What Are The Benefits of Play Therapy?

As a child therapist, I’m often asked by parents what play therapy even is and what the benefits are. Just like when restaurants offer a children’s menu and an adult’s menu, what children need from therapy will look different from what adults need. As adults, we are used to talk therapy where maybe we come in, sit down, talk about what’s going on, and leave with ideas and tools. But play therapy can be very different from that. Why? Because play is the language of children.

Benefits to Play Therapy

There are several benefits to play therapy. Here are just a few:

1 – Play therapy provides a safe place for children to play out their internal experiences. Just like adults use talk therapy and words to describe what they’re going through, kids use toys to show the therapist how they feel.

2 - Play therapy can help children learn skills to regulate big emotions. As we are in a play session, when a therapist sees a child start to get anxious or overwhelmed, or angry, the therapist can help the child co-regulate, and then model and teach skills for the child to continue to use.

3 – Play therapy provides a space for children to learn how to identify what they are feeling. Using the toys provided in a play therapy room, children can express inner thoughts and feelings which will help them do so outside the playroom.

4 – Play therapy often involves the parents/guardians. Parent-child sessions allow the therapist to support in strengthening the attachment bonds between parent and child, which are so important for children’s mental health and the healing process.

What to Expect After Play Therapy

The process of starting your child in therapy can be difficult; it requires parents/guardians to make the effort to take their children to therapy, engage in the process themselves, and hold space for the child to explore what’s happening for them. Sometimes we see a regression in children’s behaviors as they start therapy because they are starting to feel, address, and work through what they are experiencing. But this is all part of the process.

Play therapy, just like other types of therapy, is not a quick fix to be done in a few weeks. It’s a process of allowing the child to explore, share, and experience their world in a safe environment with the therapist. As a child therapist, I’ve enjoyed seeing the progress of my clients and get excited every time they walk through the door.

If you are interested in starting your child in play therapy, reach out to our amazing team by phone at 801.944.4555 or email us at info@wasatchfamilytherapy.com to schedule!