How can play therapy help my child?

Play is vital to every child's social, emotional and cognitive, physical, creative and language development. It helps make learning concrete for all children and young people including those for whom verbal communication is difficult.

Play therapy helps children in a variety of ways. Children receive emotional support and can learn to understand more about their own feelings and thoughts. Sometimes they may re-enact or play out traumatic or difficult life experiences in order to make sense of their past and cope better with their future. Children may also learn to manage relationships and conflicts in more appropriate ways.

The outcomes of play therapy may be general e.g. a reduction in anxiety, raised self-esteem or more specific such as a change in behaviour and improved relationships with family and friends.