How to Use play therapy in a Sentence

play therapy

noun
  • My son has been through play therapy and still has someone helping with kindergarten prep for kids exposed to trauma.
    — Meghan Leahy, Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2019
  • Nothing else had worked for Zack — flashcards, photos, play therapy.
    — Whitney Ellenby, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2018
  • The playrooms and play therapy rooms, after each session they are being disinfected.
    — Chevall Pryce, Houston Chronicle, 16 Mar. 2020
  • Taylor’s use of Candyland is an activity used in play therapy.
    — Zayna Syed, Dallas News, 18 June 2020
  • And imagine trying to effectively lead play therapy with young children from a remote location.
    — Sharon Grigsby, Dallas News, 8 May 2020
  • The new clinic will have a playroom for play therapy, confidential waiting rooms, and rooms of different sizes for counseling.
    — Sriya Reddy, Dallas News, 25 June 2021
  • In pediatric hospitals, play therapy has been shown to reduce anxiety and post-operative pain.
    — Cas Holman, Time, 21 Oct. 2025
  • The Center for Play Therapy explains that play therapy uses play to help children express their feelings through toys rather than words.
    — Hannah Silverman, Parents, 17 June 2026
  • For younger children, counselors may incorporate play therapy, a popular method among child psychologists that helps kids feel comfortable talking about their feelings.
    — Seamus McAvoy, Hartford Courant, 16 Apr. 2022
  • Older children ages 3-to-5 are ideal candidates for play therapy, according to Whitson.
    — Chelsey Cox, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2022
  • Particularly this year, Elves on the Shelf sometimes seem to reflect not the whimsical world of children, but the needs of their parents to deal with a confusing world via play therapy.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 20 Dec. 2017
  • Like conventional play therapy, which uses toys to help patients express thoughts and feelings, online gaming offers another way to communicate.
    — Gina Rich, Wired, 30 Nov. 2021
  • These rooms often feature games and tools that include multisensory play therapy, activity and technology stations.
    — Erin Gabriel, CNN, 30 Mar. 2018
  • She was diagnosed with autism and worked with therapists from ages 2 to 6 in the early 90s, participated in play therapy, and learned social and developmental skills.
    — Jade Jackson, IndyStar, 24 Aug. 2025
  • The Association for Play Therapy highlights how play therapy can help children express their feelings, develop problem-solving skills and learn adaptive behaviors.
    — Shirin Etessam, Rolling Stone, 26 Jan. 2024
  • The practice has a total of 21 counselors for children and adults and offers family counseling, individual counseling, couples counseling, trauma counseling, play therapy, and group workshops.
    — Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'play therapy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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