Play therapy is a clinical approach that can be used to supplement other therapies or as a stand-alone approach. Mental health professionals often use play therapy to help children who are experiencing behavioral, cognitive, and mental health challenges affecting their level of functioning, development, and overall quality of life.
Creating a safe and trusting environment are foundational components of effective play therapy. It is important that children feel safe and that they can express themselves during sessions. There are a number of ways that you can incorporate play therapy into your sessions including mimetic play, pretend play, construction toys, and toys that strengthen hand muscles. Energy-based activities, like directed sports, may be used as well.
Play therapy can be used with clients who are struggling with a range of mental health conditions and other life stressors. This can include behavioral issues, conduct disorders, depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorders. It can also be helpful for those who are struggling with grief and loss, trauma, natural disasters, crises, divorce, and other changes to their family unit.
A key feature of what sets play therapy apart from other clinical approaches is that it can be used with young children and those who experience developmental delays. While talk therapy is a common approach used for adolescents, teens, and adults, children may not have the awareness or language to effectively communicate their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Play therapy gives children an opportunity to share their world with you in a way that makes sense to them. This can reduce frustration for the child, and clinician, when it comes to finding ways to move forward in treatment.
For more valuable resources, view our Play Therapy Tools and Resources hub
Getting Ready for Your First Play Therapy Session with a New Client
When you’re getting ready to meet with a new client, it can be helpful to spend time reviewing the information you have received prior to their appointment. Depending on the type of setting you live in, you may have access to referral paperwork, psychiatric evaluations, or even intake assessments. This can help you gain a better understanding of the challenges that your new client may be facing, allowing you to brainstorm what you could incorporate into your first session.
In some cases, you will have enough information beforehand to have ideas of what you could bring into your session. In some cases, clinical worksheets can be used to help guide sessions and promote participation. TherapyByPro is a leading resource for mental health professionals and offers a range of Play Therapy Worksheets that you can use. Keep in mind how these worksheets relate to your client’s symptoms, challenges, and treatment goals.
Examples of worksheets that you could use in a session include:
- Play Therapy Worksheet Bundle
- Play Therapy Worry Jar Worksheet
- Play Therapy Three Wishes Worksheet
- Play Therapy Hopes and Fears Tree Worksheet
Lastly, take time to check in on yourself. Ensure that your basic needs, like thirst and hunger, are met so that you can focus on your client. Some find it helpful to engage in a mindfulness practice, stretch, or take a short walk to collect their thoughts and improve their focus. The work that mental health professionals do is admirable, and challenging at times. We encourage you to use supervision and peer relationships to ensure that you’re taking care of your own emotional needs.
What Questions Should I Ask During Play Therapy?
Now, you may find yourself wondering what questions you should ask during play therapy sessions. The questions that you ask will be influenced by several factors. This includes your client’s age, level of distress, and the play therapy approach that you’re using. Examples of play therapy questions that you could use in the session include:
- Can you show me where in the body your character is feeling their sadness?
- Can you tell me about how your character is feeling in this moment?
- Is there any background information to this story you would like to share?
- What do you think will happen next?
- Was there a different way that that situation or event could have happened?
- What do you think your character is thinking at this moment?
- Can you tell me how you feel after engaging in this activity?
- What would you have liked to happen differently with your character?
- How might you have responded if you were in your character’s shoes?
- How might another character fit into this story?
- How might the story be different if your character made other choices?
- Can you think of something that may help your character feel better?
- How would your character act if they were upset or angry?
- Are there any rules to this game you wish you could change?
- Can you tell me about what you’re creating?
- Are you modeling your building off something you’ve seen before?
- Can you tell me what you like about playing this game?
- Who else do you think would enjoy this game?
- Can you tell me how you’re feeling as we play this game?
- If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?
- What superpower do you wish you had, and why?
- What was something you enjoyed about playing today?
- Was there anything during our time together that challenged you?
- Is there anything we could have done to make it more fun?
- What made the character happy in the story?
- Can you show me how your character would speak to their friends?
- How can your character show kindness to others?
- How do you think your character would feel if someone showed them kindness?
- Do you think your character handled the situation well?
- Can you tell me why you chose to play this game today?
- Can you tell me about the character you’re playing with?
- Can you tell me about your character’s best friend?
- What would your character do if they met a new friend?
- Is your character afraid of anything?
- Can you tell me about what you made?
- Does your building represent anything?
- Can you tell me what your vision is?
- How would you like your vision to look?
- Can you show me how the pieces fit together?
- How will you know when your creation is finished?
- If you had as many blocks as you needed, what would you build?
- How do you feel when you look at your creation?
- If you wanted to make your building taller, how would you do it?
- What would it be like to try building this differently?
- When you’re building a house, what do you need to include in your building?
- How can you tell that a building is strong?
- Are there any changes you could make to make your building more fun?
- Can you tell me how you feel when your building does go together like you want?
- What would happen if you moved this piece?
- Are there different kinds of buildings that you can create?
- If you could change the colors of your building, what colors would you choose?
- How do you feel when you look at your finished buildings?
- How would you make a bridge out of these blocks?
