Play Therapy Series: Play Therapy with Tweens/Teens

Welcome to my blog series on play therapy! The series will go over how play therapy works with children, teens, and even adults. Don’t forget to check out my previous post on play therapy with young children and school-aged children!

This week, we will focus on how play therapy works with tweens and teens. Recently, many parents who refer their teens to see me will see my Registered Play Therapist credential and wonder how this will work with their teen because their teen doesn’t “play” anymore. Well, our teens are not yet adults but are not children either. So, what does that mean when it comes to play therapy? Many of our tweens and teens are already going through so much with hormone changes, peer pressure, school pressure, and identity struggles, it can be difficult to expect them to just talk. Having a teen sit in a room with a professional and asking them to share or answer intrusive questions can be really intimidating. I find that my teens are more relaxed when they are engaged in an activity.
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Play therapy with teens is simply using activities or experiences that would be of interest to the teen while resolving their issues. It can be a way to engage them in something that might seem “boring” or “uncool”. I’ve actually completed a complicated Lego model with a teen once. We would work on it little by little in our sessions while the teen shared their struggles with me. The finished Lego project then became a symbol of healing.
Some examples of play therapy with teens that I use in my practice are:

• Soothing items like modeling clay, play-doh, or slime helps teens focus on something rather than looking at me straight in the eye while talking about something difficult. Teens with sensory cravings also feel more relaxed when using these tools.
• Similar to the previous one, I also like to play Uno or Jenga with my teens while we touch base on the previous week
• Using examples of current trendy subjects or media in discussion
• Making a collage/portrait of their past selves, current selves, or future selves
• Painting/coloring while talking
• Using poetry or song lyrics to convey their feelings
• Creating goals or discovering their identity as outlined by their favorite video game (missions, objectives, character builds etc.)

Play therapy is effective for all ages as it’s a tool that is fun and engaging in comparison to traditional talk therapy. Play therapy gives teens the opportunity to use their creative minds and strengths to further their progress in treatment.