Play therapist or child psychologist — which does my 8-year-old need?

It depends on your child, not just their age. Around 8, many children can talk about feelings, so psychology becomes a strong option. But if your child shuts down, explodes without words, or has early trauma or attachment struggles, play therapy may be the deeper fit. A short chat with the clinic can help you decide.

What is the difference between a play therapist and a psychologist?

A psychologist is an AHPRA-registered health professional who uses assessment and talking-based therapies like CBT and ACT. A play therapist is regulated by dedicated play-therapy bodies (PTUK/PTSA) and works through child-centred play, attachment, and co-regulation. They are different, complementary pathways.

Can my child see both?

Yes, sometimes that is the best approach — for example, a younger sibling in play therapy and an older one in psychology, or one child who needs both attachment-based play and symptom-focused therapy. At Potentialz, William and Bhavini can work in tandem.

Is my 8-year-old too old for play therapy?

Not at all. Age is a starting hypothesis, not a cutoff. A quiet or wordless 8- or 9-year-old may still benefit most from play therapy, while a verbal, reflective child may do well in psychology.

How do I get started at Potentialz in Bella Vista?

You can book online at live.potentialz.com.au or call the clinic. If you are unsure which clinician fits, reception can arrange a short triage chat to help match your child to the right support.

Play Therapist Bella Vista vs Child Psychologist: Which Does Your 8-Year-Old Need?

Key Takeaways

“Play therapist” and “child psychologist” are two different roles. They overlap in who they help, but they are not interchangeable — and the fit for your child depends on age, presentation, and what you actually want to change.
A play therapist works primarily through the language of play. At Potentialz Unlimited, our play therapist is Bhavini Ambaram, whose training includes Play Therapy International (PTUK/PTSA), Synergetic Play Therapy, LEGO-Based Therapy, and Parent-Child Attachment Play. That is a rich, developmentally-informed toolkit for children whose feelings are too big for words yet.
A child psychologist works primarily through psychological assessment and structured therapy (CBT, ACT, emotion coaching, behavioural work), usually with children who can already put some of their inner experience into language. At Potentialz, that is my role — I’m William Carter, a Registered Psychologist (AHPRA PSY0002696305), and I see children from age 8.
A useful (imperfect) rule of thumb: children under 8 often do best with play therapy first; from around 8 onwards, psychology becomes a stronger option — but it depends on presentation, not birthday.
Expressive, verbal children often do well with a child psychologist. Children who cannot yet put big feelings into words, or who have experienced developmental trauma, are often better served by play therapy — sometimes with both clinicians in tandem.
The Potentialz advantage: Bhavini and I can (and do) work together on the same family when it’s clinically indicated. Play therapy for the child, psychology for the older sibling, parent coaching alongside — under one roof.
Cost, session length, frequency, NDIS pathways, and rebate arrangements differ between the two roles. Please check with reception about current rebate arrangements when you book — I’d rather you got accurate information than a marketing claim.
If you’re genuinely unsure which is right, you can book a free 15-minute triage phone chat with reception, and we’ll help you land on the right clinician (or the right pair of clinicians) for your child.

▶ Watch: Play Therapist vs Child Psychologist: Which Does Your 8-Year-Old Need?

Why This Question Confuses So Many Parents

If you have an 8-year-old struggling — with big feelings, school worry, a hard year at home, a diagnosis in the mix, or just something you can’t quite put your finger on — one of the first questions parents ask me is:

“Do we need a play therapist, or a child psychologist? What’s the actual difference?”

It’s a really fair question. From the outside these two roles can look very similar. Both work with children. Both often have soft, warm rooms filled with toys, sand trays, art supplies, and books. Both are trying to help your child feel better and function better. Both take referrals, write reports, and speak to schools when needed. The websites can sound almost interchangeable.

But under the hood, they are two quite different professional pathways, with different training, different regulatory frameworks, different tools, and different ideas about what change looks like for a child. Neither is “better” than the other. They are different fits for different children — and often, for different moments in the same child’s life.

In this post I’ll walk you through:

What a play therapist actually does — and specifically what my colleague Bhavini Ambaram does in her play therapy practice at Potentialz Unlimited in Bella Vista
What a child psychologist does with an 8+ year old — and what I actually do in a session at Potentialz
How to think about age and presentation together, rather than just “how old is my child”
What a first session for each looks like
When you want both
How the practical bits — cost, session length, NDIS, rebates — compare
A short three-question decision framework you can use at the kitchen table

I’ll try to be honest throughout. This isn’t a comparison piece designed to sell you my sessions over Bhavini’s; it’s a triage piece. Sometimes the right answer is her. Sometimes it’s me. Sometimes it’s both. And sometimes it’s someone else in the practice entirely.

