Play therapy is a technique used in therapy for children. In play therapy, a therapist interacts with the child by interpreting play behavior and communication. Play therapy also uses a child’s play to help him or her manage the emotional and behavioral difficulties that interfere with normal and proper functioning.
What does play therapy try to achieve?
Another goal of play therapy is to improve communication and help establish better rapport between children and their parents. Play therapy may also be used to help children control their impulses, increase their self-esteem and self-confidence, reduce their anxiety, and help them adapt better to the people around them.
Play therapy tries to increase a child’s ability to relate to others and understand them better, thus helping the child to establish trust. The play therapist tries to understand the emotional issues that may be troubling a child, during each stage of his or her early development, as enacted through play interactions with various toys and other objects.
Through play, the therapist tries to teach children to better cope with anxiety and fear. Play therapy also may be used to treat attention deficit disorder or ADD, aggressive behavior, depression, oppositional behavior, and various other issues that may be stunting the emotional development of a child.
Additional Factors and Therapy Considerations
In play therapy, the therapist arranges for individual sessions with the child and may also arrange sessions that include both the parents and the child. The therapist tries to learn as much as possible about the child from the parents and in some cases, the therapist may request to talk to the other people in the child’s life such as grandparents and teachers. Treatment may include individual as well as family therapy sessions depending on the severity of the problems faced by the parents and the child.
There are a number of highly skilled, compassionate, and licensed therapists in Denver and nearby areas who specialize in the counseling and therapy of children ages 1-9 and children ages 10-12.