- What would be different if we used the same types of blocks for the entire building?
- Is there something that could be different about the blocks to make them easier to play with?
- What do you think the hardest part of being sad is?
- What do you think makes your character feel brave?
- How do you think your character would feel if someone gave them a hug?
- Can you tell me how you feel when you think about that event?
- Can you tell me about a time you felt proud of yourself?
- If you could live one day over again, what day would you pick?
- What does being happy look like for you?
- How can your character show that they are confident?
- How do you think your character would feel if someone were being mean to them?
- How might your character respond if someone was bullying them?
- Can you tell me about a time that you had fun being creative?
- Can you show me how you like to play at home?
- Are there any toys or games that you don’t enjoy playing?
- If you could pretend to be anyone else for a day, who would you choose and why?
- Would you say that you prefer to play with others or by yourself?
- Who is your favorite person to play with?
- Can you tell me the most fun you’ve had playing with someone?
- What game or toy do you wish we could play during our time together?
- Can you tell me about how you use your imagination?
- Is there anything else you would like to share with me today?
Frequently Asked Clinical Questions
Below are FAQs clinicians are asking:
How does a clinician differentiate between standard pretend play and a child’s externalization of trauma during diagnostic questioning?
Observe the affective depth, behavioral rigidity, and thematic repetition shown across multiple clinical encounters rather than reviewing single isolated scenes. Standard pretend play or storytelling allows for creative flexibility and smooth transitions between roles, whereas trauma externalization involves highly disorganized, distressing symbolic re-enactments of family transitions or chaos where the child appears deeply absorbed or emotionally dysregulated.
What is the recommended clinical protocol if a narrative storytelling exercise triggers severe emotional flooding or a behavioral meltdown?
Cease the active imagery or game exploration immediately and transition the child straight into structured co-regulation and physical stabilization. Avoid forcing them to verbally explain what their character is thinking or feeling while their autonomic nervous system is hyper-aroused; instead, utilize concrete grounding materials or low-barrier techniques like a play therapy worry jar to safely restore a sense of safety within the room.
How should a practitioner handle a child with developmental delays who wants to play but lacks the language to answer discussion questions?
Pivot the clinical intervention away from verbal processing and modify the session to prioritize nonverbal, action-oriented materials like construction toys or mimetic play. Recognizing that children often lack the mature communication skills to articulate underlying psychological stressors allows you to follow their physical choices, tracking how the pieces fit together to help them share their inner world in a way that makes sense to them.
When is it clinically appropriate to transition a pediatric client from child-centered, non-directive play to active behavioral rehearsal modeling?
Introduce highly directive instructions or structured role-playing activities once a secure therapeutic rapport is fully established and the child demonstrates basic emotion labeling capacities. Moving toward targeted skill building too early can escalate their fear of criticism and disrupt the therapeutic alliance, meaning you should maintain a safe and trusting, open-ended environment until their baseline affect tolerance stabilizes.
Can standalone play therapy questions safely address conduct disorders and severe behavior issues without caregiver involvement?
No, individual pediatric activity planning must be systematically paired with comprehensive parent training and care coordination across multiple settings. While utilizing tools like a hopes and fears tree provides an essential foundation for emotional intelligence, managing severe conduct psychopathology or home-based aggression requires an integrated treatment plan that combines individual counseling with structured family therapy interventions to maximize long-term effectiveness.
Final Thoughts On Asking the Right Questions in Play Therapy
Thank you for taking the time to read about common questions in play therapy! Play therapy is a valuable treatment option for mental health professionals working with children. It is important to meet children where they are and communicate in a manner that they understand. With personalized treatment options, we can help children cope with intense emotions and other challenges that they’re experiencing.
Play therapy is a customizable treatment approach. This means that you can tailor the interventions that you use to your clients’ development and interests to promote engagement and create a sense of safety. You’ll also have an opportunity to combine it with other therapeutic approaches when appropriate. This can include approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), behavioral therapy, family therapy, and attachment-based therapy, when developmentally appropriate.
If you work in a setting with children or would like to learn about how play therapy can enhance your clinical work, we encourage you to look for continuing education and other training opportunities in your niche.
TherapyByPro is a trusted resource for mental health professionals worldwide. Our therapy tools are designed with one mission in mind: to save you time and help you focus on what truly matters-your clients. Every worksheet, counseling script, and therapy poster in our shop is professionally crafted to simplify your workflow, enhance your sessions, reduce stress, and most of all, help your clients.
Want to reach more clients? We can help! TherapyByPro is also a therapist directory designed to help you reach new clients, highlight your expertise, and make a meaningful impact in the lives of others.
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Resources:
- Koukourikos K, Tsaloglidou A, Tzeha L, Iliadis C, Frantzana A, Katsimbeli A, Kourkouta L. An Overview of Play Therapy. Mater Sociomed. 2021 Dec;33(4):293-297. doi: 10.5455/msm.2021.33.293-297. PMID: 35210953; PMCID: PMC8812369.
- Why play therapy? – association for play therapy. Association for Play Therapy. (n.d.). https://www.a4pt.org/page/WhyPlayTherapy