Child/Play Therapy
Why Play Therapy is Necessary for Children
Children are not cognitively capable of engaging verbally with adults in a manner required by traditional psychotherapy. Click here for a brief video explanation.
Play is a child's natural language and provides a therapeutic approach that is child-centered, evidence-based, and very effective for dealing with:
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Trauma & Transitions
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Neurodiversity supports
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Cognitive struggles
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Social Emotional struggles
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Anxiety & Worries
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Life Changes & Events
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Depression & Behavioral outbursts
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Many more
Most insurance plans cover play therapy. Years of research have shown it to be highly effective for treating adolescents, adults, and children. Click here to see why play therapy is critical when treating children.
Play Therapy Benefits
Through play therapy, a child client can:
Build trust
Learn proper socialization & positive behaviors
Learn proper emotion regulation
Decrease anxiety & externalizing behaviors
Increase problem-solving skills
Improve communication skills
Increase self-esteem
A Play Therapy RoomAt Our Clinic
Play Therapist Credentials
At Olympia Therapy, several of our therapists specialize in play therapy. Criteria for the Registered Play Therapist (RPT) credential is rigorous, and Olympia Therapy is dedicated to providing you and your children the highest quality care.
Licensing requirements include:
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Master's degree or higher in mental health
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2 years & 2,000 hours of clinical experience
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3 yrs & 3,000 additional hours for RPT-S
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150 hours of play therapy clinical experience
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500 additional hours for RPT-S
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35 hours of play therapy supervision
Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)
What is Sensory Processing Disorder?
Every one of us experiences the world through our eight (8) senses.
Our senses include:
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Visual (sight)
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Auditory (sound)
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Olfactory (smell)
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Tactile (touch)
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Gustatory (taste)
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Proprioceptive (movement and our body’s position in space)
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Vestibular (balance)
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Interoceptive (our awareness of internal organ needs)
The input we get from our senses are processed in our nervous system, which allows us to respond with appropriate body movements and behaviors. Our experience of our senses dictate how we respond to the world around us and what our personal preferences are. Everyone has sensory symptoms, common ones include: our preference toward wearing tight vs loose-fitting clothing, the types of food we like, and our tolerance level for loud noises. SPD arises once those sensory preferences begin to interfere with an individual’s daily life.
Studies show that about 5% of the population, or 1 in 6 people have sensory challenges. It is common for symptoms to present around the time children start attending school.
How Olympia Therapy can help:
At Olympia Therapy we screen for SPD to decide if there is a need for referral to an Occupational Therapist, and we can provide a referral to one of the providers we work with in the area. The quicker sensory challenges can be identified, the quicker they can be resolved and overall functioning can increase.
As we are not Occupational Therapists, we are limited in what we can do with children in regards to the body work. However, we can assist in finding methods for helping children self-regulate their bodies with consideration to their sensory needs. We also can provide psychoed about SPD, resources, and parenting strategies.
