Why Play Therapy?
I have always enjoyed working with children, in fact, my first job was at age 12 as an English teacher in a small daycare in my hometown in Mexico. I was intuitively observant and learned about my students by watching them play and interact. I was surprised by how much I learned about them and their home life as they engaged in pretend play.
I always knew I wanted to continue working with children in some capacity and as I was exposed to psychology and development of the brain, I knew I wanted to combine the two. I have remained engaged in work with children throughout my adult life and now specialize in trauma work. I was introduced to play therapy while working with children in an Austin-area women's shelter and have learned about and practiced play-based therapy since.
Through my education I have learned that psychologists and educators alike agree that children communicate and learn through play. Using play in the therapy room has been found to be an effective way to help therapists build trust, connect and engage children in therapy. Play therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach used primarily to help children explore their lives and freely express repressed thoughts and emotions through play.
Therapy is most effective when we use the language of the client. Children don't often have the language and vocabulary to express themselves verbally, the language children use is play. Play allows the client to put some distance from problems without direct confrontation, and it’s how children address their own issues.
For example, young clients will use the play house to sort through confusion of parent arguments or divorce, they will replay a traumatic scene much in the way an adult verbally retells their trauma story. Play in the therapy room is met with respect, curiosity, and encouragement. As a play-based therapist, I verbally reflect emotions the characters may be feeling to help children make somatic connections to feelings. My feeling reflection is at times met with correction, this invites us into a world of understanding. For example a child responds to my reflection of feeling by saying “no, they’re not sad, just angry”. Play therapy opens a window into a child’s world as they freely process and learn.
To a parent or an outsider, play therapy may appear to be “just play”, however, my training and experience allows me to interpret, reflect and even teach coping skills all while playing and using the clients own language.
Children will communicate everything through play, and I am trained to understand that language.
I am sharing my favorite video to help explain why play is an essential part of therapy with children, enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reJpo-GaopM
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/play-therapy
