Tips for Setting up a Play Therapy Room

Tips for Setting up a Play Therapy Room
By Lisa D'Arpino, OTR/L

The most important tools in the kit of a Play Therapist are not necessarily the toys, but rather the techniques and methods utilized to facilitate play with the toys. The more skills and tools the therapist has the better she can adapt to new situations, difficulties and problems and follow the lead given by the child in the session. These tools are also resources. The more resources the therapist has the easier it is to manipulate the situation within the session. The canvas for setting up and facilitating play and interaction are toys and diverse play media. Selecting the appropriate toys can be an overwhelming task with the vast amount of choices that are available in today's market. It is then an even more difficult undertaking to set up the room according to each child's individual needs.

There are three different types of scenarios to take into account when purchasing toys and setting up a play therapy room; directive, non-directive and groups. With a directive approach , the child is usually having difficulty playing and interacting with toys. These children need more guidance and need to be shown diverse ideas to play with each toy. Children express themselves and experience the world through play. Giving this type of child the freedom to manipulate the toys in their own way gives them the ability to express their feelings, therefore utilizing a non-directive approach . The group dynamic is much more intense and requires manipulation from the therapist to prompt the children to utilize their socialization skills and cooperation skills in order to achieve the goals of the session.

Selecting Toys:
An important thing to remember when purchasing supplies for your sessions is that the toys should not have one definite way to play with them. The way to utilize the object should have varied and open ended objectives. The child should develop their own way of playing with the toy. It is important to choose toys that the child can manipulate in their own way and utilize their creativity to play. Remember to select toys so that the child can set up their own play to mimic life situations. As Play Therapists, it is important to give each child the ability to do this through toys. For example; having a doctor's kit will help the child understand what happens at the doctor's office; or crashing cars while playing with them might help a child to get his anger out. Play is a child's mode of communication. Be sure to supply your room with diverse toys that will allow for various life situations to be available for exploration.

Some basic toys that every play room should have:

Dolls
Drawing material
Play dough/clay
Dollhouse
Musical instruments
Doctor's kit
Schoolhouse
Games with rules
Play people
Feelings board
Masks
Puppets
Sand box
Cars

Keep in mind while setting up the play room…
The set up of your treatment room is very important. It is the stage for all sessions and can greatly affect the productivity of each session. Everything in the room should have a purposeful placement. Leaving the toys out and within eye level so the children can easily access desired objects is a very important consideration. Being organized and having the toys placed in a categorized section is helpful so the child knows where to find what they want. The games should be kept on the same shelf; the paints, paintbrush and paper stored together; and the dolls should remain together in their own section etc. Ensure that the environment is kept neat and is not overwhelming. It is important to leave a large amount of open space on the floor for open and free play as well as providing a table for clay and craft projects. For a non-directive approach, leave the toys within the child's reach so he can choose and then follow his agenda, prompting when necessary. Remember to allow for free play: no rules and no definite way to play with a given toy(s). In a situation where a directive approach is necessary, have the child select from a few pre-chosen choices or have set up the situation in advance.

Socialization groups require the therapist to set up the situation by prompting the children to choose certain toys in order to focus on the desired outcome of the session. It is important to look at the goals of the group in order to establish the types of activities needed. For example; focusing on turn taking may require a board game or a highly desired toy by all of the children; where as promoting reciprocal play may require puppets or a schoolhouse. Continuing to leave the play open-ended is also imperative for development of each child's own play style and promoting peer interaction, regardless of which goals are the focus of the group.