Children's
Play Therapy
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 room full 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 children'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. A child who
is trying to work through feelings about having a certain illness or learning
ddisability may only be in play therapy a few months.
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