Ten Benefits of Therapeutic Play
Play is a universal human experience and basic need. From the earliest moments, infants explore and learn about their new world through play. In the animal kingdom, we are not alone in this: dogs, cats, elephants, chimpanzees, bonobos, otters, dolphins, elephants, and even more animals seek out both individual and social opportunities to play. Why?
This is a question that scientists having been working to answer and understand for decades. While in the past, play might have been characterized as purposeless, we now know that play is essential to healthy human development.
One of the best ways to capture the enjoyment and developmental or rehabilitative benefits of play is through board games and tabletop role-playing games (RPGs). While certain games might target specific goals, the following are ten universal benefits of playing games.
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TEN Key benefits of therapeutic play:
1. Facilitates Skill Development: Therapeutic play can target a wide range of skills including fine and gross motor skills, sensory processing, cognitive skills, social skills, emotional regulation, and self-care abilities. By engaging in purposeful play activities, individuals can work on these areas in a fun and motivating way.
Clinical Example: There was a little boy that I worked with named Sam who had muscular dystrophy and skill deficits in most of these areas. I initially sought to address these problems in a more traditional way, but Sam was bored and frustrated. Luckily Sam (like many little kids) was very entertained by poop! I found the game Doggie Doo and incorporated it into our sessions. Suddenly, Sam started making progress.
Check out the Game Index to search for board games which target the skills you’re trying to work on.
2. Promotes Engagement and Motivation: Play is a natural and enjoyable activity for people of all ages. By incorporating therapeutic elements into play, individuals are more likely to be engaged and motivated to participate in therapy. This can lead to increased effort, persistence, and ultimately, better outcomes.
Clinical Example: As I mentioned with my client Sam, boredom and frustration when given routine tasks stalled his progress and risked damaging the therapeutic relationship. By using something he found funny and interesting, I was able to re-engage him in our sessions. Then, I set up the game to challenge the skills he needed to develop.
3. Enhances Creativity and Imagination: Play encourages individuals to use their imagination and creativity. This can be particularly beneficial for those who struggle with rigid thinking or have difficulty expressing themselves. Through imaginative play, individuals can explore new ideas and problem-solving strategies.
Clinical Example: Any OT who has worked in pediatrics knows the challenges of handwriting and shoe-tying — they can be both hard and frustrating for our clients. Teachers lament similar challenges related to learning certain math concepts or reading. This is a place where games really shine because our clients, students, and children will literally not notice that they are doing the ‘hard’ problems that they struggle with in other contexts. If they are having fun, it doesn’t feel like work!
One of my favorite games to challenge creativity, imagination, and perspective taking is Dixit. Bonus: the game works well for clients who struggle with reading because it isn’t required!
4. Encourages Emotional Expression and Regulation: Play provides a safe and non-threatening space for individuals to express their emotions. It can also help them learn how to identify, process, and regulate their feelings. This is especially important for children and individuals with emotional or behavioral challenges.
Clinical Example: Big feelings came on strong for my client Sam, particularly when his older brother took things from him. Playing games which set up situations for him to experience emotional arousal with an opportunity to safely process it helped him to better manage strong feelings when with his brother.
One of my preferred ways to work on this is to use cooperative games. A perennial favorite with so many applications is Forbidden Island. There are other games in the same series if you’d prefer to escape from a desert instead!
5. Facilitates Sensory Integration: Many play activities involve various sensory experiences, such as touch, movement, and proprioception. Through play, individuals can engage their sensory systems, helping to improve sensory processing and integration. This is particularly relevant for individuals with sensory processing difficulties.
Clinical Example: My client Sam was a sensory seeker – he enjoyed many new sensations and eagerly explored them. For a different client, Liam, sensory exploration was hard work. But he was motivated by certain games and was willing to try new sensations with the chance to be rewarded with a favorite game at the end. I’ve also used gross motor and fine motor games with my adult clients with proprioceptive deficits following a stroke or tactile changes after a peripheral nerve injury.
