What can play therapy help with?
Play therapy can help children who are experiencing distress of any kind—who are having social, emotional, or behavioral difficulties at home and/or at school, who have experienced a disruptive or disturbing event, or who are sad, anxious, or angry—work out their problems. Play therapy can help children who are experiencing
attachment problems and can help resolve difficult child-parent relationships. Play therapy also helps children understand their own feelings, find words for them, and find constructive ways of expressing difficult feelings.
How do therapists use play therapy?
Therapists use play to understand what is going on in the mind of children and to help solve children’s problems through play. Play is children’s natural language, and specially-trained therapists harness it when children are too young, unable, or unwilling to directly express their concerns or troubles in language. The objects children choose to play with and the ways they use them can provide a window into children’s social, emotional, or behavioral difficulties.Who is a qualified play therapist?
The Association for Play Therapy trains and accredits Registered Play Therapists, who are drawn from the ranks of licensed mental health professionals, school counsellors, and school psychologists with a master’s or doctoral degree. Special training in childhood problems and direct clinical supervision are prerequisites for accreditation.How do I recognize a good play therapist?
A good play therapist has special training in the
development of children and has accreditation as a play therapist, understanding how play can be used as a means of communication about children’s inner concerns. In addition to training, a good play therapist has considerable experience dealing with a wide range of problems, including those your child may be experiencing, and can offer children a range of play options. A good play therapist is able to communicate clearly with adults as well as with children and is willing to describe a typical course of therapy and offer a plan of treatment.