Why Play Therapy is Appropriate for Children


with Symptoms of PTSD: 6 Reasons Why Play Therapy is an Effective Treatment Choice for Children with Trauma


BY ASSOCIATION FOR PLAY THERAPY BOARD OF DIRECTORS, APRIL 2020  P


lay therapy is a developmentally congruent intervention that helps children build coping skills, enhance their capacity for self-regulation, and promotes positive self-esteem (Bratton et al., 2005; Lin & Bratton, 2015; Ray et  model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained Play Therapists use the therapeutic powers of  (para. 3).


Play therapy has a longstanding history as a treatment for children who have experienced trauma or who display symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (Shelby, 2000; Vicario et al., 2013). In play therapy, children explore feelings and thoughts  (Gaskill & Perry, 2017; Gil, 2017; Goodyear-Brown, 2019; Lefebre, 2018). Young children rely on play and play therapy to  


 children’s trauma symptoms. Directive methods involve structuring play activities to target emotions, cognitions, and behaviors while nondirective methods involve building a therapeutic relationship in which the child and therapist journey through the child’s experiences together to actively work through trauma symptoms (Boyd-Webb, 2015). Typically, play therapists work with children from two to 12 years old. Additionally, play therapy has been adapted for very young children,  


Among mental health interventions, play therapy is one of the most researched modalities. In the last 25 years, the research outcomes on play therapy are particularly strong and indicate the practicality of using play therapy with children affected by trauma, as well as a myriad of additional presenting concerns. There are at least six reasons that play therapy is an 


4 | PLAYTHERAPY | June 2020 | www.a4pt.org


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