Play Therapy Information and Notes for Parents

How to explain Play Therapy to your child:

Explain to your child that they are coming to see someone called a counselor to help them feel better(about school, friends…)/feel less sad/feel less angry, etc.  Explain that they are coming to a new place where they will have a special play time. They will be able to play with the different toys in the room; sometimes they may play or they may talk or they may do both.  Inform your child that sometimes the counselor will talk to mom or dad before or after the play time, or even at different times all together. They will have about 55 minutes every week or every other week for their special play time.  Explain to your child that if he/she has any questions, you will be there with them to ask me together.

What parents can do to help their child succeed in therapy:

Please allow your child’s sessions to be their own.  If you have information to share in between scheduled parent sessions that is more than just a quick recap of the past week, I ask you to either call me prior to a session or following a session, or email me.  I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can. We can either speak briefly by phone or email or schedule a parent session for more pressing or lengthy information/concerns. Ideally your child would have the full session, but often times we may end our special play time 5-10 minutes early for us to share learned skills with parents.

Please Do Not inquire about the session or question your child for details.

Play therapy sessions are often very sacred and private for children.  We want your child to feel safe to express themselves in whatever way they can.  Allow your child to talk with you about their session if they would like. Sometimes play therapy is not “fun”, they are working, just as you would in a therapy session.  Questions from parents are often not helpful for their child, instead, use reflective statements if your child does choose to share about their play therapy session, such as “wow, it seems like you really worked hard today” or “you have a lot to share with me today about your play therapy time!” This will allow your child to feel like they are making accomplishments and are not simply trying to please others by saying the right thing.  I will share relevant information, themes, and treatment with you during our scheduled parent sessions.

Please have your child use the bathroom prior to the start of session, if necessary.

Please refrain from such statements as...

“Have fun!” or “behave/listen!” when the child starts their play therapy session or “Did you have fun today?”, “what did you do today,” “did you listen..” when they are finished.  Often times play therapy is hard work. Your child is expressing themselves sometimes in very new and different ways. They may be processing through difficult feelings, behaviors, thoughts, and/or events.  While there may very well be times they reflect on having fun during their play therapy session, it is still therapy, and your child is working through and towards goals!

Please follow the recommendations made by your Play Therapist.

Every family and child are a bit different, therefore the duration of therapy will fluctuate depending on the severity of behaviors and issues presented, environmental factors, and parent involvement.  I aim to keep parents informed throughout your child’s play therapy experience. In order to see the most progress in play therapy, consistent, weekly sessions in combination with parent sessions every 4 weeks (or sooner if needed) is recommended with most families.  After the initial intake, 3-4 individual sessions with your child will be held and I will sometimes hold a Family Play Observation session as well . After this, a parent session will be scheduled to further develop a treatment plan based on information and observations gathered. Parent sessions will then be scheduled separate from individual play therapy sessions. Family sessions may also be scheduled.