Play Therapy for Adults

My most recent Counseling Today article was published last month. It takes a look at ways counselors can incorporate play therapy techniques – games, art projects, sandtray exercises – into their work with adult clients.

I don’t work with children or adolescents, so I never really considered learning or adding play therapy approaches to my counseling practice. In my research I discovered how useful these activities can be, particularly in working with resistant clients or those struggling with grief and loss. One of the counselors I interviewed told a moving story about working with a grieving mother whose four-year-old was killed by a drunk driver. Using play therapy actually created a more relaxed atmosphere, where the mother was able to connect with her real feelings about the loss. It truly made me rethink some of my ideas about the counseling process. For more, take a look at the entire story on the American Counseling Association site.