Play Therapy for Children in Vancouver
I incorporate play, art and sand tray therapy into my work with young children in order to promote self-expression, comfort and trust. Play is children’s language. As they often don’t have the cognitive or verbal abilities to talk about their thoughts, feelings and emotional struggles, they are expressed through play.
Play therapy is a client-centred, developmentally based and research-supported approach to helping children cope with and overcome problems in their lives. Play therapy has been demonstrated to be an effective therapeutic approach for a variety of children's problems including the following:
- aggression and acting out
- fear and anxiety
- emotional withdrawal
- traumatization
- attachment difficulties
- chronic illness
- grief and loss
- self-concept and self-esteem
- social adjustment problems
- learning difficulties
In play, your child can communicate through the play materials and themes they create what their worries/problems may be. Through my reflections of their play themes, your child’s issues can be voiced and problematic behaviours often drop off.
Benefits of Play Therapy
- Opportunity for greater self-expression
- Greater self-understanding
- Relief from inner emotional struggles
- Develop a stronger sense of self
- Reduction in problematic behaviours
If your child could use counselling, please call for your free 10-minute consultation at 604-787-7258.
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Janice Ebenstiner, MA, CCS, BCRPT