What is play therapy?

Play therapy is a form of treatment that helps children and families express their emotions, improve communication, and solve problems. Play therapy capitalizes on children’s natural ability to express feelings and resolve conflicts through play. Play therapists use various media, including storytelling, puppet play, drama, music, dance, sand play, painting and drawing, and board games. Play therapy is most appropriate for children ages 3-12 or with families with children that age.

What happens during play therapy?

Children and families sometimes explore the playroom freely, engaging in spontaneous play. At other points, they may involve themselves in specific activities, such as drawing family scenes, using puppets to act out events in the family, creating a set in a sand tray, telling stories, or playing specially designed therapeutic board games. Children and families also use the opportunity to talk about their feelings, relationships, and life difficulties.

How is play therapy for individual children and family play therapy different?

Individual child therapy may include family sessions, and family therapy may consist of sessions with individual children, but the main distinction between the two lies in the focus and purpose of treatment. Individual play therapy focuses on healing and strengthening individual children. Through play and the special therapeutic relationship, the therapist helps children accept their emotions, develop trust and confidence, and improve their behavior. The therapist usually meets separately with parents to give them insight into their child, update them on their progress toward treatment goals, and provide guidance and support. When children and families meet together to talk or play, sessions usually focus on helping parents understand and more effectively parent their child.

Family therapy focuses on the enrichment of family relationships and the healing of the family as a whole. Family therapists help family members to deepen their emotional bonds (especially through approaches such as filial play and Theraplay), communicate more effectively, and create more harmonious living environments. Towards these ends, therapists practice play therapy in a variety of formats. They might hold play sessions with siblings, engage with an individual parent and child, or play games with the entire family. They may also engage in individual play with children to illuminate their concerns to communicate them to other family members.

How does play therapy affect change?

Play is a natural medium for children and families to express feelings, solve problems, and build skills. Children’s play can uncover their internal conflicts, bring to light negative communication patterns in families, and help children and families discover new problem-solving techniques and strategies.

What types of problems does play therapy address?

Play therapy can lessen the effects of trauma and loss, reduce anxiety and depression, improve children’s behavior, and help children manage social and academic difficulties. Family play therapy can be particularly effective at strengthening family relationships.

Are there different play therapy approaches?

Yes. Therapists usually vary their approach depending on what may benefit children and families most. Play therapists can take a non-directive approach, limiting their interventions to reflecting on clients’ actions and verbalizations. They may also interpret the underlying feelings and conflicts that the play illuminates. At times therapists may actively participate in the space. They may also direct children or families to play specific games that assist them in resolving particular issues. Therapists may also combine the play with “talk time.”

How long does play therapy last?

Twelve sessions are the minimum number of sessions for significant and lasting improvement. Sometimes, children and families can make progress in a shorter time frame if they have already worked with the therapist previously.

How often do children and families attend play therapy sessions?

It is usually best when children and families attend play therapy at least once per week, at least for the first several sessions. More intense treatment can be helpful for complex problems. After clients make significant gains, they can sometimes continue to progress by attending sessions once every two weeks or less.

How effective is play therapy?

Play therapy is one of the most empirically validated forms of treatment for children and families. Some studies indicate that play therapy can exert positive effects for several years after the end of treatment.