Your Child in Play Therapy
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Play therapy is a style of therapy that is particularly helpful in treating children. Although it has been shown to be highly successful in treating childhood trauma and emotional issues it is largely misunderstood by parents. Consequently children in therapy are often removed from treatment far too soon by parents who just can't grasp the therapeutic necessity of play therapy.
When I see children in therapy I allow them to choose their activity, and often they choose the sand tray and small toys and objects that go along with sand tray therapy. I remember one grandparent who just couldn't understand how paying me money to have her four-year-old granddaughter play in the sand was going to help, so she bought a sand box for the backyard and pulled the child out of therapy.
A few months later she complained that the child wasn't improving, and then she concluded that playing in the sand was not therapy. What she couldn't understand was that play therapy is far more than just play. It takes a highly trained professional to help guide the child as well as to accurately interpret their play behavior.
Like any form of therapy, play therapy needs to run its course at the child's pace. If therapy is terminated too soon the child will not progress fully and may even relapse into undesirable behaviors. Although children in therapy tend to recover from trauma much faster than adults it is still important to allow them to progress at their own rate. Be patient, trust your mental health professional and support your child's road to recovery.
Labels: children, play therapy, sand tray