Play Therapy

Therapy with children is different from therapy with adults because children tend not to come to therapy out of their own insight and volition. Also, they are not smaller adults, so they will not tend to sit down and talk about their problems. Rather, they will play in the present moment. That's why play therapists say:  Play is the child's first language (e.g. Axline). Within their play, themes emerge in which the child integrates his emotions and comes to understand what has happened in his or her life. 

"Play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development." (cacpt.com)
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I am a certified play therapist. I am actively involved with the Canadian Association for Play Therapy and am on their board of Directors, responsible for membership. I also offer supervision for burgeoning play therapists. 
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I work with children, their parents or guardians. The child may have difficulty dealing with a change in the family, with school, or with transitions. The child may have also experienced adverse circumstances, such as abuse or neglect. Some children I see may have more difficulties regulating their emotions and behaviour due to autism or ADHD. They may be highly sensitive. 

I will meet with the parents or guardians first to take the case history and talk about goals. I have the child enter the play room and have them explore the toys and various expressive media (painting, drawing, sand tray, clay, play-doh, puppets). Having built a therapeutic relationship with the child, and having gotten to know them, I will then have a feedback session with the parents. In the case of conflict within the family or in the case of difficulties with attachment to parents, we will schedule family sessions. 
On average, play therapy takes around 10 sessions, but a lot can also be achieved in less. 
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Click here to watch a video I made on how to set up online play therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For more information about play therapy, please click on this link: https://cacpt.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Play-Therapy-print-letter-size.pdf
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