What Is Play Therapy?

Play Therapy is an experiential form of counseling geared towards children, adolescents, and teens. The main concept of Play therapy is to allow children the opportunity to communicate their emotions and explore and confront challenges through play using toys, sand tray therapy, art, and other forms of expression. Typically, language is developed later in a child’s development which let’s us know that sometimes it may be challenging for some to verbalize emotions. Children use other forms of communication to express their feelings and integrate challenges through play, body language, and behaviors, and though there are many types of play therapy. Toys are like the letters of the alphabet and the way in which they interact creates the words or language to their emotional experiences. Our approach to play zeroes in on nonverbal aspects of therapist-client interactions and works from the bottom up to process trauma, teach skills, learn new ways to communicate needs and emotions, and demonstrate nervous system regulation techniques. In essence, the therapist is the most important “toy” or object for play throughout this process. 

Acting as an external regulator, a therapist using our approach to Play Therapy will engage the right hemisphere of the brain’s communication pathways, creating with the child a “dance of attunement” during which their thoughts and feelings can be reorganized and regulated as they explore through play. Our therapists welcomes all emotions experienced by the child—including anger and aggression—because a range of emotions and behaviors teach valuable skills when it comes to managing, regulating, and healing the nervous system. Our trained play therapists facilitate a sense of trust and security throughout the treatment process so that they can feel free to explore challenges without judgment. Our nervous system responds to challenges known as the four threats of the brain that include congruency in the environment, the unknown, “shoulds”, and physical and emotional safety. When emotional regulation is taught and experienced through play, children are more likely to access coping mechanisms and demonstrate mindfulness. 

 

Jennifer French Is currently taking new play therapy clients. Please contact us for how to schedule your free 15-minute consultation. 

How Does Synergetic Play Therapy Work?

This form of play therapy we utilize was developed here in Colorado, by Lisa Dion, LPC, in 2008. Synergetic Play Therapy originated from the idea that it is possible to “regulate another person’s nervous system by first regulating your own.” This is where the concept of synergy comes in, or as the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute defines the term: “systems in transformation.” Models that have informed this modality include Child-Centered and Experiential Play Therapies, as well as Gestalt psychology. Child-Centered Play Therapy revolves around the idea of observing the child in play, while Experiential models involve the therapist immersing themselves in the play experience. And Gestalt ideologies emphasize the importance of authenticity in the clinician-client relationship. 

Despite its relatively recent emergence on the therapy scene, Synergetic Play has been researched and considered an effective modality. And since its development, Dion has taught this model to therapeutic communities across the globe in an effort to help children struggling with sensory processing disorders, anxiety, autism, PTSD, aggression, and challenges commonly experienced by this population, such as divorce/separation and abuse. 

Synergetic Play Therapy takes a healing approach from the inside out, meaning it targets the most embedded parts of the brain and works its way up. Children will arrive in therapy prepared to test the clinician so they can gauge credibility and make sure that the therapeutic space being cultivated is a place where they can explore challenging circumstances and emotions with the knowledge that they won’t be shamed.

An essential part of this approach is that the child can feel safe to come in and be their authentic selves. We know that they will do everything in their creative power to get the therapist to understand what it feels like to be them and how their self-perception shapes their experience and their perspective on the world through conversation, play, acting, art, sand tray therapy, and any other form of engagement that will help them better understand themselves and their environment. 

And as the child observes the therapist’s readiness to remain genuine and secure in moving towards difficult emotions, the child will reflect that readiness themselves. Through toys, sand tray therapy, art, and verbal communication (when necessary), the child processes the challenges they’re experiencing. Then, the therapist will empower the child to use coping skills, such as mindfulness and emotional regulation tactics, to calm the nervous system. Over time, the child’s brain is rewired and able to translate the process of emotional regulation and communication outside of the therapeutic space—at home, at school, and in other areas of their lives. 

Both parent and child will learn the fundamentals of the nervous system and the window of emotional tolerance so that they’ll be able to quickly identify appropriate coping skills during moments of distress or dysregulation. Because Synergetic Play Therapy encourages clients to move towards hard and difficult emotions—instead of away from them—children are more likely to develop lifelong skills for communication, emotional congruence, and expression of self. 

How We Incorporate Synergetic Play Into Therapy at Serenity EFTC

At Serenity Experiential Family Therapy Center, we use Synergetic Play for children as young as two. Because this form of play therapy does not primarily focus on verbal communication, we can use it to help toddlers and children/teens with autism who may be nonverbal. We find that this approach is extremely helpful for parents and children alike in identifying triggers and observing emotions so that they can learn to employ useful skills and techniques during tantrums and periods of anxiousness. 

Beginning with an intake, we will walk you, the parent, through the stages of the Synergetic Play Therapy process and give you a chance to ask questions and express concerns. Through the process you’ll not only learn strategies for helping your child to regulate their nervous system but also receive helpful information about your own automatic responses and how to regulate your emotions during periods of stress or conflict between you and your child. Our therapists teach skills in communicating empathy, validating emotions, actively listening and then reflecting back what you heard to your child, you’ll be more successful in redirecting aggression and reactive responses with a result that is more educational than it is punitive. 

Our team of clinicians at Serenity Experiential Family Therapy Center are trained and familiar with the central tenets of Synergetic Play Therapy, and our very own Jennifer French became certified in the modality through the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute. Having worked with children and families for the better part of a decade, Jennifer recognizes the value Synergetic Play has in treating children who struggle with big emotions or come from a traumatic background to develop necessary skills for emotional regulation, de-escalation, and effective communication.

Serenity EFTC Policy regarding Child Therapy & Litigations:

When working with a child as the child therapist, We DO NOT and will NOT take on a second role, such as the court evaluator, parent therapist, mediator, or expert witness for one parent. If you are involved in divorce or custody litigation, our role as a therapist is not to make recommendations to the court concerning custody or parenting issues as we not a CFI (Child & Family Investigator) or PRE (Parental Responsibilities Evaluator).

Your Child Can Learn To Manage Difficult Emotions And Experiences

If your child struggles with emotional dysregulation, Play Therapy at Serenity Experiential Family Therapy Center can give them the tools they need to effectively express their needs and help regulate their nervous system. To schedule an appointment or learn more about how we can help your child, contact us on our website or call at (303) 606-6818 to schedule a consultation.