How Does Play Therapy Benefit My Child?
- By Mikaela Dixon
Parents often come to therapy feeling worried, confused, or unsure about how best to support their child. You may be noticing recent changes in your child’s behavior, emotions, or relationships — big feelings, increased anxiety, withdrawal, defiance, tantrums, or difficulty expressing what’s going on inside. One of the most common questions parents ask is:
“How does play therapy actually help my child?”
It’s a great question — and an important one.
Why Children Communicate Through Play
Unlike adults, young children don’t yet have the language or emotional vocabulary to explain what they’re feeling. Instead, they naturally express themselves through play, movement, imagination, and behavior.
Play is a child’s first language.
Through play, children show us:
What feels confusing or overwhelming
What they’re worried about or trying to understand
How they experience relationships and safety
What they need more of — comfort, control, reassurance, connection
Play therapy offers children a developmentally appropriate way to explore their inner world in a space that feels safe, engaging, and non-threatening.
What Is Child-Centered Play Therapy?
Child-centered play therapy is a gentle, relationship-based approach that allows children to lead the therapeutic process through play, while the therapist follows with warmth, attunement, and curiosity.
Rather than asking children to “talk about their feelings,” play therapy:
Meets children where they are developmentally
Honors their pace and natural expression
Focuses on building emotional safety and trust
Helps children make sense of experiences through symbolic play
In child-centered play therapy, the therapist creates a carefully structured environment with developmentally appropriate toys, art materials, and play objects. Within this space, children are free to explore, create, and express themselves — while the therapist provides emotional attunement, reflection, and support.
Over time, this process can help children:
Develop emotional awareness and regulation
Feel seen, understood, and accepted
Build confidence and self-expression
Strengthen their ability to cope with stress and change
Improve relationships with caregivers and peers
How Puppet Play Supports Very Young Children
For young children, puppet play can be a particularly powerful therapeutic tool.
Puppets offer children a way to express feelings and experiences indirectly — which often feels safer than speaking as themselves. A puppet can:
Say things that feel hard to say out loud
Act out worries, fears, or questions
Allow children an outlet for feelings and impulses they’ve learned are inappropriate to act out in other ways
Represent different “parts” of a child’s inner world
Invite curiosity, playfulness, and connection
In child therapy, puppet play allows children to project emotions and experiences onto a character, creating just enough distance to explore difficult feelings without becoming overwhelmed. This can be especially helpful for children navigating anxiety, transitions, trauma, or big emotional reactions.
Puppet play also supports:
Emotional expression and storytelling
Social skills and perspective-taking
Regulation through rhythm, movement, and humor
A sense of agency and control
For many children, puppets make therapy feel approachable, fun, and safe — while still doing meaningful emotional work beneath the surface.
What Parents Often Notice Over Time
Parents are often surprised by how much changes through play therapy, even when children aren’t “talking about” their problems directly. As play therapist Susan Linn explains in her book The Case for Make Believe, “Children’s make believe play allows them to bring to light dreams and fantasies that, once they are no longer held inside, can be examined and reflected upon, and even altered by someone else’s input.” (2009)
Over time, families may notice:
Fewer emotional outbursts or meltdowns
Increased emotional vocabulary and expression
Improved confidence and independence
Better transitions and flexibility
Stronger connection between parent and child
Greater ability to tolerate frustration or uncertainty
Importantly, play therapy is not about fixing or correcting a child — it’s about supporting healthy emotional development and helping children feel more at ease in their inner world.
Supporting the Whole Family
While play therapy centers on the child, parents are an essential part of the process. Therapists often work collaboratively with caregivers, offering insights, guidance, and support to help families better understand their child’s emotional needs.
When parents feel supported and informed, children benefit even more.
Is Play Therapy Right for My Child?
Play therapy can be helpful for many children, especially those who:
Have difficulty expressing emotions verbally
Are navigating anxiety, transitions, or family changes
Show behavioral or emotional concerns
Have experienced stress, loss, or trauma
Benefit from a relational, developmentally attuned approach
If you’re wondering whether play therapy might be a good fit for your child, you’re not alone — and you don’t have to figure it out by yourself.
A Gentle First Step
Reaching out for support is an act of care — for your child and for your family. If you’re curious about play therapy or want to learn more about how it could support your child’s emotional growth, connecting with a therapist can be a helpful first step.
Citation:
Linn, Susan. The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World. New Press ; Turnaround Distributor, 2009.