Play Therapy Sydney

Play Therapy

Play Therapy is a form of psychotherapy commonly used with young children aged three to eleven. Play Therapy offers children a natural way to communicate with trained therapists, and to express their feelings about a wide range of topics. This type of therapy is delivered at Potentialz by our highly trained clinical psychologists, and offers a guided and safe process for children to manage situations and to deal with stress. There is a wide body of research to support the idea that children aged three to eleven frequently express their thoughts and feelings about external experiences that happen to them through art and play. Play Therapy, therefore, is aimed at providing a counselling service for young children in order to treat or prevent psychological trauma or issues.

This type of therapy can help children foster better social skills, deal with emotional challenges, retain healthy mental development and assess signs of trauma. Play therapy can also be used to determine whether a child might have learning difficulties or a wider range of psychological conditions. During Play therapy sessions, our psychologists will assess the behaviour and thought processes of a child through the use of patterns of play.

Potentialz offers two main types of Play Therapy, directive and non-directive. Non-directive play therapy uses a non-structure or ‘free-play’ methodology to encourage children to express problems and solutions through play. Directive play therapy is a more structured approach, whereby the play therapist will guide the child towards certain situations or topics, and is often used to treat and assess specific problems or issues.

During this Therapy the child and therapist work together is a safe space called the playroom. The playroom is a specially equipped space of this type of therapy that contains a sandbox, games, art supplies and particular sets of toys such as figurines, animals and cars.

Play Therapy Can Help With

Play Therapy can help children with

  • Assisting emotional and developmental healing
  • Addressing stressful or traumatic experiences
  • Supporting healthy decision and behaviours
  • Helping children communicate with family members

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