What a Play Therapist Actually Does

Play therapy is a specific therapeutic approach — not just “therapy that happens to involve toys.” It rests on a fairly beautiful premise: for children, play is the natural language of feelings. Long before a child can articulate “I’m anxious about starting Year 3” or “I feel unsafe when Dad shouts”, they can show you those feelings in the way they arrange the animals in the sand tray, in the story they build with the LEGO figures, in the repeated scenarios they act out with the dolls.

A trained play therapist is trained to attend to that language — closely, respectfully, without rushing to interpret it — and to work therapeutically inside it.

At Potentialz Unlimited, Bhavini Ambaram is our play therapist, and her training background is genuinely rich. It includes:

PTUK / PTSA (Play Therapy UK and Play Therapy South Africa) accredited training. These are internationally recognised play therapy accreditation bodies with clear clinical standards. This is Bhavini’s core professional pathway as a play therapist.
Synergetic Play Therapy. A neuroscience-informed model developed by Lisa Dion that integrates attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology, and mindfulness. It’s especially thoughtful about the therapist’s own regulation in the room as a support to the child’s regulation.
LEGO-Based Therapy. A structured, evidence-supported model developed originally by Dr Daniel LeGoff for children on the autism spectrum, that uses collaborative LEGO building to develop social communication, joint attention, and cooperation skills. It’s beloved by many autistic and neurodivergent children — the structure of it is often soothing rather than pressuring.
Parent-Child Attachment Play. A model that brings parents directly into the play work, coaching them in specific attunement, co-regulation, and connection practices that strengthen the attachment relationship. This is particularly powerful for families rebuilding after disruption, illness, separation, or early adversity.

What that means practically is that Bhavini has multiple ways in for a child who cannot, or should not have to, sit and talk about their feelings for 50 minutes. A child who is quiet, wary, wordless, big-feelinged, or simply young can enter therapy through the door that fits them — sand, figures, art, LEGO, structured connection games with a parent — rather than being asked to enter through the door of language they don’t yet have.

Bhavini works with the child, and she works with the parent-child relationship, and she often works with parents in their own coaching sessions alongside the child’s work. Play therapy at its best is not a magic room where the child is “fixed” and returned to the family — it is a slow, careful strengthening of the child’s regulation, expressiveness, and relational safety, held inside the wider family system.

I have huge professional respect for Bhavini’s work. It reaches children I can’t reach as effectively with psychology, and it does things I am not trained to do.

What a Child Psychologist Does With an 8+ Year Old

Now let me describe my side of it honestly.

I’m a Registered Psychologist with AHPRA (PSY0002696305). My postgraduate training is in psychology — a Master of Professional Psychology at Macquarie University — and my clinical work with young people has been through Learning Links in Sydney (where I see children and adolescents aged 6–17), through KARI Foundation (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and young people), through Kids Psychology in South Australia, and through remote assessment work with the Department for Education. At Potentialz Unlimited, I see children from age 8 and up, adolescents, young adults, and older adults.

The core tools I bring to a child of 8 and above are:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), age-adapted. With children, this doesn’t look like the classic thought-record CBT you might picture from adult therapy. It looks like helping a child externalise a worry — sometimes literally drawing “the Worry” as a character and figuring out what it is trying to keep them safe from. It looks like behavioural experiments graded to a child’s world (climbing the ladder from asking one question in class, to putting a hand up, to reading aloud). It looks like emotion literacy work — naming feelings, sizing them, noticing where they live in the body.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), age-adapted. With kids this is often about values (“what kind of friend do you want to be? what kind of student?”) and about noticing thoughts as thoughts (“that’s your brain doing its worry thing again — thanks brain, I see you”). Steven Hayes’ team have developed lovely age-appropriate metaphors for children.
Emotion coaching, particularly with parents. My 123 Magic training (an emotion coaching facilitation programme) sits alongside my psychology training here. A lot of what helps an 8-year-old is what the adults around the 8-year-old learn to do differently in the four or five hardest moments of their week.
Psychological assessment. Through Learning Links I administer WISC, WPPSI, WNV, BASC, Vineland, and ABAS — these are cognitive, adaptive, and behavioural assessments used to understand how a child is learning, coping, and functioning. At Potentialz specifically, our formal cognitive assessment work is coordinated through Dr Ganda; my role at Potentialz is therapy and formulation rather than assessment reports.
Structured therapy for the common things that arrive in the 8+ age bracket. Anxiety. School refusal or reluctance. Low mood. ADHD-related difficulties (both the child’s and the family’s response to them). Autism-related regulation and social work. Bullying. Adjustment after divorce, loss, or a difficult year. Sleep. Screens. Sibling stuff. Grief.

