The Power of Play, working with a Certified Play Therapist
Play is the natural language of children. Children communicate through play. Play also helps children learn to regulate their emotions, to develop mastery over adverse experiences, and to help them make meaning to confusing things that may have happened to them. A CAPT Certified Play Therapist is specially trained to understand and communicate with your child through play.
Birds Fly….Fish Swim….and Children Play….. ~ Dr. Suess~
About Play Therapy
Play therapy is accepted as an important and valued therapeutic approach for working with children with emotional or behavioral difficulties. Play therapy is beneficial as a primary or adjunct approach for children who are experiencing difficulties in the home, school or community.
“When you’re free, you can play, and when you’re playing, you become free” ~ Heidi Kadisson~
Even though it might seem like children are “just playing” when they receive play therapy, this is very far from the truth. Play therapy harnesses the power of play and the symbolic power of the right brain to help children make sense of yucky situations. Play allows children to protect themselves from further hurt by using objects and toys as symbols to help them make sense of their experiences.
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” ~Plato
In my playroom there are many mediums I use that promote children’s play and facilitate communication. Puppets, sandtray with miniatures, dress up clothes, dollhouses, castles and knights, play kitchen, and arts and crafts materials. Below are some pictures of my playroom.
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How does a Play Therapist help?
Working with a Play Therapist, children will learn:
- To respect themselves
- That their feelings are acceptable
- To express their feelings responsibly
- To assume responsibility for themselves
- To be resourceful and creative in solving problems
- Self control and self-direction
- To accept themselves
- To make choice and be responsible for their own choices
Landreth, G. (2012) Play Therapy: The art of the Relationship