Play Therapy and Counseling
Play therapy is a type of therapeutic technique used with children that helps them express their feelings and thoughts in a way that is natural for children and best-suited for their developmental level.
Throughout the course of play therapy, children learn coping skills to deal with emotional or behavioral stress and/or trauma.
By allowing children to play in a safe environment with a trained play therapist, children are helped to cope more adaptively, learning ways to make healthier decisions, and work through emotional and/or behavioral stress that they may be experiencing.
Who Should Attend Play Therapy?
Play therapy is generally used with children as young as three years old up to eleven years old (and sometimes older depending on the child’s developmental functioning and level). This type of therapy often helps children communicate with the therapist in a very natural way as it encourages the expression of feelings and serves as a vehicle to help children resolve certain emotions.
At Equilibria, we have child therapists who utilize this approach in order to get a better idea of what may be the cause of the child’s disturbance in mood or behavior. This type of therapy also helps a child communicate in a way that is comfortable and in tune with their developmental level.
Equilibria has furnished two play therapy rooms specifically designed for children to creatively express themselves with the therapist.
This type of therapy has been found useful for many different issues, including (but not limited to):
- Family problems (e.g., parental separation or divorce, sibling problems)
- Victims of child abuse or other types of trauma
- Anxiety problems
- Depression in Children and Teens
- Children who have developmental delays
- Children who have learning disabilities
- Social issues
- Bed wetting
- Children who are struggling with a broad array of emotional or behavioral issues
What is Play Therapy?
Through the use of toys, dolls, art, and creative dramatics, the therapist creates a space for the child to express their emotions, increase self-awareness, learn adaptive coping skills, and resolve problems that may be the root of their behavioral/emotional disturbances.
Why Play Therapy Works
Normal play is something that is extremely important for a child’s development. Therefore, play therapy allows children to express their feelings and thoughts in a way that is best suited to their developmental level.
Play therapy allows children to manipulate the environment they are playing in on a smaller scale. Utilizing carefully selected materials and toys and guided by someone who is trained to work with the child in a very specialized, therapeutic way, the child is able to play out his/her feelings in a way that is safe, allowing him/her to learn how to cope with them in a way that is healthy and adaptive.
When Are Equilibria’s Play Therapy Sessions?
At Equilibria in Philadelphia, play therapy sessions are once a week and last anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes. Play therapy sessions are done in rooms that are specifically designed for children and dedicated to formal and informal play.
Schedule a Play Therapy Session with Equilibria’s Child Psychologists
If you would like to meet or talk with one of our Child Psychologists and Child Therapists in the Philadelphia area about play therapy call us at (267) 861-3685, option 1; or contact us here.
