People think play therapy is sitting in a room and watching a child play and accomplishing nothing more than 50 minutes of babysitting. Nothing could be further from the truth. Play therapy is an organized, theoretical approach to assist children with the struggles of life. In a child’s world, play is language and toys are words. Play brings safety, laughter, smiles, and transparency. It opens the door to vulnerability. Although children and many adolescents are not developmentally able to articulate, understand, or express their complex emotions and feelings verbally, they can express feelings through play. Research supports the effectiveness of play therapy for children who are experiencing life stressors and having difficulty regulating emotions, social anxiety, peer pressure, etc. Benefits of play therapy include:
- An Increase in Self-Awareness
Kids learn what their feelings are and how to express them appropriately. They learn how to self-regulate their emotions which increases self-worth.
- A Reduction in Anxiety and Depression
Education is empowerment. Helping a child identify and understand his feelings, why he is feeling them, and to respond to those feelings empowers them to take ownership of emotions and allows for self-regulation. This reduces consequences and chaos and can often reduce anxiety and depression.
- An Increase is Creative Stimulation
Teaches kids there is more to them than negative behavior- It increases self-esteem which
empowers a child to begin to see themselves as unique and special.. Furthermore, it allows for them to go beyond surface emotions and learn a deeper understanding of themselves, their feelings, and their situation
- An Improvement in Relational Bonding
As kids begin to feel empowered and more secure in their own skin, they start to see the world as larger then themselves. They learn different perspectives and relationships become stronger. Furthermore, if parents will come alongside their children and implement calm and effective parenting strategies, relationships may blossom.
- An Introduction to Life Skills
One of the largest problems we are facing in today’s society is the inability to self-regulate emotions and own responsibility for personal actions. Play therapy introduces life skills. By understanding feelings and learning to express them appropriately, children learn to consider others’ perspectives and how to communicate respectfully.
“In play, most of the time we are able to try out things without threatening our physical or emotional well-being. We are safe precisely because we are just playing.” (Brown & Vaughan)
~Debra Martin
