​What is Play & Art Therapy?

​Play/art therapy provides a therapeutic counseling setting where spontaneous, experiential, creative activity provides a forum during sessions to promote self expression, change and healing. 

The clients are usually children; however, adolescents and adults can, and do, benefit from play/art therapy as well.  People of all ages express themselves both verbally and non-verbally. 

In play/art therapy, the client selects toys (and in some modalities animals) for self reflections and exploration of personal growth issues.  Through play/art, the client represents and processes their own unique inner world and the dissonance with the larger world.

​Therapeutic play/art includes, but is not limited to, activities such as drawing, using puppets, and dramatic or fantasy activities. The play/art therapist facilitates this experience by creating a safe and accepting environment for the client.

​Who would benefit from play or art therapy?

​Play/art therapy is helpful for children in a wide range of situations. For example, children and adolescents who are coping with parental conflict, divorce, or who have witnessed domestic violence, can benefit from play/art therapy.

Also, children who have experienced loss, such as illness or death of a loved one, or who have been traumatized by abuse, disasters or serious accidents may also find play therapy helpful.

In play/art therapy, a child’s anxiety about a traumatic event can be reduced, feelings are expressed, trust in self and others increases, and a sense of competence is enhanced.   

​Adults benefit by using a non-verbal form of expression, adding fun and spontaneity and previous stages of development to their sessions.

​"When action
meets compassion,
lives change."