Children use play in the same way adults use their words in counseling. They process their feelings and make sense of their experiences through play. Play therapists are trained to understand a child’s play and to guide them toward coping with difficult emotions as well as to help them problem solve solutions to their distress. Play offers children a medium to work through experiences that may be too difficult to talk about. In play therapy children develop a better understanding of what they are feeling, learn how to trust and value themselves, gain better self-control, and learn appropriate ways of relating to and communicating to others.
The Association for Play Therapy (APT), an international organization, released this video to explain how play therapy works.