What is Play Therapy?

In a nutshell, child play therapy is a way of helping, connecting, and communicating with a child though their natural “language,” which is play.

Through play therapy approaches, our staff use therapeutic play with clients (usually children ages three to 12 years) to better express themselves and resolve their problems. The Association for Play Therapy defines play therapy as "the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development."

Play Therapy is most effective when a safe relationship is created between the therapist and client, one in which the latter may freely and naturally express both what pleases and bothers them.

How Can Play Therapy Help?

Play therapy can be used to treat children experiencing social, emotional, and behavioral problems.

Some examples are anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity, autism spectrum, oppositional defiant and conduct disorders, anger management, crisis and trauma, grief and loss, divorce and family conflict, academic and social developmental, and physical and learning disabilities.

According to the Association for Play Therapy, research supports the use of play therapy with children experiencing a wide variety of issues like divorce, death, relocation, hospitalization, chronic illness, stressful experiences, physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, and natural disasters (Bratton, Ray, Rhine, & Jones, 2005; LeBlanc & Ritchie, 2001; Lin & Bratton, 2015; Ray, Armstrong, Balkin, & Jayne, 2015; Reddy, Files-Hall, & Schaefer, 2005).

Play therapy helps children:

• Demonstrate more responsibility for own behaviors and develop successful strategies.

• Develop new and creative solutions and problem solving skills.

• Develop more respect and acceptance of self and others.

• Learn to regulate, experience, and express emotion.

• Cultivate empathy and respect for thoughts, feelings, and well-being of others.

• Learn new social skills and relationship skills with family.

• Develop self-efficacy and more confidence about their abilities.

Play therapy is equally effective across age, gender, and presenting problem. Also, children are more likely to make progress if there is a parent or caregiver actively involved in the child's treatment.

What is Filial Play Therapy?

The filial play therapy approach provides caregivers (typically parents) with education in basic play therapy techniques so they can use these techniques with their own children in their own environment.

According the to American Psychological Association (2009), filial therapy is, “a psychoeducational family intervention in which the therapist trains and supervises parents as they hold special child-centered play sessions with their own children, thereby engaging parents as partners in the therapeutic process and empowering them to be the primary change agents for their own children.”

We believe that parents can learn the necessary skills to become therapeutic agents in their children’s lives and that parents have the greatest potential to positively influence children.

Our trained professionals provide supervision and guidance as families begin to navigate and resolve challenges together.

Still have questions? Give us a quick call at 309-713-1485.

The following Summit Family Therapy staff are trained in Play Therapy: