Play Therapy: How Children Heal, Grow, and Thrive Through Play
- Sabina Bhasin
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
What Is Play Therapy?
Play is more than just fun for kids; it’s how they interpret and understand their world.
Building on this natural childhood language to help children process emotions, behaviors, and significant life changes within a safe and supportive environment.
Whether your child is neurodivergent, neurotypical, or somewhere in between, play therapy is an intervention the therapist can use to engage with the child in their own voice without the need to sit still and “talk about their feelings” (which, let’s face it, most kids prefer to avoid!).
With this approach, parents can have peace of mind that their child is being heard and needs are being acknowledged, while also being seen and heard in a way that feels natural and comfortable for them.
Why Play Therapy Works for Children
Children don’t explicitly say, “I’m struggling with anxiety because of family changes."
Instead, they express themselves through actions such as building and knocking down a block tower repeatedly, drawing dark rainclouds, or creating sand tray scenes where the “good guys” are outnumbered.
These actions serve as their form of communication, and play therapy is the method we use to understand their messages.
Benefits of Play Therapy in Child Counseling
Emotional regulation: Play allows children to explore intense feelings without feeling overwhelmed.
Connection and trust: The bond with a child counselor or therapist provides a safe foundation.
Adaptability: Suitable for all ages, backgrounds, and developmental needs, including neurodivergence.
Research-backed: Evidence indicates play therapy can notably decrease anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues, with outcomes comparable to traditional talk therapy for children (Association for Play Therapy).
The Value of Play Therapy: More Than Just Fun
Yes, it’s playful, but it also involves serious work for the child’s brain and heart. Most importantly, it's enjoyable. Children frequently derive joy from play therapy, offering parents a sense of hope and optimism.
1. Emotional Resilience
Replaying a scary moment with puppets or superheroes helps children process trauma safely, teaching the brain it can handle distress.
2. Social and Communication Skills
Through role play, turn-taking games, and problem-solving scenarios, children learn empathy, conflict resolution, and cooperation.
3. Tailored for Neurodivergent Needs
In youth therapy, sensory-friendly spaces and flexible approaches can be designed to match a child’s unique strengths, whether that’s using visual supports, movement breaks, or specific interests as therapeutic tools.
4. Long-Lasting Impact
Parents often report their child starts using coping skills at school, in friendships, and at home, proof that play therapy’s benefits extend beyond the playroom.
Types of Play Therapy in Child Counseling
Different children need different tools. That’s why our child therapy team uses approaches that can be customized to each child’s personality, needs, and developmental stage.
Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) or Non-Directive Play Therapy
The child leads, the therapist follows. It’s a non-directive, trust-based model that gives children freedom to explore at their own pace.
Directive Play Therapy
The therapist guides the play to target specific skills, ideal for teaching coping strategies, emotional vocabulary, or problem-solving steps.
Filial Therapy
Parents learn therapeutic play skills they can use at home, strengthening connection and consistency outside the therapy room.
Who Can Benefit From Play Therapy?
Play therapy can help children who are experiencing:
Anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem
Grief, loss, or trauma
Behavioral challenges, such as aggression or withdrawal
Significant life transitions (divorce, moves, new siblings)
Neurodivergence (including autism spectrum, ADHD, sensory processing differences)
Social skill difficulties or peer conflicts
What Happens in a Play Therapy Session?
A play therapy space differs from practice to practice, however, the goal is to create an engaging, child-like place that is rich with art supplies, puppets potentially, arts and crafts for building or creating, sensory bins, sand trays (which is its own intervention and often used to explore experiences, feelings and emotions for children that benefit from pairing sensory engagement with free expression). More importantly, the space is best when it feels warm, inviting, and every item is chosen with purpose, even the dinosaur figurines!
A youth therapy session might include:
Free play allows the child to choose what they’re drawn to.
Creating a scene in a sand tray that reflects their inner world.
Role-playing scenarios with dolls or action figures.
Drawing or crafting to express emotions visually.
Some kids repeat the same play themes for weeks until they’re ready to make a change. Others experiment wildly from session to session. Both patterns can be part of the healing process.
The Role of the Child Counselor or Therapist in Play Therapy
A skilled child counselor or therapist goes beyond being a simple "supervised playmate.” While it might appear that we’re just stacking blocks or letting a puppet lead the play, much more is happening beneath the surface.
Every decision, when to intervene, when to step back, and how to respond, is deliberate and based on training, research, and a thorough understanding of child development
Here's what's truly happening.
Observer – Reading the Language of Play
In play therapy, the child’s choices, whether lining up toy cars, burying figures in the sand tray, or drawing a volcano, are full of meaning.
The counselor, or therapist, observes for themes, patterns, and changes in the play. Are the stories becoming less frightening? Are the “villains" less powerful? These subtle shifts can indicate emotional progress long before a child can put it into words. Observation is active listening without words.
Facilitator – Guiding Without Taking Over
Sometimes, a counselor or therapist introduces a specific activity, character, or question to help a child explore tough feelings. This might involve using a puppet to “ask” how a character feels when left out, or suggesting a game that reflects a real-life situation.
The aim isn’t control but creating opportunities for insight, problem-solving, and emotional expression, while allowing the child’s natural play to continue uninterrupted.
Anchor – Holding the Emotional Space
For many children, especially those experiencing neurodivergence, trauma, or significant life changes, therapy might be their only safe place. The counselor or therapist becomes an emotional anchor: steady, calm, and unwavering, even when the play reveals chaos, fear, or anger.
This reliable presence reassures the child that exploring their feelings is safe because someone is there to support them.
Why This Matters:
Without a strong therapeutic relationship, toys and games are just toys and games. But with trust, they become powerful tools for growth, healing, and self-awareness.
In the hands of a skilled child counselor or therapist, play therapy shifts from “just play” into a guided journey toward emotional resilience and confidence, one block tower, sandcastle, or puppet adventure at a time.
Why New Day Counseling Uses Play Therapy
We love play therapy because it’s:
Developmentally respectful
Adaptable to all kinds of brains, including neurodivergent ones
Backed by decades of research
Deeply human in its approach
Our child therapy process is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It's personalized and evolving, just like your child. But it typically includes the following four steps.
Assessment – Understanding your child’s needs, strengths, and context.
Tailored Approach – Matching the correct type of play therapy to your child.
Progress Monitoring – Checking in regularly with caregivers.
Real-Life Integration – Helping skills learned in session show up at home and school.
How to Know If Play Therapy Is Right for Your Child
If you’ve been wondering whether child counseling could help, think of play therapy as giving your child a way to tell their story, without having to force it into words.
In the playroom, laughter and serious work often happen in the same hour. That’s because healing for children doesn’t always look like sitting still and talking; sometimes it seems like building, drawing, pretending, or knocking down a tower and rebuilding it again.
Ready to Begin?
At New Day Counseling, we believe children can already heal; sometimes, they just need the right space, the right tools, and the right guide.
Our child therapists are here to meet them at their level, whether that’s eye-to-eye on the carpet or elbow-deep in a sensory bin. They are not just playmates, but professional and caring guides who will ensure your child's well-being and growth.
If your child could benefit from play therapy, youth therapy, or tailored child counseling, especially if they’re navigating neurodivergence, we’re ready to help.
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