Is your child struggling with big feelings, gets overwhelmed easily, and lashes out or completely shuts down when something bothers them? Maybe your kiddo has so much anxiety and worries about everything that could go wrong. You’ve probably tried all the things to help your little love and now you’re thinking about getting help. If you’ve wondered how your child would respond to play therapy, read on to learn about why my clients love play therapy so much!

Before we dive into the 3 reasons why kids love play therapy, I want to share a bit about my play therapy style.

My approach is grounded in Child Centered Play Therapy. This evidence-based approach allows for children to lead the play therapy sessions and the healing work! Virgina Axline founded non-directive play therapy, which paved the way for Child Centered Play Therapy (CCPT). She wrote about play therapy:

“A play experience is therapeutic because it provides a secure relationship between the child and the adult, so that the child has the freedom and room to state himself in his own terms, exactly as he is at the moment in his own way and in his own time.”

As a child plays in the playroom, I reflect their thoughts and feelings in a compassionate and non-judgmental way. When children hear their thoughts and feelings expressed, identified, and accepted, they are free to explore them and “deal” with them. This brings growth and healing!

Now that you know more about my play therapy approach, here’s why kids love it:

1. Children get to lead

Children have such little control over many aspects of their life. Obviously, this is for necessary reasons! Yet it can be so hard for children to constantly be directed by adults or older siblings. I love using the child centered approach in play therapy because children thrive when they get to direct their own play.

A guiding principle of CCPT is that children have within them the capacity for growth and healing. In a therapeutic environment with a safe, supportive, and empathic therapist, a child will process their inner world, life challenges, and big struggles. They will “play out” the struggles and hurts that need healing.

You may be wondering if a child centered play therapist is passively sitting there just watching a child play. That couldn’t be further from the truth! A CCPT therapist actively tracks the child’s play, reflects feelings, enters into the play when invited, and offers therapeutic input when a child is stuck. Furthermore, children do not feel safe without boundaries and limits. As a child centered play therapist, I set boundaries in the playroom to keep your child, myself, the toys, and the room safe (both physically and emotionally).

In child centered play therapy, children get the undivided attention of the play therapist while getting to direct their play. Having this control and the support of the therapist can be deeply empowering and therapeutic.

2. The playroom is a unique space, unlike most other space in their life

Piggy backing off the first point, children are so often in spaces that have rigid structure and timelines in which they do not have much control. Typical school environments require kids to follow the teacher’s directives all day long. Even fun extracurriculars like sports or music typically have clear structure and adult-directed tasks for kids to complete.

While kids probably have time to play at home with whatever they choose, home life still has chores and getting ready, and brushing teeth, and sitting down to eat with the family, and on and on! All of these things are important and necessary.

Play therapy provides a respite from the regular rhythm of daily life. In the playroom kids can get immersed in an activity of their choice for 45 whole minutes! They can choose to be silent! They can choose to talk about whatever they want! Children in play therapy get the undivided attention of an adult for 45 whole minutes!

Play therapy provides a unique space with optimal conditions for self-exploration, self-realization, learning new coping skills, and healing from hurtful life experiences. As I said before, children are naturally inclined towards growth and healing. When kids are dealing with tough stuff, they love that the play therapy space is set up to help them move towards growth and healing. Of course, they may not be able to name all this, but they feel it!

3. New toys!

No matter how many cool toys a child has at home, it is always exciting for kids to play with new-to-them toys. The toys in my playroom are carefully curated to provide children with a wide range of emotional expression. The first time a child enters the playroom, the toys are not just new and exciting, but they are also specifically selected for a child to explore their inner world and express thoughts, feelings, and experiences symbolically.

Another important factor is that the toys stay consistent every week; I leave the toys in the same place from week to week and rarely get new toys. I do this so children know what to expect and know where to find the toys. As Garry Landreth and Sue Bratton write,

“In play therapy toys are viewed as the child’s words and play as the child’s language.”

Taking away or moving toys around would be like moving or removing a child’s words. That would be quite unsettling! So children love the playroom because there are new, exciting toys and because, after the shine wears off, they can rely on those toys to be in the same spot each week. This consistency provides safety and security, an essential element needed for children to process difficulties and learn new skills for navigating life.

Interested in learning more about play therapy for your child? You can schedule a free phone consultation on my website, or email me at brightdaystherapy@gmail.com

Bright Days Ahead: Counseling and Play Therapy is located in Clayton, MO. Rachel Zahniser, LPC specializes in anxiety and trauma therapy for kids and teens who are big feelers and sensitive souls. I work with families throughout the St. Louis area including: Clayton, University City, Ladue, Town and Country, Webster Groves, Creve Couer, Kirkwood, Richmond Heights, and Brentwood.

References:

Axline, V. (1950). Entering the child’s world via play experiences. Progressive Education, 27, 68-75.

Landreth , Garry, and Sue Bratton. “Play Therapy.” ERIC Digest, 1999, https://doi.org/EDO-CG-99-1 .