Child Psychologist Toronto – For Motor Vehicle Accidents
What is Play Therapy?
When your child has experienced a motor vehicle accident it can leave them with physical and psychological trauma.
Play therapy is a well researched technique – a way for your child to express their thoughts and feelings through a variety of activities in a safe and controlled environment.
Play-based healing allows them to work through their unique challenges by using their natural desire to play and learn.
Play therapy differs from traditional forms of adult therapy that can actually prevent your child from breaking through barriers – such as demanding words, explanations and adult reasoning.
Psychological Assessment
The most important aspect of play therapy is for a child psychologist to properly assess your child’s emotional state – this will help determine their specific needs and treatment plan. Going forward play therapy can help your child deal with the trauma, family issues, erratic emotions that result from a motor vehicle accident.
Each session typically lasts between 30 and 50 minutes – depending on your child’s age – and can help deal with the following situations:
- Getting ready for difficult, upcoming events like surgery, chronic illness (diagnoses) and changes in family situations.
- Mental health issues like depression, anxiety, trauma, death in the family, difficulties communicating, motor vehicle accidents and family conflicts
Play therapy work is often done within the context of your child’s family – including parents and siblings – in order to get a better understanding of their communication skills.
How Does Play Therapy Work?
Play Therapy Session
A trained play therapist will have a space for your child that is designed to engage in a safe and gentle way without overwhelming them – with age appropriate toys and tools.
Each session is defined by the goals of the therapist to help your child develop their play “themes” (or tendencies) – giving the therapist an opportunity to step back and observe your child’s creative manner.
Once the session reaches a point where your childs play is “stuck” (or prevented by some sort of trigger), the therapist will intervene with a “medium”. These mediums can include:
The key to play therapy is for the therapist to intervene at your child’s level – using a tool that allows the therapist to work within your child’s world.
Working outside of your child’s world includes:
