What is Play Therapy?
Play Therapy is designed for children ages 3 to 11 to assist them in expressing their feelings and emotions through the act of playing. Play is a natural way for children to communicate and verbalize their experiences.
In play therapy a child's toys act as their words and their play as their language. Play therapy provides children with the ability to express their inner thoughts and feelings, even if they do not have the verbal ability to do so.
Benefits of Play therapy include:
- Improved self-esteem
- Self awareness, as well as developing self-control
- Improved social skills
- Empathy, better able to understand the feelings of others
- Decrease anxiety, as it relates to divorce, death, or any other traumas
A variety of toys are found in the play room including:
- Puppets
- Dolls
- Kitchen set
- Sandtray
- Miniatures
- Doctor's Kit
- Art Materials
FAQ
What will happen at the first session?
What will happen at the first session?
- I prefer to meet with the parents only at the first session, to complete the initial assessment and necessary paperwork. This provides the parents to opportunity to openly speak about what is occurring in the home without feeling like they are shaming or embarrassing their child.
- Depending on the child and their age, the sessions can range from 30-60 minutes long.
- Initially, if the child has apprehensions about attending their sessions alone, I am fine with the parents being present for the first few sessions. Generally, after the first or second session the child is fine attend the session alone.
