Why Play Therapy?

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When you think of ‘therapy’, you might think in terms of a dialogue - one person talking and one person listening.  While this can work well for adults and some adolescents, it is generally not how children operate.

Toys, puppets, art, games, music, and imaginative play provide children a safe way to express thoughts and feelings, process issues, and master new skills.

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Examples of ways I have helped children through play therapy:

• A child with separation anxiety uses the schoolhouse toys to practice going to school.
• A child who has trouble getting in fights with peers uses puppets to practice social skills such as allowing for personal space, listening skills, and taking turns.
• Animal figurines practice going up and down elevator with a child who is fearful of going on the elevator.  After a couple of weeks, the child comfortably rides the elevator on her own. 
• Child uses toy doctor kit on stuffed animal in order to prepare for upcoming appointment
• Music, dancing, and yoga poses are used with a child with anxiety.
• Child draws pictures of their fears and eventually draws self overcoming fears
• An adoptive parent and child play a simple game of rolling a ball back and forth that helps foster secure attachment

For more information on play therapy, please visit the Association for Play Therapy website, and check out the videos below.

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