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Child Therapy
Play therapy with children
In play therapy the use of toys, paints and other mediums will allow your child to express thoughts and feelings. Because children do not often verbalize their feelings in the same ways as adults, play provides a non-threatening way of allowing a child to communicate. In this way your child will be helped to sort out muddled and upsetting feelings.
Does my child need therapy?
It is important to pick up behavioral, adjustment or emotional problems as soon as possible in a child. Children do not always understand their own feelings about events that happen and their distress may start to show in their school-marks, their social relationships, through changes in their behaviour, such as being more aggressive, clinging, withdrawal, bed-wetting, nightmares or anxiety. This may be happening because your child is unable to express or process important feelings or to make sense of big changes in his or her life (the birth of a new sibling, divorce, death in the family etc). If you or your child’s teacher is concerned about any of these symptoms, therapy with a professional may be beneficial.
Therapy can help with:
Self-esteem and confidence
Adjusting to new situations (such as changes at home)
Regressed behaviour (bed-wetting, anxiety)
Trauma (where a child has witnessed or been involved in a traumatic event, or some abuse has occurred)
Health concerns or illness
Divorce
Exam stress
Shyness or withdrawal
Grief
Fear
How long will my child need to be in therapy?
As each child is unique this depends on many factors. Some problems can be greatly assisted with just a few sessions but some concerns may take a lot longer. Some children may take more time than others to trust an adult they do not know and to feel free to express themselves in the play therapy room. In this case therapy will start by building trust between the therapist and the child and may take a bit longer.
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