Experimenting With Toys In Therapy

I am a creative therapist and as such, I can use different methods (drawing, cards, creative writing, movement, play etc…) to create hope and change in the therapy room. In this article, I explain why I use toys.

1)      Toys can facilitate access to unusual parts of your personality.

When a client comes to session, I frequently ask them how they feel. Some clients find difficult to answer this question. When this is the case, they can pick up toys that represent their self-experience. Subsequently, we start exploring the underlying emotion or personality trait of that toy and we create a story or a dialogue between different characters. This process not only allows to surface repressed personality aspects of the client but also facilitates a process of befriending these unusual parts in a playful and non-judgmental way. This helps my clients build agency and reappropriate their story.

2)      Play is another language to express difficult emotions.

Some of my clients struggle to find words to tell me about how they feel or what they have experienced in the past. Reenacting life experiences with toys will help difficult narrative to emerge in the therapy room. This might be the case for traumatic or episodes that my client experiences as shameful. Toys can help individuals learn to manage their emotions and develop coping strategies. For instance, a soft toy might provide comfort during moments of distress whilst exploring difficult experiences.

3)      Play fosters creativity

I have worked with clients who are stuck in the pain and not being able to create the change their need in their life. I believe this is so because they have lost the capacity to play in their life and reinvent themselves. With the introduction of creative practices in the therapy room, I invite my client’s inner child to play their parts in the healing process and to support the struggling adult part of my client. Play is an important part as it activates a ‘what if’ scenario and helps create meaning.  Once clients play, they engage their imagination and build the capacity to see things differently.

4)      Have fun, therapy does not have to be hard work!

A lot of people associate therapy with painful and difficult work, and this can be the case at times. But incorporating fun into therapy can be incredibly beneficial for individuals of all ages. It helps to create a safe and engaging environment that encourages exploration, self-expression, and healing. I use humour to help clients relax, build rapport, and view their problems from a different perspective. A good laugh can reduce tension and make difficult conversations easier.