Benefits Of Play Therapy For Kids
There are many therapy techniques available for adults. However, many individuals may not know that families with kids can choose between various therapeutic options as well. One popular method is called play therapy. Play is many children’s natural medium and can be one of the natural languages of kids. Play therapy techniques allow your child the ability to play while revealing their thoughts, feelings, and emotions that they may struggle to express verbally.
What is play therapy for kids?
Play therapy is a form of therapy designed to help kids express their emotions in ways other therapies don’t often utilize, such as toys or art. The Association for Play Therapy defines play therapy as “the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development.” Child-centered play therapy often helps kids between the ages of 3 and 10 who have experienced trauma or live with a mental health condition in their everyday lives.
How can play therapists help kids?
Child-centered play therapy from school counselors or a licensed mental health professional can allow children to feel and express complex emotions and thoughts using nonverbal and universal means of expression. Child development psychologist Jean Piaget observed that young children were not often capable of expressing complex motives, feelings, and thoughts, as their brains were still developing the capability of abstract thought.
17 mental health benefits of play therapy for kids
However, kids at play may express these symbolic and complex feelings and thoughts nonverbally. For kids, playing can be a creative outlet that merges imagination and reality in a way that a therapist can observe without intervening in freedom of expression. If you are thinking about play therapy for your child, below are 17 play therapy benefits to consider.
1. Play therapy for kids can create a safe space
Kids might not feel they can safely talk about their thoughts and feelings with families. Play therapy can give them a safe place to have fun and talk to a compassionate therapeutic professional. Play therapy can also take away any pressure to use words to discuss emotional topics. Letting kids use play may allow them to express themselves subtly. In some cases, the child might not know what their nonverbal actions communicate to the therapist. Still, a trained therapist may interpret them to help the child with behavioral or emotional issues.
Because your child may express themselves and feel heard, they could also build their self-esteem and learn to express themselves through therapeutic play work. Additionally, play therapy can help kids build coping skills as they deal with challenging life events such as natural disasters, domestic violence, and traumatic incidents. By participating in play activities, kids can learn healthy ways to interact and cope with difficult emotions and experiences. Occupational therapists, school psychologists, and social workers often use play therapy to help kids improve their mental health and well-being.
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As your child plays, they may improve their problem-solving skills independently. They set up their own stories with their toys and games and might work toward resolving minor or significant problems through roleplay.
A play therapist could also present them with a problem in play therapy, where they will be tasked with figuring out the resolution independently. For example, the therapist could ask the child to show them how one toy would react if the other ate his food without asking. The child's response through role-playing could indicate at-home behaviors or patterns.
Working through play therapy means your child could learn how to deal with challenging thoughts or emotions. They can gain coping strategies in play therapy that might benefit them as teens or adults. In play therapy sessions, kids can learn how to interact with friends and other family members in healthy ways and develop positive behaviors. While working with licensed mental health professionals, they can also gain new insights into their thoughts and emotions and understand how a difficult situation makes sense to them. Play therapy can be a safe and effective way for kids to deal with family issues, medical procedures, and other stressful life events.
The primary foundation of play therapy is helping a child cope with emotional distress and challenging events. Through the process of attending sessions, they may learn more about themselves and the situation they are in. Kids might feel more comfortable displacing their emotions onto a toy or roleplay instead of facing them head-on, as early-life adverse experiences can be challenging for a young mind to understand.
Making decisions can be part of growing up and may be included in play therapy. Your child may experience choices through the course of their free play therapy, or their play therapist may present them with choices to help them understand what it takes to decide while weighing out choices.
Through making decisions in different types of play therapy, your child may learn how to accept responsibility for the choices or behaviors they have engaged in. They might also learn about not taking the blame for actions they are not responsible for. Play therapy can show kids responsibility. Additionally, at the end of the session, the child might help the therapist clean up the toys to learn organizational skills.
Learning to talk to people and interact with older kids and peers can be challenging but necessary for kids of all ages. Play therapy and playacting can teach them more about interacting with others positively and healthily. The therapist takes a hands-on approach and guides the child through play activities, helping them understand and practice appropriate social behaviors while reducing aggressive behaviors.
9. Make friends with other children
Through the development of social skills, your child may be able to learn more about how to make friends and what it takes to maintain those friendships. Play therapists can support kids experiencing social anxiety or shyness. Additionally, if your child partakes in group sessions, they may learn more by socializing and playing with other kids experiencing similar symptoms or experiences.
10. Learn to understand the world
Kids often learn how to understand the world around them through play. They reenact what they see or experience to help them understand what it means for their life. By playing in a structured environment, they can understand their environment and experiences in safety with a professional who provides insight and compassion.
11. Discover innate healing
Kids may learn more about caring for themselves to promote healing. Self-care can be essential for humans of any age, so kids may learn it through play. They can self-soothe by controlling their environment and how they play. Relaxing types of play therapy could include drawing, cuddling a stuffed animal, or participating in sand tray therapy. In palliative care, play therapy can be especially helpful for kids facing serious or life-threatening illnesses.
