The Healing Power of Play Therapy
The Healing Power of Play: How Play Therapy Supports Kids
When a child is struggling with anxiety, sadness, or the aftershocks of trauma, it’s natural for parents and caregivers to want to talk it out. But for many children—especially those under the age of 10—talking about big feelings isn’t easy. That’s because their brains are still developing the language, reasoning, and self-awareness needed to express complex emotions in words.
That’s where play therapy becomes so powerful.
Play therapy isn’t “just playing”—it’s a research-supported, brain-based therapeutic approach that gives children the tools they need to process their feelings, experiences, and fears in a developmentally appropriate way. Grounded in neuroscience, play therapy helps children heal through the language they speak best: play.
Let’s explore why play is so crucial for emotional development and how play therapy helps kids ages 5 and up work through anxiety, depression, and trauma.
The Neurobiology of Play: Why It Matters
From a neuroscience perspective, play is not just fun—it’s essential for brain development. During play, children are not only using their imaginations—they’re also activating critical brain areas related to emotional regulation, problem-solving, memory, and social understanding.
Here’s what’s happening in the brain during play:
The limbic system, which processes emotions, is engaged when children reenact feelings through toys or storytelling.
The prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning and self-regulation, gets stronger as kids navigate pretend scenarios and solve challenges.
Mirror neurons fire as children play with others, helping them build empathy and social skills.
Play reduces cortisol, the stress hormone, and boosts oxytocin, the connection hormone—creating a sense of safety and bonding.
Simply put: play rewires the brain for resilience.
Why Talking Isn’t Enough for Kids
Adults process pain by talking. Kids process pain by playing.
Children often don’t yet have the verbal skills to explain what’s bothering them. Instead, they show it through behavior—meltdowns, withdrawal, sleep issues, anger, stomachaches, or anxiety.
Play therapy bridges that gap. It allows therapists to meet children where they are, using toys, art, movement, and metaphor to help them:
Express big feelings safely
Make sense of confusing or scary experiences
Try out new coping strategies
Strengthen self-esteem and emotional awareness
How Play Therapy Helps With Anxiety, Depression, and Trauma
For Anxiety
Children with anxiety often feel a sense of constant “what if” worry, nervous energy, and fear of making mistakes or being away from caregivers. Play therapy helps reduce anxiety by:
Creating a safe and predictable environment
Using symbolic play to “act out” fears in manageable ways
Teaching calming tools through games, role-play, and sensory play
Helping the child feel more in control and less overwhelmed
For Depression
Childhood depression may show up as irritability, sadness, low energy, and loss of interest in play (ironically). Play therapy helps by:
Reconnecting the child with joy, curiosity, and movement
Allowing emotional expression in a nonjudgmental space
Addressing underlying beliefs of worthlessness or helplessness
Supporting healthy connections with the therapist and caregivers
For Trauma
Trauma deeply affects a child’s developing nervous system. It can make them hypervigilant, shut down, or re-enact the trauma in their behavior. Play therapy helps trauma recovery by:
Giving children symbolic control over what happened
Offering a safe outlet for rage, fear, or sadness
Rebuilding a sense of safety and trust
Helping the brain reprocess the traumatic memory in a regulated way
What Happens in a Play Therapy Session?
In a play therapy session, children are given a carefully selected set of toys that serve as symbolic tools—dolls, puppets, sand trays, art materials, building toys, and more. The therapist might:
Let the child lead the play (non-directive approach)
Guide play activities to address specific emotional themes (directive approach)
Observe themes, repetition, and emotional content in the child’s play
Reflect feelings, offer new coping strategies, or narrate the child’s experience to help build awareness
For the child, it feels like play. For the therapist, it’s deep emotional work.
Involving Parents and Caregivers
Play therapy often includes parent support as well. Therapists may offer insight into the child’s behavior, help parents understand the play themes, and teach strategies for connecting and co-regulating at home.
When kids feel understood and safe in both therapy and home environments, healing happens faster—and sticks.
Final Thoughts: Play Is the Work of Healing
As Mr. Rogers once said, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning.”
For kids dealing with anxiety, depression, or trauma, play therapy isn’t a luxury—it’s a lifeline. It provides a developmentally attuned, neuroscience-backed path to healing that respects each child’s pace, language, and emotional world.
When we give children the space to play through their pain, we give them the power to grow through it.
If you believe your child could benefit from play therapy, look for a licensed mental health professional trained in child and play therapy approaches. It could be the beginning of powerful, playful healing.
