The Importance of Play in Therapy–for Children and Adults Alike
Play… It’s not just for children. Adults need time to re-charge too.
Play therapy has been a foundational form of therapy for decades, traditionally used to help children heal from painful events and develop tools to support their well-being. But play therapy can be a mystifying process for some who wonder how the simple act of play can lead to sustainable therapeutic results.
To understand more about the therapeutic power of play, I sat down with Starobin Counseling’s Janice Ulrich, LCPC. As an experienced play therapist, Jan uses play in her work with children and their families, while also incorporating play into her work with adults to encourage self-care, self-discovery, and healing for all ages.
Why is play important for children? How might therapists use play in therapy with children?
Jan: Play is a child’s first language. It is how they learn and communicate when they have not yet developed the ability to verbalize what they think and feel. Play helps children discover their world through using their senses, and supports the development of their cognitive abilities. It also helps them learn about relationships through building attachment to parents and others who play with them.
Incorporating play into child therapy serves as a way to connect with the child, showing them that the therapist is willing to get down to their level and speak the same language. A child may come to therapy for a number of reasons–anxiety, depression, grief, behavior challenges and so forth–and play helps them feel connected to someone who gets it. The therapist can then help the child find more adaptive ways to cope with that distress, understand their world, and process big feelings and events. Children can experience the world as huge and scary, and play is a natural and intuitive way they often express and process those feelings and can even offer them a way to practice at “being brave”.
How is play therapy different from the free play children may do at home?
Jan: Regular play is an activity a child is going to do on their own, as well as in the context of other people, like peers and adults. When a child comes to therapy, they are participating in a process that focuses on connection and developing the capabilities they need to solve their own problems. In play therapy, I provide a variety of different toys to the child that they use to express their thoughts and emotions. The child chooses a toy, and I follow their lead. In my role, I reflect and describe the play, helping the child build emotional literacy, validate their feelings, and track the stories they are telling. It can be cathartic for a child to have a way to relieve their big emotions, access deeper emotions they feel may be too taboo to speak about, and resolve misunderstandings they may have about a situation, such as feeling responsible for an event. And as the relationship continues and the stories come out, we begin a dialogue about how they might develop tools for regulating their emotions and to have more satisfying interactions with others.
Why is play important for adults? How might therapists use play in therapy for adults, or encourage it outside of session?
Jan: Play is important for adults as a form of emotional hygiene. If we just focus on work all of the time, we may not be making time for the strategies we need to regulate our moods and stay in balance. Yes, most of us are required to work, and many experience pressure to take care of personal and professional responsibilities. But if we focus on that all of the time, we are at risk for our mood declining. Our brains and bodies absolutely need time to rest, and play is an important part of that. Just like we brush our teeth twice a day, we also need self-care habits if we are going to avoid mood declines–and when those declines happen, play will also help us be more resilient in dealing with them. Adults might use music, art, and poetry as forms of play because it can be deeply satisfying to use these expressive forms to communicate complex emotions. And families can foster more play together as well. Playing a game such as seeing how long they can keep a balloon in the air lets families take time to giggle and get out of their heads.
Have you ever experienced surprising outcomes from using play in session with a client?
Jan: I am blown away by the children with whom I work all the time and with what they share in their play! But the most rewarding experience for me is when I can help equip caregivers with the tools to see the beautiful and brilliant things their child is sharing through play language and trust that in the moment they are doing exactly what’s needed for their child’s healthy brain development and for connecting in intimate ways. What a privilege it is to be a catalyst in that process.
To learn more about Jan Ulrich, LCPC and to schedule an appointment, click here.
Sarah Jacques, LMSW, is an associate at SC who sees children, adolescents, young adults, parents, and families. She is supervised by Caron Starobin, LCSW-C and receives Child-centered play therapy mentoring from Jan Ulrich, LCPC. To learn more about Sarah and to schedule an appointment, click here.
