What is Play Therapy?
The Association for Play Therapy (APT) 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."
Who does Play Therapy help?
Even though Play Therapy can be beneficial for people of all ages, it seems to be especially helpful and effective for children aged 3 - 12 years of age. Typically, Play Therapy takes place in a safe and comfortable environment specifically for therapeutic play. In this space, rules and limits are loose, which allows the registered play therapist to observe the child’s freely expressed play style, decisions, and choices within play. These observations can then be used by the therapist to encourage healthy self-expression and problem solving skills, empathy and respect. Play therapy allows children to change the way they think about, feel toward, and resolve their concerns (Kaugars & Russ, 2001). Even the most troubling problems can be confronted in play therapy and lasting resolutions can be discovered, rehearsed, mastered and adapted into lifelong strategies (Russ, 2004). By confronting problems in a clinical Play Therapy setting, children find healthier solutions.
When is Play Therapy used?
Play Therapy can be helpful for children who have been through or are undergoing stressful events in their lives, including divorce, trauma, or a serious illness, to name a few examples. It can also help children experiencing social or school issues, anger, grief, depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders, as well as children who are diagnosed with attention deficit disorders or who are on the autism spectrum.