12. Build confidence from within
As your child understands more about themselves and their place in the world, play therapy could make them feel more confident and comfortable expressing themselves. Learning how to socialize could also build confidence around others. Through play therapy, they may learn about their capabilities.
13. Play therapy for kids can increase focus
Directing kids toward play therapy activities in sessions can help them build their focus and learn how to pay attention to specific situations. Play therapy may help them focus in school, relationships, or the workplace down the line.
14. Play therapists encourage imagination and creativity
Play can help kids express themselves through imagination. Play therapy encourages exploring various situations and worlds to create a new and exciting approach to emotional learning. Play therapy may also increase their cognitive ability and memory capacity.
15. Learn to process emotions and mental health concerns
When kids play, it can help them process their thoughts and emotions. In play therapy sessions, when your child interacts with tools like an emotion wheel, it shows them what certain facial expressions look like. The play therapist might act out certain emotional behaviors using toys and ask the child to repeat them when they point at a particular emotion on the wheel.
16. Decrease negative behaviors
Many kids express themselves in undesirable ways if they cannot express their thoughts or feelings. In play sessions, kids can use any of the toys and space available and may have room to let their imagination run free. At home, they might not be able to use every item in the room, as it could be a breakable vase or a heavy object. Therapist offices are often dedicated to safe, child-friendly furniture and toys. Kids can let out their energy in play therapy sessions and go home feeling refreshed.
17. A play therapist can guide a child and their family to build connections
Part of play therapy may include interactions between the parent and child. During the session, you may help your child formulate ideas and learn from the therapist as they teach you about play therapy concepts.
Can play therapy for kids help my child?
You're not alone if you are concerned that your child might have a mental health condition. According to the CDC, approximately 20 million children ages three to 17 have been diagnosed with mental health conditions like ADHD, anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As kids often express emotions indirectly, play therapy can benefit those experiencing distressing symptoms or confusing thoughts and feelings.
How kids communicate with a play therapist
Talking to a therapist can be uncomfortable or frightening for a child who does not know what the adult in the room is expecting or asking for. They can use their imaginations and interact with toys to communicate by playing. This may allow them to express themselves and discover strategies to grow closer to their family.
Play therapy support
Although therapy for kids can be highly effective, some parents may also benefit from therapy while their child is partaking in therapy. Talking to a therapist about your struggles with your child's behaviors, emotions, or symptoms may offer relief. Although many parents may feel too busy to attend in-person therapy, you can also consider online therapy.
Online therapy for parents
Online therapy has been proven as effective as in-person therapy and can be done from home while you care for your kids. Additionally, you can choose the methods most comfortable for attending therapy and gain journaling and webinar features. Online platforms like BetterHelp offer over 30,000 therapists to choose from, including those specializing in parenting concerns. Additionally, if you have a teen child aged 13 to 19, they can attend online therapy through a platform like TeenCounseling, which offers many of the same benefits.
Takeaway
How does play therapy help a child?
Play therapy can be a valuable tool for supporting a child’s emotional expression and development, with potential benefits including building self-esteem, gaining problem-solving skills, learning coping mechanisms, improving social relationships, and more.
What is the best age for play therapy?
Research suggests that play therapy may be best for preschool and school-age children, typically between the ages of 3 and 10.
What is an example of play therapy?
One example of play-based therapy could be using building blocks, action figures, or other toys to help a child express themselves and work through their emotions.
How do I get a play therapist for my child?
You can find play therapy by searching online for qualified play therapists, asking your doctor for therapy recommendations, finding therapists through your insurance, and asking other parents for recommendations. Some parents may also find it useful to look into filial therapy, which involves training parents how to effectively play with their children.
Why is play therapy useful for kids?
Play therapy is primarily intended for kids because it taps into a child’s natural propensity for play, creativity, and imagination, and uses a child’s play to enable them to express emotions that can be difficult to verbalize at a young age. Based on insights and research from child psychology experts, play therapy uses imaginative play and creative expression to explore a child’s mind and inner world.
Is play therapy good for autism?
Yes, play therapy can be beneficial for kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A 2022 study conducted a systematic and meta-analytic review of play-based interventions for kids with ASD, and it found that these interventions had a beneficial effect on positive mental health, though further professional psychology research is needed to support effective treatment outcomes.
What are the disadvantages of play therapy?
Some of the potential disadvantages of play therapy include that it can be time-consuming, it may be difficult to find a highly qualified play therapist that your child connects with, and play therapy may not work well for all kids and all concerns.
What age is too late for therapy?
No age is “too late” for therapy—therapy can support individuals at any age, but different approaches may be better suited for different people at different stages. For instance, while play therapy is primarily designed for children, other therapy approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can work for a much wider age range.
Are play therapists good for childhood trauma and mental health?
Play therapy is commonly used for kids who have experienced traumatic events. Play therapy can help kids to work through trauma, address behavioral difficulties, cope with psychological issues, navigate difficult family dynamics, and learn problem-solving skills to support them in everyday life.
What are the techniques of child-centered play therapy?
Different approaches to play therapy work better for different kids, and the exact techniques used in sessions can depend on the particular needs of the child. Some possible play therapy techniques include the magic wand game, using dolls to role play, and enacting scenes through sand trays.
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