Even though your child is able to speak words, their minds are not yet capable of conveying feelings and emotions like an older child or an adult can. Research has shown that play therapy for PTSD and other mental health issues is a very effective method of treatment for younger clients.
Play Therapy Techniques and How it Works
When your child is playing at home or with friends, do you create a script for them to follow? Sounds like a silly question, right? More than likely, they are engrossed in an imaginary world acting out whatever creative thought comes to mind. Many scenarios within their playtime are recreations of situations they have witnessed in their own life.
Similarly, when a counselor is working with your child, there will be no limitations of play therapy. As they reenact life experiences or act out what they are feeling, the therapist asses different things including:
- Social skills
- Emotions
- Problem solving abilities
- Underlying behavioral issues
Observation of other things specifically related to the child also occur. A variety of methods can be used to complete the assessment such as board games, card games, puppets, sand trays, coloring, building with blocks, art and dolls.
Because a child does not always understand what they are feeling, play therapy gives them a way to express what’s inside while a trained mental health professional analyzes their behaviors and is able to distinguish what the issues are that need to be addressed.
Reaching Children Through Play Therapy at Garrett Counseling
Through evidence-based techniques, our play therapy experts at Garrett provide a unique approach that is effective with child therapy. Give us a call today and see how play therapy for PTSD can help your child. You can reach us at (256) 239-5662. If you have questions about limitations of play therapy, send us a message here, and we will get back to you as soon as possible! With offices in Boaz, Huntsville, and Jacksonville, we are reaching Alabama children through play therapy one child at a time.