Children quite naturally express themselves through play. In play therapy, they use carefully selected toys within the therapist’s playroom to safely and symbolically express the things they have difficulty saying with words – their fears, worries, confusion, and wishes – in order to feel better. Insight and language aren’t required in play therapy. As a treatment approach it is highly beneficial for young children (ages three and beyond). Treatment requires the presence of a therapist formally trained in play therapy that understands and can interpret the symbolic elements of play.
Play therapy helps children to:
- Heal from stressful or traumatic experiences
- Communicate problems and concerns to others
- Play out issues pertaining to the future
- Deal with separation, divorce or other family changes
- Develop more secure relationships
- Bridge delays in social-emotional functioning
- Cope with chronic illness
- Express grief
Through play therapy the child learns healthier ways of interacting with others and of coping with difficult situations. Problematic behaviors give rise to more adaptive ones. Children leave the play therapy experience better able to devote their energies to maintaining self-control, coping with life changes, and demonstrate increased levels of self-confidence and self-esteem.
Any child with a problem that needs intervention or modification (behavioral, psychological, interpersonal, and medical) would make a good candidate for play therapy.
The type of play therapy that I do includes child-centered play therapy, sand tray therapy, and filial therapy.
In traditional Child-Centered Play Therapy, the trained play therapist meets with parents or caregivers first and then works on his/her own with the child for a number of weeks or months. The child’s play sessions are private and the child forms an attachment relationship with the play therapist. The play therapist intervenes through talk and play to address behavioral/emotional concerns during the sessions. During the course of treatment, I meet with parents regularly to give them feedback and discuss the child’s progress.
Sand Tray Therapy is a wonderful treatment modality for children, because it takes place in the child’s own natural language of symbols and opens the way for self-expression of feelings and conflicts that were inaccessible by talk alone. By incorporating a familiar medium, sand, the child instantly achieves a sense of comfort and security. Children are free to select from miniature human figures, fantasy and folklore figures, animals, buildings, vehicles, objects from nature, and other toys to create something in the sand that is representative of the child’s world. Both the child and the therapist come to better understand the emotional struggles so that they can be resolved.
Filial therapy is a closely related form of child-centered play therapy that that utilizes the parent-child (or primary caregiver) relationship to facilitate healing. The parent, who is present in child therapy sessions, has been coached by the play therapist to use new techniques in dealing with their child. Filial therapy helps parents develop a more consistent parenting style and self-confidence as parents, as well as ways to deal with frustrations in the family and with daily life.
Because filial play therapy is a developmentally attuned way of communicating and understanding one’s child, it can be used with nearly all child problems. It has also had great success in helping parents and children to form closer, happier, and more trusting relationships. Studies have shown that play therapy can have better results when parents are involved in the process.
