What is Play Therapy, and What is a Play Therapist?
Play therapy is a specialized mental health medium that includes many evidence-based interventions designed to effectively assist children in healing from trauma, abuse, grief, emotional dysregulation disorders, and many other childhood challenges, experiences, and issues. Play Therapy is suitable for children from infancy to about 16 years of age but can also be adapted for young people in their late teens and adults, including the elderly (O'Connor & Schaefer 1994). Because children are still developing, the play therapist must consider many areas of the child’s presentation upon entering service, including attachment strengths and weaknesses.
Play therapy is not the same as regular play. Play Therapy is a systematic, evidence-based therapeutic process whereby Master’s level therapists (who have completed extensive training, supervision, and education specific to children’s mental health) guide the child client within sessions. Toys, games, art, and sand are tools to help the child cathartically release, process life experiences, and master control over their challenges. Play Therapy incorporates many evidence-based practices and techniques such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, EMDR, DDP, Theraplay, and Filial Therapy (to name a few), which aim to appropriately support the developmental and emotional abilities of each child, youth, and teen.
Not all therapists who work with children possess a specialized Play Therapy credential. However, in Canada, a Certified Play Therapist (CPT) is one who has completed special training and has successfully passed the stringent certification standards and remains in good standing with their play therapy association (Canadian Association of Child Play Therapists - CACPT) and thus are deemed ‘specialists’ in their field. Parents need to know their child’s therapist’s credentials to understand the level of training and expertise offered.
