Tips to Recognize Themes in Play Therapy with Traumatized Children

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence

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Recognizing themes in play therapy sessions is an important part of being a play therapist because it influences how you make sense of what your client is communicating and what you do in sessions.

I remember when I was learning how to use play therapy early in my career and hearing about the importance of recognizing themes in play therapy sessions.

It felt like an impossible task - trying to figure out if I was actually observing a “theme” in my clients’ sessions or if I was just making 💩 up in my head.

I remember stressing about it at times.

To be honest, there are times I’m still not really sure and I remind myself to trust the process and see where the play therapy journey leads my client and I.

Recognizing themes in play therapy is important but it’s not the only thing that matters. I mean - you can focus sooooooo much on getting it right that you miss the mark to create a safe environment and being fully present in the sessions to hold space for healing.

So, what’s a play therapist to do?

Well, think about play therapy as learning how to listen deeply in sessions so you can tune into what is being communicated.

Like you do when talking with parents or maybe your adult clients. We learn to listen deeply to what is being communicated (not necessarily the actual words being spoken).

Play therapists “listen” deeply to what is being communicated through children’s play during play therapy sessions, including when working with traumatized children.

It’s like learning a whole new language - what are your clients communicating through their play and how do you respond and engage with them in “conversation without making things worse?”

Learning to understand children’s play behaviors and what is being “communicated” during play therapy sessions about their traumatic experience is an important part of working with traumatized children.

That’s what I’ll be discussing in this week’s podcast episode.

I’ll discuss tips for identifying play therapy themes in sessions and common play therapy themes you may observe in your play therapy sessions with clients.

So, hop on over to wherever you listen to podcasts and have a listen.

And I’d love it if you would do me a big favor and leave a review.

It’s always nice to get feedback to make sure these podcast episodes help you on your play therapy journey.

And - send me a message on Instagram (@renewingheartstraining) about the episode!

I love hearing from you - and yes- I do respond to your messages. 🤓

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פרקים

1. Tips to Recognize Themes in Play Therapy with Traumatized Children (00:00:00)

2. Intro (00:00:01)

3. Today's topic overview (00:00:53)

4. Why Play Themes Matter in Trauma Work (00:04:57)

5. Interpreting Themes: A Subjective and Projective Process (00:05:44)

6. Common Play Themes in Trauma Work (00:15:14)

7. Recap of today's discussion (00:34:43)