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Q. How do I know if my child needs play therapy.
A. Children who have been diagnosed with anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, specific phobias and communication disorders often benefit from some type of Play Therapy.
Q. How does play therapy work?
A. The therapist will provide a roomfull of toys, games and art materials and will generally allow your child to pick and choose what they want to play with. Children tend to gravitate towards certain types of toys depending on their emotional and intellectual needs. Since play is a child's natural form of communication, they will begin to express their thoughts and feelings symbolically through their play. A well-trained play therapist will be able to understand this form of communication, and will be able to slowly help the child by validating his/her feelings, and encouraging the child to use play to try out new ways of thinking, and behaving.
Q. How long does Play Therapy usually take to complete.
A. This will depend on the reason that your child is in therapy. Longstanding and serious problems take longer to treat. It is not unusual for a severely traumatized child to be in play therapy for over a year. While, a child who is trying to work through feelings about having a certain illness or learning disability, may only be in play therapy for a few months.
Q. Do you practice Play Therapy in isolation or as part of a broader treatment package.
A. I always involve parents or caretakers in the therapy, and never work with a child in isolation. It is not adviseable to focus strictly on seeing a child in play therapy, and never seeing the child's parents. The role of parents in helping a child to adapt is so great that not to involve them in the child's treatment would be unfair to the child.
Q. How does play therapy help a child with a phobia (a persistant irrational fear that interferes with a patients daily life)?
A. When you allow a phobic child to use play materials, and encourage them to play out anything they want, they will eventually play out scenes related to their fears. Children use play to learn to master situations that frighten them. By helping a child to symbolically play out events or situations that are frightening to them, the child will be able to practice dealing with the situation over and over again, until he or she finds their own symbolic solution. The therapist will also encourage the child and family to slowly approach the actual feared situation in real life, as the child;s anxiety becomes more manageable. Many studies show that children's anxiety level diminshes after successfully playing out their conflicts and fears in play therapy.
Play therapy, while not always effective in isolation, is a critical peice of the treatment for children with phobias, disturbed interpersonal relationships, or severe emotional trauma. It helps children to relax and communicate effectively using a language that they intuitively understand and enjoy.
