Play Therapy
Is Your Child Showing Signs Of Stress, Sadness, Or Difficulty Coping?
Are you worried about your child’s emotional and social development? Do they become easily overwhelmed over everyday interactions or tend to withdraw from social situations? Because it may be difficult for them to express how they feel, are you left in the dark about what’s troubling them?
It can be difficult for a growing child to navigate all the challenges of early life. As their parent, there’s nothing quite as scary as watching your child struggle and not knowing how you can help. As much as you want what’s best for them, if your child is anxious, depressed, or needs help processing a traumatic experience, you may feel out of your depth.
The good news is that children can benefit from therapy as much as adults can. However, children must engage in developmentally appropriate therapy to ensure an effective and positive experience. Play therapy provides a confidential, safe, and nurturing space for any child who needs extra support. As described by the Association for Play Therapy (APT), ”Child play therapy is a way of being with the child that honors their unique developmental level and looks for ways of helping in the “language” of the child—play.” [2]
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What Play Therapy Sessions Look Like
At Rocky Mountain Counseling, we work collaboratively with parents to ensure we meet the needs of their children. Before embarking on play therapy, your therapist will find out what your concerns are and what symptoms your child struggles with. While play therapy sessions are typically conducted one-on-one between child and therapist, they will check in with you throughout treatment to keep you informed of your child’s progress.
Our play therapy room has an array of interactive toys, including art supplies, a sand tray, fidget toys, balls, a punching bag, and miniature play sets. While under the supervision of the psychotherapist, your child will be encouraged to play and explore with as few limits as possible.
Initially, the emphasis will be on building rapport and connection with your child, creating a comfortable space where they feel safe to express themselves. As the therapeutic relationship develops over time, the therapist will be able to broach more challenging conversations and help your child learn how to communicate more effectively through the act of play. The therapist may reflect on the session with your child and discuss strategies to help them face their difficulties more positively.
Child-centered play therapy can help:
Provide a safe space for your child to express their feelings and work through problems;
Encourage your child to be open to more adaptive and functional behavior and thought patterns that promote creativity;
Facilitate the processing and healing of trauma;
Develop your child’s coping, self-advocacy, decision-making, and relationship-building skills;
Introduce important concepts, such as morality, fairness, respect, and acceptance of self and others.
Why Play Therapy Is Recommended For Younger Kids
Without an activity to engage in that makes them comfortable, younger children often struggle to sit still in an office chair and open up about their experiences and feelings. What’s more, they might be unable to accurately verbalize how they feel, let alone think about situations or make sense of things the same way adults do. Whenever a child hesitates to express certain feelings to parents for fear of ‘disappointing’ them, they can be encouraged to reveal these feelings through play.
A trained play therapist can help your child explore concepts they have difficulty working through and better understand actions, scenarios, or situations they cannot process fully on their own. By guiding your child creatively through an environment that’s more familiar to them—a play room—their therapist can engage with them at their level, making the benefits of therapy accessible to your child.
Incorporating play into therapy has been around since the 1920s, utilizing both direct and indirect methods to address a child’s core challenges. In the 1940s, Carl Rogers continued with the research and development of person-centered—or Rogerian—therapy, which continues to shape and influence the play therapy models still used today. [3]
We Also Offer Experiential Therapy For Older Children
In addition to traditional play therapy, we have expanded our practice to include experiential therapy for older children. Similar to play therapy, providing a non-traditional environment to older kids—such as walking to the park to play basketball, sitting in the grass, playing cards, or throwing a frisbee—makes the therapeutic experience more accessible and effective. By building connections through movement, experiential therapy can help older children express their feelings, integrate coping skills, and find a comfortable way to work through their challenges.
Play Therapy Is A Pillar Of Our Practice
Since forming Rocky Mountain Counseling in 2012, our focus has been helping families build closer connections to one another so each member can thrive. In the short term, we build rapport with children and their families by providing a stable environment where everyone feels welcomed. In the long term, we are committed to empowering children in their mental health needs and supporting the parents and caregivers of these children as they grow and learn to adapt to their needs, goals, and values.
As a practice that primarily works with children, teenagers, parents, and caregivers, play therapy represents a vital piece of what we do. Because young children aren’t well-suited for the same therapeutic techniques used for adults, play therapy offers children an accessible way to navigate life’s rough patches. In our experience, using child-centered play is an effective way to ensure kids get the most out of therapy.
Find Out How Play Therapy Can Help Your Child
You can discover more about a child in an hour of play than a year of conversation. Consider play therapy to help your child reach their full potential. Call Rocky Mountain Counseling at 720-252-0345 or email us today to set up an appointment at our Denver practice. In your free 30-minute phone consultation, we can answer questions and set up an initial meeting to discuss the benefits of play therapy.
