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We are still accepting adult and child clients onto our waitlist
1A Dinmore Street, Dinmore | (07) 4516 7360
Play-based Therapy
Play therapy is client-centred and non-directive. Children don’t have developmental capacity to talk about experiences, so natural language is play and play therapy facilitates this in a safe room with the therapist.
The focus of this type of therapy is the relationship between child and therapist.
Play helps process experiences, learn boundaries and release emotions which in turn, develops emotional regulation and increases receptive and expressive skills vital for social relationships.
Play Therapy: Expressing Emotions Through Play
Play Therapy is "Based Upon the Fact That Play is the Child's Natural Medium of Self-expression. It is an Opportunity Which is given to the Child to "Play Out" Their Feelings and Problems Just as, in Certain Types of Adult Therapy, an Individual "Talks It Out".
Play therapy is client-centred and non-directive. Children don’t have developmental capacity to talk about experiences, so natural language is play and play therapy facilitates this in a safe room with the therapist.
The focus of this type of therapy is the relationship between child and therapist.
Play helps process experiences, learn boundaries and release emotions which in turn, develops emotional regulation and increases receptive and expressive skills vital for social relationships.
How Long does My Child Need to Be in Play Therapy?
Case by case basis
On average, 20-25 sessions but again, dependent.
Using LEGO®-based therapy is helping children with autism
Minecraft and Mental Health | Screen Therapy
While guided by the play therapist, play-based therapy is primarily led or directed by the child. Therefore, it’s up to the child to choose whether or not their parent/carer will be present during a play-based therapy session. Additionally, if our team has assessed that the parent/carer would benefit from being present, then the child’s parent/carer needs to attend the play-based therapy session.
During a play-based therapy session, various play materials are used to facilitate the therapy. These play materials include sand trays, dolls, board games, puppets, clay, as well as other artistic instruments and toys (Kool & Lawver, 2010, Play therapy: considerations and applications for the practitioner). Through interacting and building a relationship with the therapist, the child learns boundaries (via limit setting by the therapist) and self-care skills.
According to Lawver & Blankenship (2008, Play therapy: a case-based example of a nondirective approach), the goal of play-based therapy is to “identify and address themes that arise in the course of play.” Just as how an adult therapist would do so in the course of a conversation with the client, play is the medium through which insight is gained.
Yes, play-based therapy is good for autism. According to a 2023 review published in the World Journal of Clinical Pediatrics (WJCP), play-based therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can help children:
Express their suppressed emotions
Change their way of self-expression from unhelpful behaviour to more comfortable, non-injurious, expressive behaviour
Experience different interaction styles
Yes, play-based therapy helps with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A 2023 study of 30 children with ADHD found that the combined intervention of play-based therapy and storytelling had a significant effect on the children’s social skills, self-expression, self-control, responsibility, and cooperation.
Yes, play-based therapy helps with anxiety. The illustrative case vignette used in a 2019 journal article to discuss play-based therapy featured a child who had been “referred to therapy due to increased anxiety.” Lawver & Blankenship also referenced another case example in which play-based therapy was used to alleviate the anxiety of a child with separation anxiety disorder.