What Is Play Therapy and How Can It Help My Child?
Written By: Holly Dudley
If you’ve ever thought, “how could playing possibly help with anxiety or behavior issues?” - you’re not alone. Many parents are surprised to learn just how powerful Child Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) can be for children facing everyday challenges, big feelings, or tough life transitions.
Let’s break it down together.
What is Child Centered Play Therapy?
Child-Centered Play Therapy is a developmentally appropriate form of counseling for children—usually ages 3 to 10—where play is used as the tools for connection, and healing. In a CCPT session, the therapist is attuned to the child, and provides them with unconditional positive regard as they process and explore. Play therapists are trained to follow the child’s lead and respond with empathy, and reflection of feeling to ensure the child feels seen, while building their emotional vocabulary. Children are not developmentally ready to talk about their problems the way adults do—instead, they show what’s going on through their play.
Over time, this process helps kids:
Make sense of confusing experiences
Express feelings safely
Build emotional regulation
Gain confidence in themselves and their choices
This approach views the child through a person-centered lens. This means that the therapist believes that children have an inner drive to grow and heal, and when given the right space and relationship, they do just that.
What Does CCPT Help With?
CCPT has been used effectively to help support children dealing with:
Anxiety - separation anxiety, fears, school-related stress
Trauma or Grief - loss of a family member, traumatic medical experience, shift in family structure
Behavioral Challenges - aggression, dysregulation, impulsivity, excessive defiance
Social Struggles - difficulty sharing emotions or connecting with others
From life changes to trauma, play therapy helps children feel seen and understood. In the process they’re exploring their emotions and making sense of their world with the support of a steady, responsive adult.
Does it Actually Work?
Yes - very much so, and we have the research to prove it.
When people want to know if something really works—like child-centered play therapy (CCPT)—they often look to research. But not all research is created equal. That’s where meta-analyses come in.
A meta-analysis is one of the most rigorous and reliable ways researchers can study whether a therapy is effective. Instead of looking at just one study, a meta-analysis pulls together the results of many different high-quality studies on the same topic. It’s like zooming out to see the bigger picture.
Think of it this way: one study might show that CCPT helps reduce anxiety in children, while another shows improvements in behavior. A meta-analysis combines the data from both (and many more) to give us stronger evidence about whether CCPT really works—and how well. Because of this careful and comprehensive process, meta-analyses are considered the gold standard in research. So when a meta-analysis finds that child-centered play therapy is effective, we can feel more confident recommending it to parents, schools, and communities.
For example:
Lin & Bratton (2015) Reviewed 52 outcomes studies and found statistically significant effects, confirming the overall effectiveness of CCPT across various presenting problems.
Parker et al. (2021) Analyzed studies focusing on children with behavioral problems, with a median age of 6 years old. Research showed meaningful improvements with CCPT interventions.
Pester et al. (2019) Conducted a meta-analysis of single case evaluations and found that CCPT improved the mental health in children significantly.
Ray et al. (2015) Found statistically significant improvement for children who participated in Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) in school settings.
In short: meta-analyses help take the guesswork out of therapy choices. And the research shows that CCPT is not only helpful—it’s consistently effective in supporting children’s emotional and behavioral well-being
What Can Parents Expect?
Child Centered Play Therapy begins with a parent intake, where you will be able to discuss all of your concerns and goals with your child’s play therapist. Child Centered Play Therapy sessions typically last about 45 minutes, once a week, in a child-centered playroom. The model then follows a 3:1 session schedule, where your child will have 3 individual sessions followed by 1 parent-only consultation (plan on, at a minimum, once a month parent meetings). Parent consultations are your opportunity to be provided with trusting space to explore your parenting concerns and get to understand your child’s emotional world. Your child’s play therapist will support your parenting needs with empathy and recommendations specific to your child’s expressed needs. Depending on your unique experience and the individual needs of your child, the process will typically last between 6 months to a year. Some children make quick progress, while others benefit from a slower pace. Either way, you’ll have a therapist in your corner who is trained to support both you and your child every step of the way.
Parent Resources:
Introduction to Play Therapy for Parents (Video by Dr. Dee Ray)
Introduction to Play Therapy for Children (Video by Dr. Dee Ray)
Want to Know More?
Here are a few key sources mentioned in this blog.
Lin, Y. W., & Bratton, S. C. (2015). A Meta-Analytic Review of Child-Centered Play Therapy Approaches. Journal of Counseling & Development.
Parker, M. M., Hunnicutt Hollenbaugh, K. M., & Kelly, C. T. (2021). Exploring the impact of child-centered play therapy for children exhibiting behavioral problems: A meta- analysis. International Journal of Play Therapy,30(4), 259–271. https://doi.org/10.1037/pla0000128
Pester, D., Lenz, A. S., & Dell’Aquila, J. (2019). Meta-analysis of single-case evaluations of child-centered play therapy for treating mental health symptoms. International Journal of Play Therapy, 28(3), 144–156. https://doi.org/10.1037/pla0000098
Ray, D. C., Armstrong, S. A., Balkin, R. S., & Jayne, K. M. (2015). Child-centered play therapy in the schools: Review and meta-analysis. Psychology in the Schools,52(2), 107-123. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21798