Sessions with me look, to a child, mostly like a conversation — with some drawing, some worksheets, some games, some movement, and a lot of parent-inclusive work where appropriate. It’s not talking heads. But it does lean more on language than a play therapy session does, and it typically expects the child to be able to sustain a fair bit of reflective conversation with an adult they don’t know yet.

Age: The Useful (But Not Absolute) Rule of Thumb

Here’s the rule I’ll offer, with the disclaimer that it is a rule of thumb, not a diagnostic algorithm.

Developmental milestones — under 8 (play therapy first), 8 and above (talking psychology), and the crossover zone

Under 8 — play therapy is usually the first fit. Most children under 8 don’t yet have the sustained verbal reflectiveness that talking-based psychology depends on. Their inner lives are enormous, but the road from feeling to word is still being built. Play therapy meets them on the road they already have. At Potentialz, if your child is under 8, my honest first suggestion is almost always to speak with Bhavini rather than me. She sees children in that developmental range far better than I do.

8 and above — psychology becomes a stronger option. By around 8, most children can start to hold a genuine therapeutic conversation. They can name a feeling, size it, notice when it comes, and try a small experiment between sessions. They can use age-adapted CBT and ACT tools. They can be emotion-coached in a way that lands. This is roughly the developmental gate at which I begin seeing children at Potentialz.

But — this is not a birthday cutoff. An 8-year-old who is a highly verbal, reflective, slightly-old-for-their-age kid may be a great fit for psychology. Another 8-year-old — quieter, still finding words for feelings, or with a developmental profile that makes verbal therapy hard — may still be a better fit for play. A 10-year-old newly working through significant early trauma may need play therapy alongside (or before) any structured psychology. A 6-year-old with a family in crisis may benefit from parent-focused work with me while Bhavini does play work with the child. Age is a starting hypothesis, not a verdict.

Presentation: The Deeper Question

Age tells you where the child probably is developmentally. Presentation tells you what they actually need. Presentation almost always trumps age.

Matching clinical needs to modality — which presentations suit psychology, play therapy, LEGO therapy, or parent coaching

Here are the presentation-based patterns I’ve come to trust.

Highly expressive, language-heavy child. A child who is already narrating their inner world, asking big questions, and articulate about worry or sadness will often thrive in psychology. Talking works for them because talking is already how they think. This kind of child — even at 8 — can often meaningfully engage with CBT concepts like “brain tricks” and ACT concepts like “unhooking from a thought.” Psychology is a strong fit.

Child who can’t yet put big feelings into words. A child who shuts down when asked “how did that feel?”, who explodes without being able to explain why, who has an obvious inner life but no reliable bridge to language for it — this child is usually better served by play therapy. Pushing them into more talking therapy is often experienced as another place where they can’t do what the adult wants. Play meets them where they are.

Developmental trauma or attachment disruption. Where a child has experienced early adversity — significant illness, hospital stays, family violence, loss of a caregiver, adoption or out-of-home care, multiple moves, or chronic stress in early life — the felt sense of safety in the room comes before anything else. Play therapy models like Synergetic Play, and attachment-based models like Parent-Child Attachment Play, are often the more clinically appropriate first pathway. In these cases I frequently recommend Bhavini as the primary clinician, with me involved as a secondary support around specific issues (e.g. anxiety symptoms at school), or not involved at all. When both are involved, we collaborate closely.

Neurodivergent children (autism, ADHD, sensory profiles). This is where the answer really is “depends.” Some autistic children thrive in structured LEGO-Based Therapy and would find sit-down psychology quite hard. Others love the predictability, structure, and directness of a psychology session and hate the ambiguity of open play. Same with ADHD kids. This is often a conversation on the phone with reception first, followed by trialling one clinician and being genuinely willing to switch if it’s not the right fit.

Discrete, well-defined, “psychology-shaped” concerns in a verbal 8+ child. School-related anxiety, sleep problems, worries and fears, low mood, response-to-diagnosis work, mild-to-moderate OCD, specific phobias, emotion regulation coaching. These are the kinds of presentations that fit psychology well and where I would expect to see meaningful movement in 6–12 sessions of age-adapted CBT/ACT with parent involvement.