I love, love, love the game Dice Forge! It is so excellent for our children that enjoy / need fidgeting to focus. Also, it improves math skills, planning, working memory, fine motor skills, and impulse control. If the basic game rules are too challenging, they can easily be modified for the needs of any learner.
6. Fosters Social Interaction and Communication: Play is inherently social and provides opportunities for individuals to practice important social skills like turn-taking, sharing, cooperation, and communication. It can be particularly beneficial for individuals with autism spectrum disorders or social communication challenges.
Clinical Example: When working with my inpatient psychiatric clients with severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, I use tabletop role-playing games to help them build social connections and practice initiating, sustaining, and effectively ending conversations during game play. Making eye contact and acknowledging their own feelings were also important skills which were built with these interventions. Cooperative games specifically are very effective in eliciting new social skills.
Check out Magic Maze: this easy-to-learn and fast game is all about team cooperation and communication.
7. Builds Confidence and Self-Esteem: Achieving success in play activities can boost an individual’s confidence and self-esteem. This positive reinforcement can translate into improved motivation and willingness to engage in other therapeutic activities or challenges.
Clinical Example: Many of my clients have struggled in most areas of their life – they were always picked last in gym class or needed extra help with everything both at home and at school. Setting up games which allow them to gradually build and master skills which have chronically evaded them results in these beautiful moments of achievement and joy. Suddenly, they are raising their hand in class, getting up on their own to get dressed and make breakfast, or going to the bathroom without any help.
For my younger players, I like Race to the Treasure. This game is cooperative, incorporates foundational math skills, and builds a sense of esteem when playing games. Even when you lose, you have fun!
8. Provides a Means for Assessment and Intervention: Through observation of play behaviors, occupational therapists can gather valuable information about an individual’s strengths, challenges, and areas for improvement. This information can guide the development of personalized intervention plans.
Clinical Example: One of my patients had a TBI following a car accident. During observations of him while playing, it was clear that he avoided use of his left arm and hand, even when trying to propel himself by crawling. These patterns were more visible during observations of play than when he was sitting and taking standardized tests. Play captures a more holistic snapshot of an individual’s abilities.
9. Facilitates Family Involvement and Education: Therapeutic play often involves family members or caregivers, providing them with the opportunity to actively participate in the therapeutic process. It also allows therapists to educate families about the importance of play and how they can continue therapeutic activities at home.
Clinical Example: I have worked with dozens of families who were at their wit’s end. This caregiver exhaustion was due to many different things depending on the client: challenging behaviors, variable function with daily activities, trouble with transitions, sensory preferences, and more. Using play as a tool to accomplish goals is an approach that families can both understand and get excited about. It is so essential to have families buy in to therapy techniques because they will have to manage them on a daily basis. When I have suggested to simply play a specific game with their child and then modeled how to do it in order to work on goals, I have observed many parents have an “ah-ha” moment. The following week they report back to me smiling about their newfound success. My most successful clients are those where I have connected with and empowered the families, too.
10. Promotes Independence and Functional Skills: Many play activities can be structured to target specific functional skills required for daily living. For example, activities that involve manipulating small objects can help improve fine motor dexterity, which is crucial for tasks like buttoning clothes or using utensils.
Clinical Example: Ask any OT if they have used (or seen) a wooden board covered with buttons, zippers, clasps, snaps, screws, and more. I guarantee they have – this is a therapy mainstay. But I can also tell you that I’ve had clients who can button the buttons on these boards 100% of the time and then still not be able to do it on their jackets! The problem with these tools is that they are one-dimensional, and there are many skills required to do our daily tasks. But, use a tabletop or RPG game and suddenly this challenging skill can be rehearsed in a fun way which allows for enough repetitions, variability in task demands, and differences in environmental context to help our clients generalize the skill.
I like to tell a story while I use the Dolphin Maze with my clients. Sometimes after we finish the story, we pretend we are dolphins, too, and swim around the room!
Therapeutic play is a powerful tool that can address a wide range of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social needs in individuals. By harnessing the intrinsic motivation of play, therapists, educators, and parents, too, can create meaningful and effective interventions to support overall well-being and development.