3 Essential Therapy Tools to Have in Your Play Room

Play therapy has been used as a means to help children communicate for almost 70 years, and its continued success is why therapy games and toys are still being used today. And while cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has largely replaced open-ended play therapy sessions, the use of play and therapy games to engage child patients is still an important and widespread practice.

If you don't already use these tools to help kids communicate about their issues, here are some essential child therapy tools you need to have in order to foster effective play therapy.

Therapy Games

Whether it's traditional board games or games designed specifically for play therapy, these tools can be extremely useful. Traditional board games, while not specifically oriented towards child therapy, can still act as transition tools that help children move from "real" life into a therapy session. Therapy games, on the other hand, help address specific issues facing a child or teen when they come to a therapy session. In addition, they can be used to pinpoint a wide range of specific things you want to cover in a session.

Workbooks

Therapy workbooks and even therapeutic story books can be a huge help in child therapy. Most story books focus on a specific issue facing a child, which makes them a targeted approach to therapy sessions, especially in the early stages. Age-appropriate workbooks offer more of an educational experience, providing activities that children can work through in order to begin addressing emotional issues. In addition, the activities can be sent home as a form of emotional homework for the child.

Clay or Play Dough

One of the most important aspects of play therapy is stress relief. Play therapy toys like safe sand trays, clay, or play dough allow for the safe expression of stress and anger. In addition, these therapy toys can be used to hone creative expression in ways that other types of therapy games won't.

The importance of child therapy toys is no secret, but knowing which toys are the right ones can make all the difference in how successful your therapy sessions are. Don't hesitate to try something new, but make sure you have the basics on hand should you need them.