What Happens in a First Session

Because how the first session actually feels is often what determines whether a child returns, let me describe both honestly.

What happens in a first session — play therapy with Bhavini Ambaram versus child psychology with William Carter

A first session with Bhavini (play therapy)

The first session is often a joint session — parent and child together — with a strong focus on the child feeling safe and the parent feeling met. Bhavini will typically spend real time with the parent understanding the child’s world, the presenting concern, the family context, developmental history, and what is being hoped for. She’ll usually spend some time with the child in the therapy space — showing them around, letting them get a feel for the toys, sand, art materials, LEGO — and quietly observing how the child moves through that space. She’s not looking for the child to “perform” therapy. She’s looking to see how this child organises themselves in a new environment with a new adult.

Depending on age and presentation, subsequent sessions may be child-alone, parent-child together, or parent-only. The rhythm is decided clinically and collaboratively. Bhavini is very clear with parents about what she’s noticing and where the work is going, without ever breaching the child’s therapeutic trust.

A first session with me (child psychology, age 8+)

I usually spend the first session mostly with parents and the child together — with a good chunk of it just the parents, so that I can hear the full story without the child sitting through a difficult adult conversation. Then I’ll do some direct time with the child, at their pace. That might be drawing, chatting about school, playing a light game while we talk, or working through a very simple “what would you like to be different?” conversation.

I’m looking at three things: how ready this child is for a talking-based therapy, what the presenting concern actually is (which is often subtly different from what the parents describe), and whether I’m the right clinician for the job. If I’m not, I’ll say so — usually recommending either Bhavini for play work, Dr Ganda for formal cognitive assessment, or an external referral if the family needs something outside our practice.

From session 2 onwards, the shape depends on the child. It usually involves a mix of direct work with the child, parent-only coaching sessions every few weeks, and occasional joint sessions.

When You Want Both — The Potentialz Advantage

One of the honest advantages of Potentialz Unlimited being a multi-clinician practice is that Bhavini and I can (and do) work together on the same family when it’s clinically indicated.

Collaboration models — the sibling split, split-system support, and sequential handover between clinicians

Some examples of what that looks like in practice.

A younger sibling in play therapy with Bhavini while an older sibling (8+) sees me for anxiety. Two children in the same family, at different developmental stages, needing different modalities. The parents get one point of contact for both, and the two clinicians can talk to each other about the family system.

A single child, split work. Sometimes a child (often 7–9, right at the developmental cusp) does best with play therapy for the deeper regulation/attachment work with Bhavini, while I run alongside as a parent-coaching resource — emotion coaching, behavioural strategies, school liaison. The child has one primary therapist (Bhavini), and I hold the adult-facing scaffolding around the work.

Sequential handover. A child in play therapy from age 6 to 8 with Bhavini, transitioning as they mature into psychology work with me for the anxiety piece that is still lingering. Same family, warm handover, no starting from scratch.

Complex developmental trauma with dual involvement. Where a child has experienced significant early adversity and now, at 8 or 9, is presenting with a mix of attachment-driven behaviour and psychology-treatable symptoms (like specific phobias, or ADHD-related struggles at school). Bhavini leads the trauma-informed play and attachment work. I hold specific symptom-focused pieces. We consult regularly. The family is not shuttled between two disconnected clinicians.

This kind of collaboration is genuinely hard to arrange between independent solo practices. Inside Potentialz, it’s the norm — because Bhavini and I are in the same building, we share notes appropriately, and we’ve built the professional relationship to make it work smoothly.

Cost, Session Length, and Frequency — A Practical Comparison

I want to keep this practical rather than promotional, and I’d rather you got current information from reception than an approximate number in a blog post. Here’s what I can say honestly.

Session length. Both play therapy and child psychology sessions at Potentialz typically run 50 minutes. Some play therapy family sessions run longer by arrangement, particularly early on.

Frequency. Both usually run weekly at the start, moving to fortnightly and then monthly as things stabilise. Play therapy is often a slightly longer piece of work (particularly for developmental trauma), where the relational depth is part of the treatment. Structured psychology work for a well-defined presentation can sometimes complete in 6–12 sessions.

