Why Does Online Play Therapy Certificate Take So Long?

Online play therapy certificate offers a certificate to a medium to long-term intervention that supports the child's growth and healing at their own pace. However, sometimes we see parents lose faith in the play therapy process because they expect to see results sooner or expect a therapist to “cure” their child quickly. If parents feel overwhelmed, they may be tempted to pursue other forms of therapy, such as CBT or talk-based therapies, which are more direct and offer "strategies" to manage behaviors. While these interventions have their place and can be effective in older children, play therapy remains the developmentally appropriate intervention of choice for children aged 2 to 12 years. So why is it so long?

There are a few main reasons why the process of play therapy may take longer to see results than other talk-based therapies. These reasons include the basics of the therapeutic approach itself and the child's own journey and ability to heal.

Build The Relationship

Play therapy certification online is a relational approach. It essentially relies on the power of relationships and connections to bring about change. It can take time to establish a trusting relationship with a therapist before a child feels comfortable enough to reveal their innermost feelings, especially if they haven't known adults safely.

Work From The Bottom Up

Play therapy is also a bottom-up approach and aims to rebuild the child's internal systems and beliefs rather than altering their cognitions, unlike other adult therapies that are suitable for children. This process takes time. Trauma is stored in the body and often children have no conscious memory of traumatic events. Play therapists help heal from within before children can understand and put their experience into words. However, the changes from this approach are long term and the child develops coping strategies with the support of the therapist.

Reconstruct Coping Patterns

As with any therapy, play therapy online training takes time to show results because it works to change previously developed coping patterns that no longer work. A therapist can help replace maladaptive behaviors and beliefs with more effective ones, but it still requires an investment of time.

Walking At The Child's Pace

Play therapists at institute of psychology work on individual children's schedules. Do not rush and push the child. Child-directed play therapy does not require children to answer/explain questions about their feelings, which can induce anxiety, and is less effective in traumatized children, whose reasoning regions and language of the brain are generally underdeveloped. Instead, toys are used as symbols and instead of words to communicate with the therapist and for the therapist to communicate with the child.

If you are looking for the best online play therapy certificate, visit us at Institute of Child Psychology!