What is Mindfulness-Based Play-Family Therapy?

I received a call recently from a parent who had been given quite positive feedback about our center. However, she was confused. I liked her question. "How will it be helpful for the parents if I bring my child and he just plays for an hour? How would that ever help me?

I received a call recently from a parent who had been given quite positive feedback about our center. However, she was confused. I liked her question. "How will it be helpful for the parents if I bring my child and he just plays for an hour? How would that ever help me? Basically, I said that I agree with her and that in Mindfulness Based Play-Family Therapy we would never do that. We call it Play-Family Therapy because the parents are very much involved in the process and we care about all family members.

At the same time, we respect that parents are often more worried about one child in the family so we also want to give attention to these concerns. We have a "Talk Time" as part of every session, where parents and children together learn to discuss the "hard-to-talk- about things". Over time, parents and children can develop excellent communication skills.

We also build in regular Parent Education and Dialogue Meetings attended by the parents without the children present. Parents discuss strategies to work with the problems, and they are also invited to understand how their behaviors impact the parent-child relationship.

After parent-child interaction (Talk Time), the child often has his or her individual play session with the therapist. The parent may or may not be there depending on the issues. Certainly, when there is a separation anxiety, we keep the parent in the room for the therapy until the child is more comfortable. There are a number of other reasons why the child and a parent may be in the room for the play therapy. Factors are discussed with the parents, and we decide a plan together.

Back to the caller's question: How does play therapy help? I am in the process of completing a book entitled Mindfulness Based Play-Family Therapy, Child Development & Parenting: Weaving It Altogether. In it, I discuss that it is difficult for adults to understand the power of play therapy. Children ages 3 to 12 find a way through imagination to create stories that are metaphors of their life pain, traumas, or situations that need problem solving. When children respond to the play therapy, through their play themes, they face their deepest feelings, and release what is holding them back in their growth and development. They become better able to express feelings appropriately. They heal.

We have the goal of helping children to find and express their true voices. There is a relationship between what the children sort out in the playroom and how they make changes for the better, which are carried over into the home and the school. Likewise, there is a correlation between the insights parents gain about their style of parenting, and the changes they make that better meet their children's needs. Children and their families become happier as they work through problems that are causing angst. Although many families call when they are already in a lot of pain, many families seek our services to keep symptoms from escalating.

You are welcome to ask questions by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by leaving me a phone message at Ext. 3.