Child Centered Play Therapy

What is CCPT?

“Child Centred Play Therapy is a theoretically-based, age-appropriate approach to child therapy that builds on the normal communication style of children. Therapists strategically use play therapy to help children express what is troubling them when they do not have the verbal language to express their thoughts & feelings. In play therapy, toys are like the child’s words and play is the child’s language.”

Kylie Ellison

Who is it for?

Play therapy is an ideal approach for supporting children through various challenges. The evidence tells us that it is the ideal therapeutic modality for:

Children who are neurodiverse, including those with ADHD, ASD, and anxiety
Children who have experienced trauma, such as medical trauma, family violence, grief, or loss
Children who may struggle with communication, social skills, or emotional regulation

Play therapy offers a safe and supportive environment where children can express themselves, process their experiences, and develop essential skills to thrive.

Why this approach differs to others…

The key to the success of Child Centered Play Therapy is the capacity for the child to access their unconscious mind, and their understanding of how relationships with others work. This is consolidated by the age of five.

Dr Bruce Lipton in his research discusses how children’s ‘program’ is established in the formative years, where they download, without discrimination, all of their life experiences including interactions with others. Dr Lipton’s research urges professionals to consider that in order to achieve sustainable change for children, the unconscious mind must be accessed. Rather than directive therapy approaches, which speak to the left side of the brain, the cognitive capacity of the child, the best way to do this is through play therapy!

When in play, children utilise the right side of the brain, their unconscious mind, which is developed during the first five years of life. Our job as therapists is to:

Provide the language that accompanies the play,
Establish those connections to the right side of the brain and
Develop insight for the child into what they are really struggling with.

Ongoing play therapy sessions provide an opportunity for experiential experiences in the playroom via the context of the ‘therapist- client relationship’. Children are offered the opportunity to work through and find resolution to the issues they are struggling with, and through repetition, they are able to establish new neural pathways in the brain. Pathways for better coping strategies and positive attachment relationships. The power of play to heal!

Some people are curious, aren’t you just playing with kids and letting them do whatever they want?

In CCPT the child chooses what they play with and how they play. This is an intentional decision by the therapist to provide the child with a sense of agency and ownership in their sessions. The therapist trusts, that on a deep subconscious level, every child knows what they need to explore and when they are ready to do so.

During CCPT sessions there are some limits that the therapist is responsible for consistently setting. We use the ACT principle to set these limits. Consistency with limits creates a sense of predictability and safety for the child.

An illustrated poster with the title 'Responding to Your Child's Big Emotions,' showing six colorful, scalloped shapes with tips for parents, including 'Acknowledge the Feeling,' 'Communicate the Boundary,' and 'Target an Alternative,' with a social media handle '@earlyemotions' at the bottom.

FAQs

On average a child works through the therapeutic stages of CCPT in around 20 sessions.
As with everything in life, everyone works through it at their own pace, and CCPT allows them the space to do this.
Generally, no.
The playroom is a special space reserved for the therapist and the child. In order to create a space for the ‘child-therapist relationship’ to develop this space needs to remain singular.
Your child may feel more comfortable having you come in at the start of therapy, and we will discuss this at our intake meeting.
Waves Play Therapy does require you to stay close by as our sessions can at times end abruptly and it is important that you are available to support them.
The child is generally in the session for roughly 45 mins. Sessions are booked and billed at 60 mins. This additional time is used to resetting the space and keeping current case notes.
Every 5 weeks we will schedule a parent appointment to discuss your child’s progress. In these sessions the therapist will not discuss the specifics of our sessions, instead share with you the themes of play, what toys they are using, and how they are navigating through the stages of CCPT.
In CCPT it is the child’s choice if they decide to share with you about what happened in their session.
We strongly advise that you not to ask questions when they come out of their session as this can add pressure to what the child is still trying to process.
A good way to greet your child at the end of the session is with,
‘You are all done. Now we can ____.’
‘Hi, let’s go. We are going to _____.’
For information about cost of sessions and different forms of funding that can be used for payment, please click on our ‘Fees and Funding’ link at the top of the page.