National Play Therapy Week - A Personal Journey

The following short piece explains a personal journey into the fascinating world of play therapy.

I am a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor because…..

Decades ago as a budding therapist working in community mental health, my learning experiences were basically ‘trial by fire.’ With supervisors stretched to capacity themselves, there was little time or opportunity to ask the advice of the well-seasoned therapists. (This is probably one of the reasons I now make myself available for clinical supervision). One lesson learned was about communicating at much too cognitively advanced a level for the child population that was seen at the agency.

While mindful of the challenges of underprivileged clientele, it never occurred to me that an awareness of a child’s cognitive capacities may be somewhat important in clearly conversing with them! At the time, I failed to comprehend why the kids’ replies to well-intentioned therapeutic inquiries were a whining, “I don’t knooowwww!” The inexperienced thinking of this fledgling therapist was, “Hey, I’m not allowing these kids to attend their sessions and refuse put forth effort.” Was ‘tough love’ really needed here?

Around that time, I attended a weekend play-based art therapy workshop. Thank you Terry Fontenot, LCSW, RPT-S for bringing play therapy to Louisville, KY! So, fortunate enough to have been exposed to some play therapy concepts, I was thrilled to possess a few supportive tools with which to work with children. Here’s the funny part; yet in attempting to play the role of a creative child therapist, I crafted a ridiculous solution using a long banner of butcher paper stating, “Don’t Say – I Don’t Know.” After taping this sheet to the wall above my head, I silently pointed in reference to the absurd sign each time a child emphatically explained ‘they didn’t know what the heck I was talking about’ when asked abstract questions about their troubled lives. All the techniques in the world wouldn’t overcome the misstep of clinically treating a child as an adult client. The message here is the vital importance of developmental awareness in how children learn and communicate!

Here is one of the many helpful concepts I learned from play therapy: toys and art medium could be viewed as a child’s words and the activity of play could be considered an expression of those words. Play therapists pay close attention to children who are unknowingly processing their life experiences, feelings and needs through the symbolism that transpires from their play. Awareness as to the metaphor in a child’s choice of play items, play themes and involuntary dialogue can illuminate their hidden concerns. A way to compare the differences in adult to child therapy is to recognize that play therapy is to children what cognitive talk therapy (CBT) is to our adult clients.

The distinction between treating an adult and a youngster is that clinicians wouldn’t plop a child down on their practice couches and ask, “So….how did it go with your mother last week?” Why? Because experienced child clinicians are aware of a young client’s cognitive and developmental capacities, they may anticipate hearing a kid’s exasperated response as, “I - don’t – know!” as the therapist would be talking way over their clients’ young heads.


If you are interested in learning the art of play therapy , I will be soon be publishing a valuable comprehensive workbook that provides contemporary information for those wishing to learn the basics and intermediaries of play therapy. The Introduction to Play Therapy workbook is suitable for mental health professionals, teachers and other helpers working with families and children. The text is useful to parents who want to understand a child’s inner emotional world to best help them with their struggles.