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Play is crucial for children’s development, helping them build essential life skills like problem-solving, managing emotions, communicating, and setting boundaries. For children who have faced challenging early experiences and emotional distress, traditional therapy methods may be difficult to navigate. Continue reading to discover 9 Play Therapy exercises you can incorporate into your sessions with clients.
Play therapy is a treatment method suited to children and adolescents dealing with various mental health issues. Therapists utilize play therapy to assist clients in preventing or addressing mental health problems that negatively impact their development and overall emotional health.
Through play therapy, mental health professionals can adapt their communication style—both verbal and nonverbal—in ways that resonate with their clients. You’ll likely find yourself guiding your client to explore, comprehend, and embrace their emotions through play and different toys.
Key figures in the development of play therapy include Jean Piaget, Anna Freud, Melanie Klein, among others. Jean Piaget categorized play into three types: practice, symbolic, and social play. Practice play starts in the early months of life, symbolic play typically begins around the age of two, and social play occurs between ages seven to eleven. His findings indicated that children under ten often lack the cognitive ability to grasp complex issues, motivations, and emotions, as this area of development has not fully matured. Play therapy offers essential support for children with mental health issues, fitting their developmental stage.
There are various ways play therapy can be integrated into practice, generally falling into categories like construction toys, toys that enhance hand-eye coordination, mimetic play, and pretend play. Energetic play can encompass exploratory activities and structured physical games, such as sports.
Explore all of our Play Therapy Worksheets
Mental Health Issues That Can Benefit From Play Therapy
Play therapy can effectively address a range of mental health challenges in children. This includes adjusting to life changes like divorce, bereavement, new family members, or relocating home or school. Play therapy is also beneficial for children struggling with emotional regulation and behavioral issues, such as aggression or frequent tantrums.
It is commonly employed for children who have experienced or witnessed trauma, including domestic violence, sexual abuse, emotional or physical abuse, and neglect. Children facing medical issues or those undergoing medical treatments may use play therapy to cope with their fears and anxieties. Additionally, children with developmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can benefit from play therapy.
Research supports the efficacy of play therapy for many of these conditions. For example, a study on preschool children in play therapy showed notable improvements in their communication and problem-solving capabilities. Another study concerning children with Type 1 diabetes indicated a reduction in anxiety related to their physical health symptoms.
Play Therapy Activities for Trauma
Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) is often utilized for children who have undergone trauma or have been diagnosed with trauma-related conditions like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). CCPT sessions occur in a playroom equipped with specific toys designed to help children articulate their experiences and feelings. Here are some play therapy activities for trauma that can be employed:
- Guided imagery is a therapeutic technique that fosters emotional expression among clients. The Play Therapy Guided Imagery Worksheet provided by TherapyByPro is designed for children’s developmental stages and includes creative play and storytelling. Visualization can also serve as a health coping strategy for clients grappling with psychological distress stemming from traumatic events or memories.
- Sand tray therapy is effective for children with intrusive thoughts, nightmares, hypervigilance, and similar challenges. Suitable for ages four and up, this activity involves using figures and miniature items to construct scenes that express their thoughts and feelings. It is a non-verbal way for children to gain control and use symbolic play for self-expression.
- Children can collaborate with their therapist to create a box that serves as a container for distressing emotions and thoughts. This activity works best for older children who can identify the overwhelming thoughts and feelings. Encouraging clients to use this box helps them separate their issues from themselves, enhancing emotional boundaries and self-control.
Play Therapy Activities for Depression
Child-centered play therapy has also shown statistically significant improvements for children dealing with depressive symptoms. One study highlighted noticeable progress noted by parents and independent observers. Some play therapy activities for depression include:
- TherapyByPro provides a Play Therapy Worry Jar Worksheet designed to help clients externalize their persistent worries and anxieties. This worksheet allows children to visualize their struggles outside of themselves, which can lessen the emotional intensity they feel. Depending on their needs, you may use this worksheet to guide discussions about effective coping strategies for their psychological challenges.
- Creative arts interventions like clay modeling can be valuable in play therapy. You might encourage your client to shape objects or figures from clay that symbolize their feelings and experiences. This method suits those with some awareness of their emotions and can assist children feeling fatigue, disinterest, or hopelessness. Working with clay offers a compelling and non-verbal avenue for children to communicate and process their emotions.
- Creating an emotional thermometer is a creative task that aids children in articulating their emotional experiences, illustrating how they transition from different emotional states.
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Transforming feelings from “cold” to “hot” can be beneficial for children who experience emotional numbness or have difficulty recognizing their emotions, which may often be linked to depression. Engaging in this activity can assist children in articulating and understanding their emotional states better, leading to heightened self-awareness.
Play Therapy Activities for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
ADHD is a condition that affects behavioral health, often making educational and social interactions challenging for children. While medications can enhance functioning, play therapy and storytelling serve to address vital developmental aspects like social skills. Research has shown that incorporating play therapy and storytelling in clinical environments can boost self-expression, manage impulses, and foster responsibility and teamwork in school-aged children. Below are examples of play therapy activities suitable for clients with ADHD.
- Games focusing on impulse control, such as “Red Light, Green Light,” can be utilized to energize sessions with clients facing challenges with impulse control and hyperactivity. This game is appropriate for children aged four and up, helping them build self-regulation, sharpen concentration, and offer a fun way to practice following instructions.
- To enhance social skills, a matching card game focused on emotions can be particularly effective. This activity allows children to align facial expressions and body cues with specific emotions and contexts, benefiting those who find it hard to interpret others’ feelings and their own. This practice can lead to better recognition of emotions, increased empathy, and improved social interactions.
- Role-playing can also serve as an effective tool for children with ADHD facing issues with transitions and organization. Practicing daily routines through role-play with dolls or figures can teach problem-solving skills. This method promotes structure and helps the child recognize patterns within their routines, thus aiding them in navigating real-life challenges posed by their symptoms.
Final Thoughts on Selecting Play Therapy Activities for Your Clients
Play therapy can be a vital resource for therapists working with children. Traditional therapy methods can sometimes be difficult for children to engage in, but through play therapy, they can express feelings they might struggle to articulate. This form of expression is a skill that many children have yet to develop when therapy begins.
Play therapy is applicable for various mental health issues and helps children cultivate essential coping strategies and insights, enhancing their overall quality of life and mental well-being. Mental health professionals interested in learning more about the benefits of play therapy are encouraged to pursue further education and training opportunities relevant to their field.
TherapyByPro is an online mental health directory that connects mental health professionals with clients seeking assistance. If you’re in the mental health field, consider joining our community and adding your practice listing here. We provide assessments, practice forms, and worksheet templates to help streamline your practice. Explore all of our mental health worksheets here.
Explore all of our Play Therapy Worksheets
Resources:
- Burgin, E.E., Ray, D.C. (2022). Child-Centered Play Therapy and Childhood Depression: An Effectiveness Study in Schools. J Child Fam Stud, 31, 293–307.
- Humble JJ, Summers NL, et al. (2018). Child-Centered Play Therapy for Youths Who Have Experienced Trauma: a Systematic Literature Review. J Child Adolesc Trauma, 12(3):365-375. doi: 10.1007/s40653-018-0235-7.
- Koukourikos K, et al. (2021). An Overview of Play Therapy. Mater Sociomed, 33(4):293-297. doi: 10.5455/msm.2021.33.293-297.
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