Play therapy is a specific type of therapy used for children, especially preschoolers and elementary age children. It involves the use of play to communicate with children and to help children learn to solve problems and change their negative behaviors. Sometimes it involves the entire family.

Play is the primary way that children...

• learn about the world
• understand how different things work
• express their thoughts and feelings
• develop their physical skills
• develop their mental skills
• develop effective social skills and bonds.

In play therapy children are allowed to express their thoughts and feelings through play, which is non threatening and comfortable for most children. In addition, children often times do not have the understanding of complex situations to talk about them as adults do, nor do they have the vocabulary to express what they are thinking or feeling. Thus, in play therapy they may act out feelings through play, art, etc. By watching children play we often learn more about their thoughts, feelings, motivations, and struggles than by talking with them directly.