Play Therapy: A child’s medium for self expression

Therapeutic Play:

Play is to the child what talk is to the adult. It is a modality that allows the child to express feelings, explore relationship patterns, describe their experiences, disclose their wishes and work through their own self fulfillment. Play allows the child to communicate their needs, process their past experiences and connect to others.

How it works:

The use of items such as toys, the sand tray or games enables children to transfer their fears, fantasies and reactions to objects rather than people. This gives the child a safe way to explore challenging and scary situations. Play enables children to distance themselves from stressful events and experiences, and process these events without the need for words.

Who can benefit:

Play Therapy is an evidence based approach that can support children in many ways. Children that have social or emotional deficits are able to use this approach to learn how to communicate better and express their underlying feelings, problem solve and relate towards others in positive ways. It is an appropriate modality for children undergoing or witnessing stressful events, struggling with academic or social problems and or behavioral disorders. Play therapy can also be used for children that are experiencing anxiety, grief, trauma or anger. Additionally Play Therapy can benefit children as a medium for self expression for those that are experiencing attention deficits or who are on the Autism spectrum.

To learn more about how we support children through Play Therapy, click on the link below.