The ability and desire to play is like a child's second nature. Just as all humans – adults and children alike – need to eat, to a child, the need to play is as important as our need to consume food and drink. Even if we don't teach a child how to play, whether that’s with a toy or in another way, they will still figure it out on their own – or even design a more creative way. And a child’s ability to play is an incredibly important aspect of their development. 

Knowing the benefits of play, psychotherapists have even used play to create a therapeutic approach: play therapy. They suggest that play can not only offer a way for your child to learn, but that it can also be a powerful tool to unleash their creativity. 

Curious about play therapy? Read on to learn about how it works, how it heals, and how it can benefit your kid's – or even your – mental health. 

What Is Play Therapy? 

According to the Association of Play Therapy, play therapy is a practice in which play therapists use play to help their clients overcome mental health challenges, as well as achieve growth and development. And it can actually be used for both children and adults.

Play therapy isn’t the same as play. While your little human can play with the toys you bought anytime, play therapy is a systematic and therapeutic approach. In other words, it involves numerous practices and techniques in the process. And only mental health professionals who have met certain requirements to become certified play therapists – such as education levels, clinical placement, and supervision training programs – can offer play therapy. Regular play doesn’t need a play therapist, but play therapy does. 

What Is a Play Therapist? 

Play therapists are mental health professionals who have attended further training courses specializing in play therapy. For instance, a play therapist might also be a counselor, a social worker, or even a psychologist. 

Generally speaking, they don’t provide a solution for solving a child’s specific problems. But instead, they use play as a medium – with toys and materials – to encourage the child to express their creativity. The therapists are not teachers or investigators, nor are they babysitters or playmates. Rather than providing concrete advice, a play therapist’s role is to encourage the children to explore their environment, use their imagination, and unleash their creative potential. 

Instead of taking an active role in the process – as cognitive-behavioral therapists do – play therapists allow the child to be the leader. Simply put, the role of play therapists is crucial for a reason: they facilitate the children to express their creativity. 

How Does Play Therapy Work? 

Play therapists will create a safe environment for your kid to play in. This space is also known as the playroom – or play therapy room. The main goal of play therapy as a medium is to promote creativity, which can improve your child’s mental and emotional health. Typically, a play therapy session lasts for 30 to 45 minutes. The therapists can also deliver a session individually or as a group, depending on which format suits the child (or children) in question best. 

Two Facets of Play Therapy 

There are two types of play therapy, and the role of the therapist switches depending on the approach. Here are the two types of play therapy: 

• Non-Directive Play Therapy: This approach offers children more opportunities to lead the session. Children become the “leader” by having the chance to pick the toys and modalities for the session. The therapist becomes a “facilitator” and encourages the children to explore the playroom. 
• Directive Play Therapy: In this approach, play therapists take more control of the session. The therapist may pick an activity or choose the play modality for the child. Although the therapist takes a more active role in this method, the children still lead the exploration.

An experienced play therapist will adjust the two approaches and use the one that best suits the child’s needs. For instance, the therapist may use the non-directive way more often in group therapy, but they may use the directive method for introverted or traumatized children.

Play Therapy Techniques 

Play therapists will use various play modalities to help your child. Modalities – also known as the techniques or toolkit – are usually selected at the beginning of the session based on what your little human likes. Below are some common ones: 

• Creative visualization: Children use their imagination by envisioning what they desire. This technique requires children to close their eyes and play with their thoughts. 
• Puppets: Children use puppets to play as different characters. With the help of puppets, children can practice social skills, as well as build their empathy. 
• Sand Tray: Also known as sand tray therapy, children can use sand to create objects that symbolize their thoughts and feelings, and to relieve their stress and anxieties. 
• Arts and Crafts: Children use materials, including pencils, watercolour paints, and colored papers, to create art in a playful way. The result of the piece doesn’t matter, as this technique helps children to visualize their feelings and understand themselves. 
• Storytelling: Children tell a story or create their own. They can also use small figures or props to support their storytelling process. 

Toys In Play Therapy 

Three Types of Toys 

Toys are powerful in play therapy. They are tools that can help your child to better express their inner creativity and interact with the therapist. According to Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship, there are three types of toys: 

• Real-Life Toys: These toys present actual items in real life. Examples include dolls or figurines, doll houses, puppets, cars, boats, and cash machines. 
• Aggressive-Release Toys: These toys encourage children to express their aggression, such as bobo dolls, toy guns, toy soldiers, and rubber knives. 
• Creative-Expression Toys: These items might not be considered traditional toys per se, but they are tools that can promote creativity. Some examples include paints, crayons, sand, and paper.

How Are Toys Selected? 

Play therapists will also select toys by following specific guidelines. Depending on which organization the therapist earned their accreditation through, the criteria might differ. 

The Center of Play Therapy offers a guideline and suggests that the toys used should: 

• Be durable, fun, and easy to play with 
• Gain children’s interest and attention
• Offer children chances to practice self-control 
• Encourage the children to explore themselves and others 
• Enable children to express their emotional or social needs in a symbolical way 
• Allow children to express their emotions and creativity 
• Help children to understand themselves 

How Can Play Therapy Help Your Child? 

The therapeutic powers of play are invaluable. And with the support of toys and materials, your child can not only express their creativity through play, but also learn to express their negative emotions, ease anxieties, and tame worrying thoughts. Play therapy can also help your child better communicate their thoughts and ideas to you, your partner, and their peers, through play. 

Research has shown that play therapy can support children who are struggling with various issues, from uncontrollable situations to mental health challenges, including: 

• Parental divorce or separation 
• Grief and bereavement 
• Attachment issues
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Depression 
• Anxiety 
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Psychological trauma or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Play therapy can also improve your child’s emotional well-being. One key reason for this is because in play therapy, the therapists fully accept the child just as the way they are. And since your child doesn’t have to people-please the adult, play therapy can offer a safe environment for them – an environment in which they are accepted, supported, and respected. As a result, this therapy can help your child to boost his or her self-acceptance, self-confidence, and self-esteem. 

After all, play therapy is not about simply teaching your child how to get better grades at school, it is also an opportunity for your youngster to learn about themselves through therapeutic play. And by enhancing their creative potential, play therapy can help your child maximize their curiosity. 

While play therapy was initially designed for children aged three to 12, some psychotherapists have modified the approach and expanded its usage to a broader population. Psychotherapists have also found that this therapy has helped adolescents and adults improve their mental health too. Regardless of your age, play is an essential part of life, whether you are helping your child discover the joy of play, experiencing playfulness as an adult, using it to reconnect with your inner child, or simply seeking more balance and joy in your life. 

All of the content on our website is thoroughly researched to ensure that the information shared is evidence-based. For more information, please visit the academic journals and other resources that influenced this article: Clarifying the Use of Play Therapy – Association of Play Therapy; Recommended Toy List – Center for Play Therapy; Toys and Materials – Center for Play Therapy; Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship; How Does Therapeutic Play Work? – Play Therapy International; Non-Directive vs. Directive Play Therapy – What Is the Difference?; What Is Sand Tray Therapy?; Training Parents to Facilitate Their Child’s Adjustment to Divorce Using the Filial/Family Play Therapy Approach; Adapting Non-directive Play Therapy for Children with Attachment Disorders; Benefits of Play Therapy and Autism; Play Therapy as a Treatment for Children and Adolescents With PTSD; How Play Therapy Treats and Benefits Children and Some Adults; The Use of Play Therapy With Adolescents in High School; Group Play Therapy With Adults.