FAQs

Who Benefits?

Play Therapy can reach children experiencing the following difficulties:

• Anxiety, worry or fear
• Low confidence or self-esteem
• Big emotions, meltdowns or emotional shutdown
• Family separation, divorce or change
• Bereavement, grief or illness
• Friendship difficulties
• Feeling different or not fitting in
• Early trauma or attachment difficulties
• Autism, ADHD and other neurodivergent experiences
• School stress, exam anxiety or school refusal

When is the best time to start play therapy?

Play Therapy is a bottom up approach meaning it works directly on the areas of the brain linked to the nervous system and regulation of the senses. Once a child feels physically safe using body-play they can then begin to engage their brain in higher thinking cognitive processes and explore some of their most traumatic experiences. This can sometimes lead to regression to earlier developmental stages and more intense demonstrations in their behaviour. Therefore, the people around the child should be in a position to offer stability and have the emotional resources to be sensitive to the needs of the child.

Examples of when it is not appropriate to start Play Therapy include:

• When the child remains at risk of harm
• When the child’s carers lack stability in their own presentation and lack an effective support network around them
• When the child’s environment is in a period of transition, i.e., moving school, house, caregivers.

How long will it take?

It takes on average over 20 sessions for most children to complete their therapeutic goals (Norton & Norton 2002 cited in Landreth, 2002). There are a number of factors affecting duration:

• Therapeutic Goals: Specific, defined therapeutic goals are often met sooner than holistic developmental goals.
• Parental Involvement: Research strongly indicates that therapy is most effective when parents are actively involved in the process, reinforcing coping strategies at home.
• Consistency: Because building trust in the playroom takes time, consistent weekly sessions yield faster, more enduring progress than sporadic visits.

Landreth, G. L. (2002). Play therapy: The art of the relationship. New York, NY: Brunner-Ruttledge.

What is the evidence base that Play and Creative Arts Therapy works?

Key Evidence and Findings

• Success Rates: Consistently, 77%–84% of children demonstrate positive change, with improvements in emotional, behavioral, and mental health issues.
• Severity Impact: Data shows a higher percentage of positive outcomes for children with more severe problems.
• Evidence Base: PTUK has gathered over two decades of clinical outcomes, ensuring the effectiveness of their Integrative Holistic Model (IHM) of Play Therapy.
• Measurement Tools: The Goodman Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is used to measure outcomes, with findings showing significant improvements.
• Therapist Effectiveness: The evidence base shows that 77% of children receiving play therapy to PTUK standards show improvements, a figure that remains consistent.
• Mechanism of Change: The approach is tailored to children’s needs, often using non-verbal expression to address traumas stored in the amygdala, which talking therapies cannot reach.