What Makes Child-Centered Play Therapy Unique
Child-centered play therapy is built on a simple but powerful idea: the therapeutic relationship is the healing agent, not the techniques or the agenda. By trusting children to lead and using play as the language of therapy, this approach creates the conditions where real, lasting change can happen. Here’s what makes it different and why so many of us at Bud to Bloom love it.
What is child-centered play therapy and how does it work?
Child-centered play therapy is one of my personal favorite approaches, and honestly it comes down to the fact that the beliefs at the core of it align with how I already view children. Many of our St. Louis child therapists have taken child-centered play therapy trainings and use this approach often, and for good reason.
The foundation of child-centered play therapy is the therapeutic relationship. Rather than directing the child, assigning tasks, or guiding them toward specific insights, we accept the child as they are, allow them to lead the session, and trust that they will take the therapy exactly where they need it to go.
I know. That’s a real trust-the-process moment for a lot of clinicians. If you’re used to thinking of child therapy as skill-building, behavior management, or talking through hard days, this can feel like a big shift. But I have seen this work with my own eyes—and there are decades of research behind it if you are the extra skeptical type!
What are Axline's 8 principles and why do they matter?
Virginia Axline was a pioneer in child-centered play therapy, and her 8 principles are really the heart of this counseling approach. Rather than just being a set of rules to follow, she offers a way of being with a child in the room. If you read through them and find yourself nodding, child-centered play therapy might be worth exploring further.
Here are Axline's 8 principles:
The therapist develops a warm, friendly relationship with the child, in which good rapport is established as soon as possible.
The therapist accepts the child exactly as they are.
The therapist establishes a feeling of permissiveness in the relationship so that the child feels free to express any feeling fully.
The therapist is alert to recognize the feelings the child is expressing and reflects those feelings back in a manner that leads to self-understanding.
The therapist maintains a deep respect for the child's ability to solve their own problems if given the opportunity. The responsibility to make choices and to institute change is the child's.
The therapist does not attempt to direct the child's actions or conversation in any manner. The child leads the way and the therapist follows.
The therapist does not attempt to hurry the therapy along. It is a gradual process and is recognized as such by the therapist.
The therapist establishes only those limitations that are necessary to anchor the therapy to the world of reality and to make the child aware of their responsibility in the relationship.
What strikes me about these principles is how much they ask of the therapist. This is not a passive approach. Holding genuine warmth, deep acceptance, and real respect for a child's capacity to heal takes intention, practice and presence. It’s a way of being, not just a set of skills.
How does play become the communication in session?
Instead of asking kids to talk about behaviors that might embarrass them or that they simply do not have words for yet, we let play do the talking.
Children show us themes, concerns, desires, and experiences through their play. They use symbols and metaphors naturally. Play therapy gives them a psychologically safer way to communicate than direct conversation, especially for younger children who may not yet have the language to describe what they are carrying.
When I am in the room with a child my job is to be fully present and accepting. I use specific therapeutic responses to show them I hear them, I understand them, and I care. I reflect feelings and highlight themes as they show up in the play. Through that process I am building a deeper understanding of why a child may be acting the way they are, which I can then use to help bridge the gap between child and caregiver. This also helps me to better respond to the child and show them genuine understanding and empathy.
What is the therapist actually doing if they are not directing the session?
This is one of the most common questions I get about child-centered play therapy, and it is a fair one. From the outside it can look like you’re just sitting there while a kid plays. I’ll be honest, for new therapists it may feel that way when you are learning, but child-centered is anything but passive.
Holding full presence, unconditional positive regard, and empathic understanding in a way that actually lands for a child is genuinely hard work. You are tracking themes, reflecting feelings, noticing what the child is communicating through their play and meeting them there, all while staying out of your own way enough to let them lead. That is a skill. It takes practice and it takes confidence in the approach.
Axline's principles ask us to trust the child's capacity to heal. That is sometimes the hardest part of this work, especially for clinicians who are used to feeling like they need to be doing something. This can feel hard with pressure from parents and schools, yet for the therapy to work we need to believe in the child without rushing them. CCPT challenges you to recognize that your presence, your acceptance, and your relationship with the child are something and it is enough.
How does child-led therapy actually help kids change?
Here is where it gets really good. When you allow a child to lead, you’re doing something much bigger than just following their play. You are building their self-confidence, their self-trust, and their sense of competence.
A lot of kids who come to therapy are struggling with exactly those things. They may not trust themselves. They may not feel capable. They often carry a lot of shame.
When a child chooses the purple paint, makes something, and feels proud of it, that might seem like a small moment. But for a child who has felt incompetent or ashamed, that is huge! They made a choice. They trusted themselves, and they felt something pleasurable at the end. And I did not make them do it, or tell them it was good. They built that sense of worth entirely on their own.
That is intrinsic value. That is what we want for kids. And children who trust themselves, feel genuinely valuable, and accept themselves tend to show up in the world the way we hope they will.
Who is child-centered play therapy best suited for?
Child-centered play therapy is especially beneficial for children ages 3 to 10, though it can be adapted across a wider age range. It has been found helpful for children with social and emotional struggles and outward behaviors, as well as more internalizing concerns like anxiety.
It’s also a particularly good fit for children who are not ready or able to engage in talk therapy. This can be a particularly helpful therapy for neurodivergent children! Because play is communication, kids do not have to have the words for what they are feeling. They just have to be allowed to play.
Does child-centered play therapy actually work?
Yes, CCPT is well-supported by research and experience. Child-centered play therapy is an evidence-based approach with decades of studies supporting its effectiveness. If you want to dig into the literature, we recommend starting with Gary Landreth and seeking others in the play therapy field.
What will I actually learn in a CCPT training?
Here is what I want to be honest about when it comes to our upcoming child-centered play therapy training. Yes, you will learn skills. But mostly you will walk away understanding the how and the why of child-centered play therapy and what it actually means to live into Axline's 8 principles in an authentic way.
The skills are secondary. The “being with” attitude and your presence in the playroom are primary.
If you read through those principles and felt something, that’s worth paying attention to. This training is for clinicians who want to:
explore what it really means to trust a child to lead
to hold genuine acceptance
and to show up in the room in a way that allows a child to do their own healing.
Join us in St. Louis for Playing the Child-Led Way: An Introduction to Child-Centered Play Therapy and come ready to explore not just what you do in the room but who you are in the room.
Bud to Bloom Play Therapy trainings are approved for CE credit with the Association of Play Therapy (APT) and the Missouri chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Axline's 8 principles of child-centered play therapy?
Axline's 8 principles are the foundation of the child-centered counseling approach. They describe a way of being with a child in the room rooted in warmth, acceptance, permissiveness, empathic reflection, deep respect for the child's capacity to heal, non-direction, patience, and appropriate limit setting. They are less a checklist and more a therapeutic orientation and philosophy.
What ages does child-centered play therapy work best for?
Child-centered play therapy is especially well suited for children ages 3 to 10. It works beautifully for kids who are not yet able to engage in talk therapy and for children carrying concerns they do not have words for yet.
Does child-centered play therapy really work?
Yes, and the research backs it up. Child-centered play therapy is an evidence-based counseling approach with decades of studies supporting its effectiveness for a range of social, emotional and behavioral concerns in children.
How is child-centered play therapy different from other play therapy approaches?
Many play therapy approaches involve some degree of therapist direction, structured activities, or skill building. Child-centered play therapy is non-directive, meaning the child leads and the therapist follows. The relationship itself is seen as the primary agent of healing rather than any specific technique or intervention.
What does the therapist actually do in a child-centered play therapy session?
The therapist is fully present and attuned, using specific therapeutic responses to reflect feelings, highlight themes, and communicate acceptance. It looks simple from the outside but holding genuine unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding in a way that actually lands for a child is a real and deeply human skill. Our upcoming workshop Playing the Child-Led Way is a great place to start exploring what that looks like for you.
Meet the Author
Jasmine Berger, LCSW and RPT-S is a registered play therapist supervisor and founder of Bud to Bloom Play Therapy in St. Louis, Missouri. She offers supervision, consultation, and play therapy training for social workers and mental health professionals who want to deepen their play therapy practice.
