Young children do not usually talk about what is troubling them the way adults do — they show it in play, behaviour, sleep, and their bodies. Play therapy uses play itself as the medium: through games, stories, drawing, and imaginative play, children can express what they cannot yet say, and work through it with a clinician trained to understand that language.
Parents seek play therapy for many reasons: anxiety, emotional outbursts, difficulty with transitions, a separation or loss in the family, medical experiences, or behaviour that seems to come from somewhere no one can quite name. We support play therapy for all of these reasons.
What play therapy involves
- Sessions built around play, at the child’s pace and in the child’s way
- A clinician who reads the themes in the play and helps the child build regulation, expression, and coping in the medium natural to them
- Parent meetings alongside the child’s sessions, to share themes and progress and to support the work at home
Who offers play therapy
Registered Psychotherapist
Registered Psychotherapist
Cost and first step
Sessions are $200 per hour. The first step is a free initial consultation with a parent or caregiver before you commit to anything.
These services are often covered by extended health benefits plans. Coverage depends on your plan and on the registration of the clinician providing your care — or, for clinicians working under supervision, their supervisor’s registration. We can help you check what to ask your insurer.
Common questions
What ages is play therapy for?
Play therapy is most often used with younger children — roughly ages 3 to 10 — though elements of it can be part of therapy with older children too. Our adolescent psychotherapy page describes therapy for teenagers.
Is it “just playing”?
It can look like play, because it is — deliberately. The clinician is trained to use play therapeutically: what a child does in the playroom communicates experience and builds skills in ways talk alone cannot reach at that age.
How will I know what is happening?
Through regular parent meetings. The details of a child’s play stay the child’s, but themes, progress, and what you can do at home are shared with you throughout.