Take a moment, breathe deep, close your eyes and picture a time when you were a child. Are you thinking of good memories, playing with a ball, neighborhood friends? Now, focus your attention on a time, when as a child you were experiencing an emotional situation. Maybe it’ll be a loss, or that time you crashed your bike into a tree, it could be a teacher correcting you, maybe you didn’t understand why mom or dad didn’t show up to your game/event. Think back now on all the feelings and frustrations you had. How did you respond? Did you act out? Cry uncontrollably? Isolate? Become irritable?
Imagine a girl, 9 years old. She’s normally a pretty quiet, happy child, who loves to read books and play with the neighbor kids all summer long. Her 10th birthday is quickly approaching and she is found curled in a ball wailing and crying. She is screaming “I don’t want to grow up”. She is inconsolable and even states she doesn’t want a birthday party, stating she cannot get old. This child is dealing with fear and anxiety. She doesn’t know how to express to mom and dad that she is afraid of growing up because she doesn’t want to be boring. She doesn’t want to talk about bills all the time and worry about money. She is afraid of not being able to go outside and play anymore. She is afraid of not having friends and ultimately she is afraid of having to walk around being miserable. Nobody knows this.
When a child experiences intense emotion they do not know how to express, it can come out in various avenues. Stressors, trauma, frustration, confusion, all these things can be like a volcano. Under the surface, it builds up and eventually you have this big explosion. Much like when a volcano erupts, it’ll spew lava and fire long after that initial explosion. It’s the same with the overflow of emotions and distress a child feels when they erupt. This can look like numerous things, irritability, temper tantrums, acting out, withdrawing, crying spells, etc.
The first and greatest language we learn as humans is to play! It is through play that a child can express all those bubbling emotions, simmering under the surface. Play can relieve pressure and allow children a pathway to express the difficult things they do not understand. Play allows children to experiment with behaviors and expressions in a space that is safe and not threatening. In a safe setting, like play therapy, children are given the time and space to safely explore and play out what may be bubbling under the surface that they may not have words to articulate or describe.
In the play therapy setting, children are surrounded by toys and activities which are chosen to help a client express their feelings, whether it’s frustration, anger, rage, aggression, and more. Children benefit from the freedom in the environment and the aid of the therapist in the room to help track, regulate, and model behaviors for the child as they move through tense and overwhelming emotions.
All children can benefit from the safe space of a play therapy room and counselor to help them address any feelings they are experiencing. Going through changes? Struggling with separation? Having nightmares? Defiant behaviors? Temper tantrums? Isolation? Withdrawn? Quiet and sad? Social anxiety? All these issues and many more can be addressed through play. Be sure to check out the clinicians that specialize in play and call to schedule an appointment for your child today.