What is Play Therapy?
As a psychotherapist, it is important I take the time to build a strong working relationship with my client. When my client is a child, one way of creating a safe space is by using play because conventional talk-therapy is often inappropriate for children. It can be difficult for children to put words to how they feel and how things have affected them. Play is a child’s natural language and the use of toys, art, sand, playdough etc. become a vehicle for them to successfully communicate..
It is important to recognise that a child’s behaviour is separate to the child themselves, and the behaviour is a symptom of something deeper that is going on for them. Through a therapeutic relationship with me, I work with children to support positive development and support for their potential to grow and heal, enabling them to gain a deeper sense of self.
Play therapy is a subtle way to break into a child’s world and discover what is really going on for them. Through this type of therapy, children are able to re-enact their real-life experiences, which can often be inaccessible to children on a verbal level.
Through play and a strong relationship with a qualified therapist, children can begin to make sense of their experiences and truly understand what is going on for them. Through this process, children gain an increased understanding of themselves, their world, and past and present experiences. Play therapy nourishes the development of new neural connections within the child’s brain, which enhances social, emotional, relational, problem-solving skills, and gaining psychological insight. Healing, self-discovery and growth in a child are all possible through effective play therapy.
