Play Therapy

Track and reflect rather than direct

The foundational move: narrate what the child does and reflects the feeling underneath it, without leading, teaching, or interpreting. 'You're lining all the soldiers up… and now one got knocked over… and that one looks really mad about it.' Tracking tells the child they are seen; reflecting gives the affect a name without imposing adult meaning.

Hold the few limits with empathy

CCPT is permissive, not boundaryless. The limits — no hurting self, the therapist, or the toys — are held firmly, but the feeling that drove the limit-break is acknowledged first. 'You wanted to throw that so badly. I can't let you throw the blocks, but you can tell me with the puppet how mad that feels.' The limit is the structure the child is actually asking the therapist to provide.

Return responsibility to the child

When the child asks 'What should I do?' or 'Is this right?', the therapist hands it back: 'In here, you can decide.' This is the move that builds agency and self-trust — the child learns their own process is trustworthy, which is often the core deficit in children whose world has felt out of their control.

Let the repetition be the work

When a child plays the same violent, abandonment, or rescue scene for the tenth session, do not redirect, interpret, or rush. Repetition is how children metabolize overwhelming experience; the therapist's job is to stay present and track the affect, not to 'move the therapy forward.' Forward movement is the child's, in the child's time.

Let the metaphor stay the metaphor

Do not translate the play into a verbal interpretation to the child — 'So the dinosaur who got left behind is really you.' The play speaks in its own language; interpreting it to the child violates the frame and often shuts the play down. The therapist may hold the meaning privately and carry it into case conceptualization, but in the room the play is the conversation.

Child repeats the same violent or distressing play session after session with no visible shift

Stop trying to redirect or 'move it along.' The repetition is likely the processing itself. Track the affect underneath the content — name the feeling the scene carries. If the play is escalating beyond the window of tolerance, slow it down with grounding and limit the intensity, but trust that the child's nervous system is doing necessary work. Stuckness in CCPT is often the therapist's anxiety, not the child's.

Child tests limits repeatedly, becomes aggressive or destructive in the room

Hold the limit with empathy, not consequence. The child is asking whether the relationship can survive their big feelings and behavior — the answer must be yes. Acknowledge the wish before the limit: 'You wanted to hit me so badly. I won't let you hit me, but I see how big that feeling is.' The consistency of limit-holding within acceptance is the intervention.

Child appears unmotivated, says the playroom is 'boring' or 'for babies'

Check developmental fit — the child may have aged out of CCPT's primary medium. Either shift toward more age-appropriate expressive or activity-based work, or explore whether the 'boring' is a defense against material the play is starting to touch. Don't force the play; offer choices and let the relationship carry the work until readiness returns.