What is Play Therapy?
Play therapy is a therapeutic approach that uses the power of play to help children heal and develop to reach their potential. It allows children to communicate in a natural and comfortable way; through play!
How will playing help my child?
In play therapy, we consider toys as the child's words and play as the child's language. In play therapy, your child may play with toys, create art, or engage in dramatic play. Many children have trouble expressing their experiences using words. This is especially true for children coming from violent or abusive homes. Your therapist uses play therapy to help children express their thoughts and feelings in other ways.
What is the right age for play therapy?
Play therapy can be beneficial for both teens and adults, but normally we use it for children ages 3 through 12 years old.
How will play therapy benefit my child?
Play therapy may lead to many positive outcomes for your child, including:
- Learn to express feelings
- Develop problem-solving skills
- Promote cognitive development
- Improve the ability to relate to others
- Learn more adaptive coping skills
- Resolve inner conflicts or dysfunctional thinking
- Develop a positive relationship with the therapist that provides a corrective emotional experience necessary for healing
Research shows that play therapy
is effective with children
experiencing many different
social, emotional, behavioral,
and learning problems.
Some examples of problems
that can be helped by play therapy
include physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, divorce, death, and other life stressors.
(Reddy, Files-Hall & Schaefer, 2005)