Fees and rebate arrangements. Fees for play therapy and for psychology are set differently, and rebate pathways differ between the two roles. Please check current fees and rebate arrangements with reception when you book — I’d rather you got accurate, up-to-date information from the practice than a stale figure here. In particular, my Medicare (Mental Health Care Plan) rebate status at Potentialz is currently to be confirmed with reception; NDIS (self- and plan-managed) referrals are fine to talk about at the point of booking. Bhavini has her own arrangements which reception can walk you through.

NDIS. Both play therapy and child psychology can be funded under NDIS for eligible participants, typically under improved daily living or capacity building supports, depending on plan wording. Self-managed and plan-managed participants are usually easier to book; NDIA-managed participants may have more constraints. Again, reception can walk you through the specifics for Bhavini’s and my services separately.

I know “check with reception” is not a satisfying blog answer. It is, however, the honest one — because rebate arrangements shift, and I don’t want you to book an appointment based on outdated information.

A Three-Question Decision Framework

If you’re stuck at the kitchen table trying to decide, these three questions will get you close to the right answer more often than not.

The kitchen-table decision framework — age and expression, nature of concern, and primary focus

1. How old is your child, and how verbal are they about feelings?

Under 8, or a quieter, less verbally reflective child: lean towards play therapy — call reception about Bhavini.

8 or older, and generally able to talk about feelings when asked: lean towards psychology — book with me.

2. Is there a specific, well-defined psychological concern, or a broader relational / regulatory / developmental picture?

Specific, well-defined: anxiety, school worries, low mood, ADHD-related difficulties, response to a diagnosis, a discrete phobia. Psychology is often the sharper tool here.

Broader picture: developmental trauma, attachment disruption, big-feeling regulation without a clear “diagnosis” shape, family-system pieces, early adversity. Play therapy is often the deeper tool here.

3. Do you want your child, or you-as-parent, to be the primary focus of the work?

If the primary work is with the child and you want to be looped in as a supporter: either play therapy or psychology can shape around this.

If the primary work is you learning to respond differently — emotion coaching, boundary-setting, co-regulation, repair after ruptures — say so at the point of booking. Both Bhavini and I do parent-facing work; the shape of it is a bit different in each case, and reception can help you land in the right one.

If your answers to these three questions don’t converge, or if you’re just not sure, the honest recommendation is: book a free 15-minute triage phone chat with reception. Tell them what’s going on. They’ll help you land on the right first appointment — with Bhavini, with me, or with a different clinician in the practice if that’s what fits.

A Word About Titles and Regulation

Because this is a question I get asked, and it does matter:

Two professional pathways — a Registered Psychologist (AHPRA) and a play therapist (PTUK/PTSA)

“Registered Psychologist” is a protected title in Australia, regulated by AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) through the Psychology Board of Australia. To hold that title you have to complete an accredited postgraduate psychology sequence, complete supervised practice, and register with AHPRA. Continuing professional development, professional indemnity insurance, and ethical accountability are all part of ongoing registration. That is my situation. I’m not a Clinical Psychologist — that’s a separate endorsement held by my colleague Dr Ganda — but I am a fully AHPRA-registered psychologist (PSY0002696305).

“Play Therapist” is not, in Australia, a title regulated in the same way by AHPRA. It is regulated internationally by dedicated play therapy bodies — including PTUK (Play Therapy UK) and PTSA (Play Therapy South Africa), among others — which have their own accreditation frameworks, supervision requirements, and CPD standards. Bhavini’s play therapy training sits within those internationally recognised bodies. This is a well-established profession with proper clinical standards; it’s just regulated differently to psychology.

Neither model is “more real” than the other. They are different professional pathways with different standards bodies. The right question is not “which title is more official” but “which practitioner fits my child’s actual need.”

What This Post Is Not

Two honest limits, because I’d rather name them than have you infer them.

This post is not a diagnostic tool. Nothing in it tells you what is going on for your particular child. That requires an actual conversation with an actual clinician, ideally with you in the room.

This post is not a comparison of quality between Bhavini’s work and mine. We are not competing. We are two clinicians in the same practice with complementary tools, and the honest answer to “which of you should I book?” is genuinely “depends on your child.” The Potentialz model is deliberately set up so that you don’t have to pick a lane the first time — reception can triage, and Bhavini and I can consult with each other if the initial call is unclear.

