Play therapy isn’t just about play. Play therapy is about the relationship between a trained mental health professional and a client. Notice I used the generic word “client” here because most people think that play therapy can only be of use with working with children. That’s actually far from the truth. In fact, play therapy can be defined as a method of therapy whereby a trained mental health professional utilizes play and various mediums to help individuals resolve conflicts that may be interpersonal and/or intrapersonal in nature. The Association for Play Therapy defines play therapy as the following: “the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development.”
As a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, I espouse the following beliefs about play therapy:
