4 Growth and Counseling Wellness
Play Therapy
What is Play Therapy?
Play Therapy is not the same as regular play. While spontaneous play is a natural and essential part of our developmental process, Play Therapy involves more than that. It takes place in a therapeutic setting with a play therapist.
Play therapy is a well established therapeutic approach that has been around for over a century. Qualitative and quantitative research has demonstrated its effectiveness. Different universities and professional organizations around the world continue the research of play therapy today. Published results can be found in professional journals such as The International Journal of Play Therapy.
This evidence base form of therapy can be used with people of all ages however, it is mostly used for the treatment of children. Play is our first language; it is the natural way that a child communicates. The toys are the child’s words helping the child in the play room to communicate with the play therapist.
This developmental appropriate therapeutic intervention facilitates the child to learn, grow and follow the innate inner tendency towards health. A safe, consistent, caring place is offered to the child in the playroom. Play therapy can be both directive and non-directive resulting in favorable outcomes that allows the child to:
🌿 Build trust
🌿 Express inner thoughts and feelings
🌿Make close approximations to challenging situations
🌿Develop relationships
🌿 Resolve challenges
🌿 Learn skills
What is a Play Therapist?
Play therapists are trained mental health professionals with master or doctorate degrees. In addition, they are required to have specialized training. Play therapists can choose to go through intense training and supervision to be credentialed by the Association for Play Therapy (APT). The APT rigorous process qualifies mental health professionals to apply to become a Registered Play Therapist (RPT) and or a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor (RPT-S).
