Play Therapy
Play is a child’s natural way to communicate and connect with others.
Through play, our therapists can help your child to learn more helpful behaviors, understand their emotions, and become more emotionally intelligent. Through play, children also learn self-control, how to express their feelings, problem-solving skills, communication skills and adaptive ways to work through problem behaviors.
What will therapy with my child look like?
“In play therapy, toys are like the child’s words and play is the child’s language.”-Gary Landreth
How does therapy work?
Children communicate their emotions non-verbally through their behavior and body language. Your child’s therapist will pay specific attention to facial expression, posture, tone of voice, and choice of words to gain a deeper understanding of your child’s inner workings.
What if my child is not a big talker?
That is perfectly fine! We often believe we have to “talk it through” to get better but that is not true. We need to experience safety in connection to another person so that our body, brain, and nervous system can allow healing to happen. That safe person can be a therapist, but most importantly, therapy can help parents become the safe person their child needs to thrive.
How is play in therapy different than just playing?
Many of us see therapy as a place to build skills, admit mistakes and learn how to do better. For children, the first step is connection and safety. We heal through safe and healthy connections. Play is a form of connection and provides this sense of safety. When our body feels safe enough, it allows us to be vulnerable. This biological process is referred to as “felt safety” which is grounded in our brains and our nervous system. Feeling safe allows us to build trust and accept help.
Why does therapy work?
Children integrate their experiences through play and talking. Naturally, therapy with children looks a lot different than traditional talk therapy with adults. They may choose to process difficult experiences by speaking about them, or often they process these experiences through indirect play. Studies have shown that even a brief moment (seconds) of talking about a traumatic experience can help children heal.
In therapy with children, we utilize play, art, bibliotherapy, sand tray, board games, and creative interventions to help children integrate new ideas, increase healthy expression of self, learn about their emotions, and process difficult experiences. Parents often find that their child enjoys coming to sessions!
How will I know if therapy is working?
This question is the hardest to answer because we are often focusing on behaviors, instead of what that behavior is trying to communicate. It is normal to want to see the most change in the most problematic areas. However, there are different ways of thinking about what it means for your child to be “progressing.” Together, we can work to create healthy and realistic expectations, then reduce stressors, meet needs and teach skills to support areas of struggle.
