play therapy

Definition of play therapy

: psychotherapy in which a child is encouraged to reveal feelings and conflicts in play rather than by verbalization

Examples of play therapy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Frei-Jones’ daughter and Ariel’s close friend Abby Jones, 17, was inspired to create her Gold Award project of play therapy doll houses from the troop’s work at the center. — Vincent T. Davis, ExpressNews.com, "San Antonio Girl Scout grows garden, future with help of strong mentors," 29 June 2020 Taylor’s use of Candyland is an activity used in play therapy. — Zayna Syed, Dallas News, "COVID-19 has forced many North Texas therapists to offer children’s play therapy online," 18 June 2020 And imagine trying to effectively lead play therapy with young children from a remote location. — Sharon Grigsby, Dallas News, "Dallas therapists already seeing ‘pandemic of a mental health crisis,’ and Texas is dead last in fighting back," 8 May 2020 The playrooms and play therapy rooms, after each session they are being disinfected. — Chevall Pryce, Houston Chronicle, "Cy-Hope, Houston Food Bank providing food for Cy-Fair area families March 18 amid coronavirus closures," 16 Mar. 2020 After Stan — as his mom calls him — left intensive care, EACH offered them emotional support and play therapy. — Simon Perry, PEOPLE.com, "Kate Middleton's Special Touch with Children in Hospice: 'That Is Her Character'," 13 Nov. 2019 My son has been through play therapy and still has someone helping with kindergarten prep for kids exposed to trauma. — Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, "After his parents’ rough divorce, why is this previously chatty 4-year-old clamming up?," 21 Aug. 2019 The storytelling tree helps children engage in play therapy. — Erin Gabriel, CNN, "NBA makes space for fans with autism spectrum disorder," 30 Mar. 2018 These rooms often feature games and tools that include multisensory play therapy, activity and technology stations. — Erin Gabriel, CNN, "NBA makes space for fans with autism spectrum disorder," 30 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'play therapy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about play therapy

Dictionary Entries near play therapy

play the market

play the martyr

Statistics for play therapy

Last Updated

5 Jul 2020

Cite this Entry

“Play therapy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/play%20therapy. Accessed 14 Jul. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

tutelage

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

Words for Summer: A Quiz

Which of the following words means “of or relating to summer”?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.