We know parenting can be a challenge in a lot of ways and can feel lonely at times when you’re faced with not knowing how to navigate a difficult moment, behavior, or emotion. Maybe you’ve been doing your best to help your child regulate by reassuring them, acknowledging their feelings, encouraging them, and being their support through the tears and yelling or other big behaviors, and it still doesn’t feel like enough.
Or maybe you’re having a hard time connecting with your child because you’re at a loss of what to do with their big behaviors. Maybe you find yourself to be dysregulated and exhausted from the struggles in the morning getting ready for school or the arguing at night of them not wanting to go to bed. Or maybe you feel like you have tried so many things to support your child’s emotions and it’s just not working.
If this sounds like you, you’re definitely not alone in that feeling, and play therapy is one thing that can help!
What is play therapy?
Play therapy is a type of counseling that uses the language of children to communicate with them, understand them, and help them make sense of their world. Play is the natural way for children to express themselves and work through emotions or experiences they are having. Through the power of play, children are given the resources and tools to explore and work through stressors, life events, trauma, and big emotions to help them become more regulated.
What makes play therapy different from other types of play?
Play therapy differs from the play children do in other environments in that the therapist helps facilitate the child’s exploration and expression of their feelings and experiences. Similar to traditional therapy, the child is seen as the expert on themselves and the therapist is there to use specific tools and techniques to help children resolve things on their own. In this way, children use play to learn about different emotions, explore different scenarios, and find ways to express their feelings, wants, and needs both verbally and non-verbally.
Common signs your child could benefit from play therapy:
· Daily routines turn into power struggles
· Behavioral challenges
· Communication concerns
· Trouble with keeping focused
· Struggles with routines and transitions
· Difficulties with social skills
· Trouble with regulating emotions
Common reasons people seek play therapy for their child:
· Disruptive behaviors
· Emotional regulation issues
· Anxiety/nervous thoughts
· ADHD
· Grief/loss
· School-related issues
· Parent divorce
· Traumatic experiences
· Autism
· Selective mutism
· Anger issues
· Adoption
What to do next:
If reading any of this resonates with you, we encourage you to take the next step of reaching out to see how we can best fit the needs of your child. We understand that dealing with these moments and struggles can be exhausting and overwhelming at times and want you to know that you are not alone in how you are feeling, and you also don’t have to navigate all this on your own.
Taking this step can be hard, but the good news is that you’ve done the hardest part of starting the process just by being here. We are here to help guide you every step of the way to help you find a strategy that can work to help you reach the goals you have for your child so that you both can become more regulated, confident, and connected.
Ready to take the next step? Contact us today to ask any questions or to get started!