How Do You Identify Themes in Play Therapy?

One of the most common questions I get asked by play therapists is …
“How do I know what my client is doing in their sessions?”
Essentially this question explores the ability to recognize play therapy themes and then how you use that clinical information to figure out how to help your clients.
What are play therapy themes?
Themes in play therapy are essentially the child’s behavior, verbalization/narratives, and emotional expression that communicate what they are exploring, what they’re working to understand and make sense of, and new skills they’re trying to build.
Play therapists learn to identify play dynamics in the session and then use that information to identify the psychological issues children are working to resolve.
This brings me to the next question I’m often asked ….
“How do I know if I’m correctly identifying these emotional themes in play therapy?”
My guest this week, Dr. Brenna Hicks, is a Registered Play Therapist who has been discussing this very topic in her podcast - Play Therapy Podcast- (PlayTherapyPodcast.com). Super cool!!!!
In her recent podcast episodes, Brenna has been discussing the major play therapy themes and how you can identify them.
Identifying play dynamics in sessions includes recognizing types of play, themes, and stages of play therapy treatment as well as incorporating that clinical information into your clinical decision-making about play therapy treatment.
So, I’m very excited to have her join me this week to discuss common play therapy themes.
We’ll discuss how to recognize themes in play therapy and how to use that information to identify what that means for your clients’ treatment.
You definitely don’t want to miss this episode!
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