S3E22 – Parent Companion for Play Therapy: Why Kids’ Brains Work Differently in Therapy

Dec 24, 2025

In this episode of the Parent Companion for Play Therapy series, I explain how a child’s brain works differently from an adult’s brain in therapy — and why that difference matters so much. Many parents assume therapy is therapy, but children don’t process experiences through logic, language, or abstract thinking the way adults do. I compare adult brains to waffles and children’s brains to cooked spaghetti to show how adults can compartmentalize issues, while children experience everything as connected and happening all at once.

I walk through why verbal prompts and talk-based therapy work for adults but fail for young children, and how child-centered play therapy matches the way kids actually process experiences. When a child works on one issue in play, it naturally pulls other issues along with it — building momentum and growth across multiple areas at the same time. This episode helps parents understand why CCPT works with children and why play, not talking, is the most effective way for kids to heal and grow.

Ask Me Questions: Call ‪(813) 812-5525‬, or email: [email protected]
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Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapyparenting.com/
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My Podcast Partner, Gabb Wireless: https://www.playtherapyparenting.com/gabb/

Common Play Therapy References:
Cochran, N., Nordling, W., & Cochran, J. (2010). Child-Centered Play Therapy (1st ed.). Wiley.
VanFleet, R., Sywulak, A. E., & Sniscak, C. C. (2010). Child-centered play therapy. Guilford Press.
Landreth, G.L. (2023). Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship (4th ed.). Routledge.
Bratton, S. C., Landreth, G. L., Kellam, T., & Blackard, S. R. (2006). Child parent relationship therapy (CPRT) treatment manual: A 10-session filial therapy model for training parents. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
Benedict, Helen. Themes in Play Therapy. Used with permission to Heartland Play Therapy Institute.

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