Also in the Practice

For completeness, here’s who else at Potentialz you might hear about if reception recommends someone other than Bhavini or me:

Clinical modalities at Potentialz — synergetic play therapy, age-adapted CBT and ACT, LEGO-based therapy, and parent-child attachment play

Dr Ganda — a senior Clinical Psychologist with over two decades of experience, including EMDR training, forensic and medico-legal work, and endorsed cognitive assessment (WAIS-IV and similar). If your child’s situation involves complex trauma, formal cognitive/learning assessment, or medico-legal contexts, Dr Ganda is often the right first call.
Sushama Sathe — a Registered Psychologist with two decades of clinical experience, including EMDR training, perinatal and grief work, and multicultural family work. Often relevant for older adolescents and adults, and for trauma work.
Samita Rathor — a holistic counsellor and yoga therapist. Where a somatic, body-based, or breath-based approach fits, Samita is a wonderful colleague.
Bhavini Ambaram — our play therapist, as discussed throughout this piece.
William Carter (me) — Registered Psychologist, working with children (8+), adolescents, young adults, and older adults.

How William (Or Bhavini) Can Help

If any of the above has helped you see the shape of the decision more clearly — even if you’re now more sure it’s Bhavini rather than me — my job is done here.

If you’d like a warm, low-pressure way in, here are three options.

Option 1 — free 15-minute triage phone chat. Ring reception on 0410 261 838 and ask for a free 15-minute triage call. Tell them what’s going on for your child. They’ll help you land on the right clinician for the first appointment — Bhavini, me, or someone else in the practice if that’s what fits.

Option 2 — book directly with Bhavini. If your child is under 8, or if what you’ve read above about play therapy has landed for you, book straight in with Bhavini. She is genuinely excellent at this work.

Option 3 — book directly with me. If your child is 8+ and the psychology fit sounds right, book in with me and we’ll spend the first session working out what you actually want to move.

I’m William Carter, a Registered Psychologist (AHPRA — PSY0002696305) at Potentialz Unlimited. I work with children (aged 8 and up), adolescents, young adults, and older adults, using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Solution-Focused Therapy, always grounded in a strong, non-judgemental therapeutic relationship. NDIS (self-managed and plan-managed) is fine; Medicare (Mental Health Care Plan) rebate status at Potentialz is currently to be confirmed with reception at the point of booking.

Address: Unit 608, 8 Elizabeth Macarthur Drive, Bella Vista NSW 2153
Phone: 0410 261 838
Book: live.potentialz.com.au
Hours: Monday–Friday 10am–7pm | Saturday & after-hours available | Telehealth via phone or Zoom (for adolescents and adults; young children generally seen in person)

You may also find my other posts useful: Solution-Focused Therapy for Older Adults, Cognitive Assessment and Learning Difficulties, and When a Teenager Refuses Therapy.

References

Axline, V. M. (1947). Play therapy: The inner dynamics of childhood. Houghton Mifflin.

Bratton, S. C., Ray, D., Rhine, T., & Jones, L. (2005). The efficacy of play therapy with children: A meta-analytic review of treatment outcomes. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36(4), 376–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.36.4.376

Kendall, P. C., & Peterman, J. S. (2015). CBT for adolescents with anxiety: Mature yet still developing. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172(6), 519–530. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14081061

Landreth, G. L. (2012). Play therapy: The art of the relationship (3rd ed.). Routledge.

LeGoff, D. B., Gomez de la Cuesta, G., Krauss, G. W., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2014). LEGO-based therapy: How to build social competence through LEGO-based clubs for children with autism and related conditions. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Perry, B. D., & Szalavitz, M. (2017). The boy who was raised as a dog: And other stories from a child psychiatrist’s notebook (Revised ed.). Basic Books.

Ray, D. C., Armstrong, S. A., Balkin, R. S., & Jayne, K. M. (2015). Child-centered play therapy in the schools: Review and meta-analysis. Psychology in the Schools, 52(2), 107–123. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21798

van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.

Weisz, J. R., Kuppens, S., Ng, M. Y., Eckshtain, D., Ugueto, A. M., Vaughn-Coaxum, R., Jensen-Doss, A., Hawley, K. M., Krumholz Marchette, L. S., Chu, B. C., Weersing, V. R., & Fordwood, S. R. (2017). What five decades of research tells us about the effects of youth psychological therapy: A multilevel meta-analysis and implications for science and practice. American Psychologist, 72(2), 79–117. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040360

AHPRA Disclaimer

William Carter is a Registered Psychologist registered with AHPRA (Psychology Board of Australia, Registration No. PSY0002696305). The information in this post is general in nature and does not constitute clinical advice for your particular child. Please consult a qualified health professional for your individual circumstances. If your child is experiencing a mental health crisis, contact your GP, call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or go to your nearest emergency department.