Families can be particularity challenging as they involve many individuals of different ages and individual struggles for each person. That is why seeking a therapist to help your family work through these struggles can be beneficial. The family is a unique social system made up of its own structure, communication and behavioral patterns and rules – both spoken and unspoken. Family counseling can help the family change and heal as well as help individual members which can benefit everyone.
One of the treatment approaches that can be used to help the overall family dynamic is Play Therapy. Play Therapy is a method of therapy that is aimed at helping children express themselves without having to rely on language to communicate with the therapist. This type of therapy works well for children ages 3 to 7 before strong verbal communications skills are present. Children communicate most effectively through play and Play Therapy offers them time and space to play out the issues they may be dealing with. Play is how children learn about the world and how it works, and it the medium in which they learn to express themselves, and develop their physical, mental, and social skills.As children age, play therapy incorporates elements of various talk therapy techniques as well. While children seem to be “just playing” they are actually processing through their life events and other issues that may be impacting them at the time. Play therapy
often includes just the therapist and the child, but it may also include others such as a parent, sibling, or an entire family.
Some issues commonly explored in Family Counseling include:
- Blended family concerns
- Communication
- Divorce/Separation
- Family Dynamics
- Grief and Loss
- Life Transitions
- Parenting/Co-Parenting
- Sibling Issues
- Trauma