COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What should I tell my child about why he/she is coming?
I think it is important to be truthful with your child regarding your reasoning for seeking out play therapy and child counseling. If your child is having difficulty getting along with other children, I believe that you should tell your child something along the lines of, “You are having a hard time with getting along with your classmates. We are going to go see Jamie so that he can help with making friends and getting along with them.”
You can let your child know that they are coming here to play where he/she can do most of the things he/she wants. You should let your child know that the first couple of sessions we will be talking and not playing. If your child has experienced a traumatic event, I like to let them know at the first session that I know about it at our first session.
What should my child call you?
I prefer to be called “Jamie.”
How long is each play therapy session, and how often will my child attend?
Play therapy sessions are 30 to 60 minutes long. It is recommended that your child attend weekly.
What should my child wear to the play therapy and child counseling sessions?
Your child should wear clothes that you don’t mind if they get paint on or dirty as play therapy can be messy (e.g., painting, play doh, etc.). There are restrooms in the office that your child can change into if they are just coming from school.
Can my child bring their own toys to the play therapy and child counseling session?
No, outside toys, books, telephones are allowed in the play therapy room. All the toys in the playroom have been specifically selected due to their therapeutic use. Additionally, books and cell phones do not encourage interaction with your child and me.
Do I need to stay when my child is in the play therapy and child counseling session?
Yes, it is important that you stay in the office. Children with attachment issues or anxiety may need to come and check to make sure you are still in the waiting room during our play therapy sessions.
Will you speak with my child's teacher?
Yes, you will need to sign a release for me to speak with them. I tend to avoid discussing or suggesting behavioral management strategies for school. My focus is helping your child be able to connect with his/her teachers and peers and being able to manage their emotions.
What is play therapy?
Play therapy is a developmentally appropriate approach to counseling that allows children to communicate and work through experiences using their natural language of play. Children often do not have the words or developmental ability to explain complex feelings and experiences in the same way adults do. In play therapy, toys, imagination, creativity, and the relationship with the therapist provide children with ways to express themselves, explore experiences, and develop new ways of responding.
How does play therapy help children?
Play therapy provides children with a safe and consistent relationship where they can express feelings, explore experiences, practice problem-solving, and develop emotional and relational skills. Rather than focusing only on stopping unwanted behavior, play therapy considers what the child's behavior may be communicating and what the child may need developmentally or emotionally.
Over time, children may develop greater emotional regulation, confidence, flexibility, problem-solving skills, and an increased ability to manage difficult experiences.
Learn more about how play therapy helps children.
How do I know if my child needs play therapy?
A child may benefit from play therapy when emotional or behavioral difficulties persist, become more intense, interfere with daily life, or appear following a significant loss, transition, trauma, or disruption in an important relationship.
Changes in behavior can include increased anxiety, aggression, withdrawal, difficulty separating, frequent emotional outbursts, problems adjusting to changes, difficulty with relationships, or behaviors that seem younger than expected for the child's developmental level.
The question is not simply whether a behavior is "good" or "bad." It is important to consider how often it occurs, how intense it is, how long it has continued, and how much it interferes with the child's everyday functioning.
Learn more about recognizing when your child may benefit from play therapy.
How is play therapy different from regular counseling?
Adults typically use conversation as their primary way of communicating in counseling. Children communicate differently. Their ability to identify feelings, organize experiences, understand why something happened, and explain those experiences verbally is still developing.
Play therapy allows the therapist to meet the child at the child's developmental level. Instead of expecting the child to sit and talk about problems, the therapist uses play and the therapeutic relationship as the primary means of communication.
Does my child have to talk about what happened?
No. Children are not required to describe difficult or traumatic experiences before they are ready.
Children may communicate important feelings and experiences through play, stories, drawings, characters, relationships, and repeated themes. The therapist follows the child's pace rather than requiring the child to provide a verbal account of what happened.
This can be particularly important for younger children and for children who do not yet have the language, memory organization, or emotional capacity to explain complicated experiences.
How are parents and caregivers involved in play therapy?
Parents and caregivers are an important part of the therapeutic process. I meet with caregivers periodically to discuss the child's needs, changes they are noticing, concerns at home, and ways they can support the child's emotional and developmental needs.
These consultations can also help caregivers look beyond the immediate behavior and consider what the child may be communicating through that behavior.
The child's play therapy sessions remain focused on the child's therapeutic relationship and needs.
How long does play therapy usually take?
There is no single length of treatment that is appropriate for every child. The amount of time a child needs in play therapy depends on factors such as the child's age and developmental level, the concerns that brought the child to therapy, the child's experiences and relationships, environmental stressors, and the consistency of treatment.
Some children may need relatively brief support for a specific concern or transition. Children who have experienced significant trauma, neglect, disrupted caregiving, repeated losses, or longstanding relational difficulties may need a longer period of treatment.
Progress is considered in relation to the individual child's needs rather than expecting every child to follow the same timeline.
Can play therapy help children who have experienced trauma?
Play therapy can be helpful for children who have experienced trauma or other overwhelming experiences. Trauma can affect emotional regulation, relationships, behavior, attention, a child's sense of safety, and the way a child responds to adults and the environment.
Because children may not be able to explain these experiences directly, their feelings and experiences may emerge through behavior, relationships, and play.
A trauma-informed approach considers what may be contributing to the child's behavior rather than viewing the behavior only as defiance or a problem that needs to be stopped.
Do you work with children in foster care or children who have been adopted?
Yes. I work with children in foster care and children who have been adopted, including children who have experienced neglect, trauma, disrupted caregiving, separation from important relationships, and multiple transitions.
Children involved in foster care or adoption may have needs related to safety, attachment, trust, emotional regulation, identity, grief, loss, and relationships. Their behavior needs to be understood within the context of their developmental history and experiences.
My work focuses on the needs of the individual child while also helping caregivers better understand and respond to what the child's behavior, emotions, relationships, and play may be communicating.
Learn more about my work with children in foster care and children who have been adopted.
Located in Belleville, The Play Therapy Center serves children and their families from St. Clair and Madison Counties and surrounding Illinois communities.