Play Therapy: What Is Play Therapy, How Does Sand Play Work, and How Would It Benefit My Child?

Play Therapy: What Is Play Therapy, How Does Sand Play Work, and How Would It Benefit My Child?

Children are indeed a gift for the world. Who doesn’t love those cute giggling faces and innocent minds? These little humans are often more susceptible to changes in their environment or people’s attitude towards them than adults. When a child unusually goes quiet and shy, it is a red alert that something is wrong. More often than not, parents find it extremely difficult to understand the emotions of their children. Identifying the problem your child faces with professional help is crucial in such cases.

Parents love their children the most, but not being able to communicate with them is a complete nightmare. Imagine! Your children are going through some rough days at school, or even worse, Bullying! However, they are unable to communicate with you and start being all sad and gloomy. Now one might panic and wonder what is wrong with the once full-of-life kid. Steer clear of the panic and opt for professional help via Play Therapy. Yes! You heard it correctly!

You might be wondering what play therapy is – do you want to know more about Child Psychology? Keep reading!

What Is Play Therapy?

Every child loves to play. Remember the days you would do anything to spend a little more time with your toys and favorite games? Ah! The Nostalgia! Besides being the golden period of childhood, playtime, perhaps, plays the most critical part in skill and personality development in the little ones. Unlike usual playful activities, Play Therapy utilizes the expertise of qualified professionals to integrate fun in child therapy sessions to improve their communication skills and understand what they’re going through.

Though it may sound like an ordinary playtime fun activity, the rewards of play therapy are far more significant. If you’re wondering how hard talking to a child can be? You need to know that these little minds are much more complicated when it comes to handling tough situations. With the help of professional psychotherapists, children can understand their problems; they let the burden out and learn ways to cope with the issues they face.

Who Needs Play Therapy, and When?

Anyone can benefit from Play therapy! It doesn’t matter if you are old or young. Besides Individual Therapy, this unique and fun method is excellent for anyone going through PTSD, chronic illness, dementia, and anger issues. However, it is specially formulated for children in the age group of three to thirteen years. Is your beloved child going through mood swings and tantrums? Does your child not respond to the once funny things anymore? If you’re thinking about professional help from qualified therapists, but want to know when to seek it, here is a list of circumstances that hit the green light:

• After a chronic illness
• Your child is sick and needs palliative care
• Learning problems
• Excessive anger and tantrums
• Unusual quietness
• Detachment from favorite activities
• Family issues like divorce or fights
• Changed eating habits
• Altered bowel habits
• Attention seeking behavior
• Autism
• Abuse

Benefits of Play Therapy

Though being a parent or a guardian is a blessing; understanding a troubled child’s mind is one of the most complex mysteries. Who knows what goes on in those tiny heads? Lucky for you, these problems can be solved by Play Therapy!

Children develop a communication gap with adults because their minds are not familiar with ways to understand and cope with emotions and ugly situations. They don’t know how to explain what they’re experiencing in words; thus, they exhibit altered behavior to let all the stress out from their little hearts and minds. Play Therapy fills the communication gap and allows the therapist to communicate with the little one by gaining trust during the playtime. Also, experts can comprehend child emotions more effectively. This mode of therapy offers the following benefits:

• Helps with the ability to process feelings
• Behavior regulation
• Creative and positive thinking
• Removes barriers and allows effective communication with family
• Development of self-control
• Positive self-image

Techniques Play Therapy Utilizes

Psychotherapists can utilize several techniques during Play Therapy. After all, not every child likes the same games!

Arts and Crafts

Arts and crafts are a fantastic way to fill back the colors in your baby boy/girl’s life. No need to stay dull and gloomy anymore because fun crafts and paints are here to save the day! This technique allows children to use their creativity and let the sadness out. It also plays a significant role in skill development and thought organization process.

Musical Play

Children have souls of little dancers. Almost every tiny fellow knows how to shake a leg when the music turns on. Many research pieces also prove that music helps relieve stress and tension and can help with the release of happy hormones! If your child is gloomy due to household issues, or any trauma, this therapy can be highly effective.

Sand Play

Sand Play is a rather unique and exciting way to communicate better with children. A special play therapy sand tray is used in this technique. Professional therapy with the help of colorful sand and miniature toys allows children to build their little world inside the play therapy sand tray. The multi-colored sand is highly attractive to the little ones, and they let their imagination and creativity out. Are you wondering about the benefits of sand play therapy? There are many! The microcosm created by a child reflects his mind and things that go on in them. It teaches self-control, allows the child to develop focus, and develops skills with co-ordination. All in all, every child needs to enjoy the benefits of sand play therapy.

Storytelling

Stories have a significant effect on a child’s mind. Good motivational stories may help with positive personality development and coping abilities. Whereas, negative ones can hurt a child’s beliefs like “Goodness wins over evil” or “Honesty is the best policy.” By understanding the troubles one faces, therapists can use storytelling techniques to build confidence and strong personality traits among young children.

The Bottom Line

For all those who have difficulty in communicating with their young ones, Play Therapy is an effective way to communicate well with children and remove all hurdles with the help of professionals. Play therapy techniques utilizing music, play therapy sand tray, and stories can be highly effective if exhibited by experts. The psychotherapists at MindShift Psychological Services are highly qualified and provide the best and most effective play therapy services. Choose MindShift and say goodbye to all the stress and burdens on your mind. After all, a healthy mind is key to a beautiful life