Play therapy is an approach to counseling with children that uses the natural therapeutic power of play to promote healing. In play, children use developmentally appropriate forms of communicating to work through experiences that are troubling them. Most importantly, play is fun, engaging and one of the first ways that children interact with their world. Lastly, it is a part of how they learn to connect, learn about cause and effect, problem solve, and express themselves.
Kalamazoo Child and Family Counseling has evening, after-school and weekend appointments available. Schedule an intake for your child.
“Toys are children’s words and play is their language.” Garry L. Landreth
Through play, children learn to express themselves and their feelings, to make positive changes in their behavior, and to develop problem-solving and friendship skills. They also learn to manage big feelings without losing it. Play provides a safe distance from a problem so that a child can express his or her thoughts and feelings about things that may be too difficult to otherwise communicate. Play therapy helps children learn mastery, and develop self-esteem.
The human brain is wired for play. Starting in infancy, children use play to learn about their environment and how to interact within it. Play serves as a medium through which children begin to learn to negotiate relationships, form meaningful connections and develop self-regulation. Play is one of the first ways that parents and children begin to connect and communicate. It has powerful abilities in restoring parent-child relationships that are struggling or have been wounded.
Play Therapy is used at Kalamazoo Child and Family Counseling to help with the following issues:
- Anxiety
- Attachment problems / Parent-child relationships
- Trauma
- Grief and Loss
- Impulsivity and Behavior Problems
“Play really is the work of childhood.” – Fred Rogers
Additionally, play therapy can help young children learn to cope with anxiety or manage feeling angry. Play helps children work through a traumatic or scary event to make sense of it, or help organize their thoughts and feeling around the experience. Play therapy helps children who’ve experienced foster care, have had multiple caregivers or who have been adopted to deepen attachments and to feel safe and secure in their relationships. Lastly, you can learn more about the power of play by visiting the association for play therapy website.
Kalamazoo Child and Family Counseling provides play therapy for kids and teens in Kalamazoo, Portage, Mattawan and South West Michigan.