Children express their whole selves in Play Therapy

“You see a child play and it is so close to seeing an artist paint, for in play a child says things without uttering a word.  You can see how he solves his problems.  You can also see what’s wrong.  Young children, especially, have enormous creativity and, whatever’s in them rises to the surface in free play.” (Erikson, 1994).

In the Play Therapy environment, the child feels safe to fully explore the things that arise since the therapist is trained to set the conditions necessary for truly free and self-expressive play.  The child works through the things that are troubling them and becomes free to explore who they really are.  They practice new ways of being and learn how to tolerate and regulate their feelings and thoughts, and how to be responsible for their actions.  Children with low self-esteem have experiences which help them learn to feel better about themselves.