Play Therapy

What is Play Therapy?

Play therapy is a psycho-therapeutic approach used to help children ages 3-12 who may otherwise not be able to process their own emotions or articulate daily problems. While the therapy might look like a simple playtime, play therapy is much more than that.

A play therapist is a licensed mental health professional who uses a child’s playtime to observe and gain insights into a child’s problems. Once the problem is analyzed, a play therapist uses various play activities to help the child explore their emotions and deal with unresolved trauma. Through play, children learn new coping mechanisms and how to respond to inappropriate behaviors.

Why someone needs play therapy?

Although people of all ages can benefit from play therapy, it’s typically used for children between the ages of 3 and 12. Play therapy can be truly helpful in a variety of circumstances, such as:

• Facing medical procedures, chronic illness, or palliative care
• Developmental delay or learning disabilities
• Problem behaviors in school
• Aggressive or angry behavior
• Trauma from a family issue like divorce, separation, or death
• Natural disasters or traumatic events
• Domestic violence, abuse, or neglect,
• Eating or toileting disorders
• Patients with ASD and ADHD

Types of play therapy

Play therapy sessions generally last 30 minutes to one hour and are held once a week or so. The two types of play therapy include:

• Directive
  In this approach, the therapist will take the lead by specifying the toys or games that’ll be used in the session. The therapist usually directs the play with a specific goal in mind.
• Non-directive
  This process is less structured. The child can choose the toys and games. They are free to play on their own with little instructions or interruptions. The play therapist here normally observes closely and participates only when required.

Difference between traditional play and play therapy?

The common question that parents often ask is, ‘how can a child’s play be therapeutic?’

The concern is understandable. Your child is likely playing for hours a day. Then what special will a play therapist do? Again play with your kids?

Well, yes and no.

Play therapy takes place in a comfortable playroom, where a few rules and limits are imposed on the child to allow the therapist to observe the child’s choices, decisions, themes, and style of play.
Unlike the traditional play, play therapy is goal-oriented. It helps children to learn to express themselves in healthier ways, become more respectful and empathetic and discover new and more positive ways to solve problems.

Play therapy helps children with social or emotional deficits learn to communicate better, change their behavior, develop problem-solving skills, and positively relate to others. Also, it helps with your child’s academic and social problems, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders and those with ADHD or ASD.

How Play Therapy helps in cognitive development?

Cognitive development relates to how children think, explore, and figure things out. Play therapy is strategically designed to improve your child’s cognitive development by:

Encouraging Expression

Very often children don’t have the communication skills to express what they are truly feeling. Play therapy gives them an easy platform to express their thoughts and feelings through a simple activity like play. Play therapists are trained to understand, interpret, and respond to children’s play communications in a way that they feel safe to express and communicate without feeling burdened.

Regulate Behavior

Through play a child develops skills that allow them to understand and regulate their own behaviors. The child is given opportunities to test limits in a safe environment, increasing their awareness of the consequences of their actions.
For instance, if a child breaks a toy followed by developing the understanding that once broken it will never return.

Creative Independence

Do you dictate your child’s activities? Although it is necessary to teach them boundaries, safety and moral values, but it can reduce the child’s creative independence. Play therapy is a fun way to encourage the child to learn, think, and decide for themselves. The result is that the child is empowered with the ability to make choices and discover the positive and negative consequences of their decision.

Social Skills

Play therapy enables the therapist to build a trusting relationship with the child which allows them to test the various aspects of social interactions with the therapist without the fear of damaging the relationship. During play therapy, toys are specially selected to allow your child to explore different social roles, such as nurturing baby dolls or dressing up like a doctor. It also helps the child to understand the feeling of others and develop a compassionate way to reciprocate them.