​How I Use Active Play Therapy To Help Children

Active play therapy is a treatment technique commonly used by therapists for kids from ages four through twelve. It can be used to address a wide variety of situations, including trauma, anxiety, and depression. As children commonly express their lives through their play, play therapy is a valuable and proven way for therapists to help children express themselves in a natural, non-threatening manner.

​Creating A Welcome Play Space For Active Play Therapy

Children mimic their life at home and school though play. They often replicate their interactions with peers and adult while playing. When fully immersed in a safe and nurturing play environment, they can freely express their dreams and fantasies as well as any fears or troubled emotions.

One of the keys to effective active play therapy is to establish an environment where children feel like they can play comfortably. To that end, my office has a dedicated play space with a wide selection of toys for boys and girls in the entire age range. Toys in my place space include a doll house, figurines, toy cars, and board games.

I also recognize that kids often color and draw as part of their play, and the play space includes art supplies if kids want to sketch or draw as part of the active play therapy process.

Children are often used to a few familiar toys in their home environments. Seeing how and what the child chooses when they have a wide selection can help in the therapy process.

​Starting The Active Play Therapy Process

When using active play therapy with a child, I gather my information using a variety of strategies. I start first by observing the play pattern of the child. When the child first starts playing, I stay hands off and observe the child. What is the child’s demeanor and personality while playing? Do they try to replicate their lives, or are they expressing a desired life? Are they doing anything different or unusual with the toys?

Then along with selected guided play with the child and occasional questions expressed naturally through play, I gather vital information to paint a picture of the child’s view of their inner and outer worlds. With this image I can interpret the child’s situation and proceed from there.

​How Children Create a Picture Through Active Play Therapy

Children enjoy building and creating as it gives them a sense of achievement and control. Building and creating allow children to construct different worlds that allows them to express their feelings in a safe and nurtured space without judgment.

In a sense, during the play session my play therapy room becomes an extension of their unconscious. They feel free to explore and express themselves. (Most of the time via drawing and creating a story out of it).

​The Parents’ Role

Parents have an essential role in any sort of therapy with children, and active play therapy is no exception. When I am able to talk to the parents before hand, I can gain vital information on the child’s lifestyle, family background, and any unique circumstances. As I become more familiar with the child, I work closely with the parent to help them learn more effective ways to interact with the child, to set firmer boundaries if needed, to implement more effective interventions and to support them in any ways they need.

​Facilitating Active Play Therapy

When I do normal therapy, I’m generally in direct conversation with the patient and focusing directly on recording their symptoms and thinking of possible treatments. However with active play therapy my job is more to facilitate the play session and enable the child to freely express themselves. I work with the child and the parents to assist them toward becoming more self-confident, better adjusted and enhance the child’s sense of self-responsibility and self-control.