What is Play Therapy?

• Pediatric play therapy is a therapeutic approach that helps the pediatric patient navigate the emotional and physical challenges of an illness and hospitalization.  
• It serves as an essential intervention for educating patients on their level.  
• Play therapy provides comfort, eases anxiety about medical procedures, and gives patients a sense of independence in their care.  

Pediatric play therapy helps young patients navigate the emotional and physical challenges of an illness or hospitalization. It’s a helpful entertainment tool and an essential intervention for educating patients at their level.  

Play therapy provides comfort, eases anxiety about medical procedures, and gives patients a sense of independence in their care.  

Defining Play Therapy 

Pediatric play therapy is a framework of activities that considers psychosocial and cognitive development to promote the emotional and physical well-being of hospitalized children. Play is naturally the child’s medium of self-expression, according to “Child-Centered Play Therapy: A Practic al Guide to Therapeutic Relationships with Children” by Nancy Cochran, William Nording, and Jeff Cochran. By understanding the role of play, healthcare professionals can better recognize how hospitalization and illness impact children.  

This form of therapy helps practitioners address the emotional development of young patients and allows children to gain a sense of control in various situations. As a result, play can transform the experience of hospitalization from a negative one into a more positive and supportive environment while the child is able to talk out their difficulties, Cochran et al. wrote. 

Why You Should Use Play Therapy

Pediatric patients face an overwhelming amount of physical and emotional stress during hospitalization. The environment feels intimidating, and medical procedures provoke fear and anxiety. Play therapy promotes emotional expression, develops coping skills, and builds confidence in a fun and effective way, ultimately minimizing hospital stressors. 

It’s particularly effective in reducing anxiety, a key component of the pediatric patient’s emotional well-being.  

Benefits of Pediatric Play Therapy 

The benefits of pediatric play therapy are extensive and reassuring. Reducing anxiety and fear is a significant — and arguably the most important — benefit because it provides a safe place for pediatric patients to express their concerns about hospitalization or procedures.  

The care team, including pediatric nurses, plays an essential role in pediatric play therapy. Nurses can provide age-appropriate toys and activities to engage the patient. They can also observe how the patient interacts with toys to gain insight into the patient’s emotional state.  

Nurses can use play therapy for pre-procedure preparation, diversion during procedures, processing post-trauma, and expressing feelings through art. This collaborative approach ensures that the patient’s emotional and physical well-being is effectively addressed. 

Using play to teach about an upcoming procedure or treatment, such as allowing the patient to use toy medical tools, reduces preprocedural anxiety. Nurses also encourage the family to engage in play therapy to allow for strengthening the parent-child relationship during hospitalization.  

Role-playing allows patients to better understand their feelings and what to expect, making them feel more knowledgeable and less worried. It gives the patient a sense of control and an active role in their care and can also provide a distraction to reduce the perception of pain. 

Sometimes it’s challenging to express fears verbally; play offers an outlet to express these feelings. Pediatric patients can also increase their coping skills when they engage in therapeutic play.  

Challenges of Play Therapy 

Pediatric play therapy offers numerous benefits, but it does come with challenges. Time constraints in busy work environments limit nurses’ ability to incorporate play into care routines. This makes including other disciplines, such as child life specialists and patient care technicians, into the care plan a helpful tool. Also, not all children respond to play therapy equally, and nurses must be ready to attend to individual needs, preferences, and developmental stages.  

The Bottom Line

Pediatric play therapy is a beautiful tool for pediatric nurses when caring for young patients. By incorporating play therapy, nurses can help reduce anxiety, improve communication, and foster emotional healing in an engaging and comforting way for kids. 

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