. Call our experienced therapists today at 210-418-2546. We can help.
Childhood trauma occurs when a child (0-18 years of age) experiences an actual or threatened negative event, series of events, or set of circumstances that cause emotional pain and overwhelm the child’s ability to cope. This type of event(s) may also happen to someone a child knows, causing the child to be impacted as a result of seeing or hearing about the other person being hurt or injured (secondary trauma).
When these types of experiences happen, children become very overwhelmed, upset, and/or feel helpless. Traumatic experiences dramatically impact the child’s life and changes the way they perceive the world. A traumatic event can be life-threatening or can deeply affect his sense of safety. These types of experiences can happen to anyone at any time and at any age; however, not all overwhelming or life-threatening experiences have a negative impact nor are considered traumatic. Generally, children’s reactions to trauma differ based on the nature of the trauma; the child’s individual, family, and neighborhood characteristics; and the overall balance of risk and protective factors in their lives. It also depends on their age and developmental stage. A life experience that is traumatic for one child might not be traumatic for another.
In an ideal world, there would be no children experiencing trauma since potentially traumatic experiences would be prevented. Unfortunately, children and adolescents will experience things that they are not emotionally or psychologically equipped to handle. These experiences can disrupt their natural emotional and cognitive development if left untreated.