What does a play therapist do?
Play therapists encourage children, typically between ages 2 and 12, to express their thoughts and feelings through playing rather than by talking about what’s happening in their lives.
What is play therapy?
Play therapy allows children to express themselves freely without needing the vocabulary that adults have in typical talk therapy. It expands self-expression, self-knowledge, self-actualization, and self-efficacy. Play relieves feelings of stress and boredom, connects us to people in a positive way, stimulates creative thinking and exploration, regulates our emotions, and boosts our ego (Landreth, 2002). Play is the child’s language, and play relieves feelings of stress and boredom and, most importantly, helps us express ourselves.
Play therapy helps children:
- Develop acceptance of themselves
- Develop a grounded and secure sense of their abilities.
- Be responsible for their own choices
- Become more responsible for behaviors and develop more successful strategies.
- Develop new and creative solutions to problems.
- Express their feelings responsibly
- Learn to experience and express emotions.
- Cultivate empathy and respect for the thoughts and feelings of others.
- Learn new social skills and relational skills with family.
Policy regarding Child Therapy & Litigations:
When working with a child as the child’s therapist, I DO NOT and will NOT take on a second role, such as the court evaluator, parent therapist, mediator, or expert witness for either parent. If you are involved in divorce or custody litigation, my role as a therapist is not to make recommendations to the court concerning custody or parenting issues as I’m not a CFI (Child & Family Investigator) or PRE (Parental Responsibilities Evaluator).