Play Therapy Activities
Getting to Know You/Ice-Breaker Games

Ball or beanbag toss: Family members and therapist form a circle and take turns throwing a ball
or bean bag to each other. The therapist gives the following instructions: if Marcos is throwing
the ball to Carla, he does so and says, “Hello, Carla”. Carla catches the ball and says to Marcos,
the thrower, “Hello, Marcos. Thank you, Marcos,” and then turns to another person, such as
Jeremiah, and throws him the ball and says, “Hello, Jeremiah.” Jeremiah takes a turn following
the same format, “Hello, Carla. Thank you, Carla,” and so on.

Board Games: Board games can be used to get to know family members better, and if it is a
game that family members are used to playing, it can be a non-threatening way of engaging
family members as they already know what to expect with the game. The therapist can add in
extra steps to the game, however, such as every time a particular point in the game is reached,
that player gets to ask one other player a question, or has to say one thing they like about the
player next to them. As play continues, more challenging steps could be added, such as players
saying one thing they would like to see change in their family.

Scribble Art: The family is invited to “make a picture out of scribbles” with the therapist. The
therapist puts a piece of paper down on the floor and invites family members to join him/her.
Each family member is asked to choose a marker in a different color, so that no two people have
the same color. The therapist invites one person to make a small scribble on the page, and then
has each family member take it in turns to add something to the picture, turning the page in
whatever way they wish. Each addition should be small, so that family members can take
several turns before the picture is finished. Clients are encouraged to keep adding to the picture
until they feel they have nothing left to add. It is important that each person’s contribution is
respected and is not wiped out by another, but it is okay to change someone’s contribution into
something else. When the picture is completed, the therapist can stop there if the activity has
been used as an ice breaker, making positive comments about each person’s contributions, or
has the choice to extend the activity further. The therapist can do this by processing the picture
with the family members, noting any themes that appear in the picture that may have relevance
for the presenting issue. Additionally, assessment information may be present in noting if any
one family member dominates the picture. This activity is also helpful in teaching patience and
turn-taking.
Activities to Express Emotions

The angry Kleenex game: The client is asked to draw a picture of something that makes him or
her angry, or mad. They do not have to tell the therapist what they have drawn, but they may if
they choose to. The therapist tapes the picture onto the wall and then demonstrates soaking a
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Kleenex in a glass of water and squeezing it out until it is still a little wet. The therapist gives the
wet Kleenex to the client and asks him or her to throw it at the picture, making as much noise as
they would like, in order to “get all your mad out”. The client is encouraged to do this as many
times as they would like. When finished, they can again be given the choice of talking about
what they have drawn, but talking about the picture is not necessary. The therapist can process
with the client, where appropriate, what this experience was like for them, what it felt like to
“get their mad out”, and could talk about other appropriate and inappropriate ways of
expressing anger.

The angry balloon game: The client is invited to think of one thing that makes him or her mad,
then take a deep breath and blow all of their anger feelings into the balloon. When they have
finished, the therapist helps the client to tie off the balloon and encourages the client to hit the
balloon back and forth with the therapist, or others in the room for as long as the client likes.
When they have gotten rid of all their angry feelings, the client is invited to sit on the balloon
and pop it.

The Color Your World Technique: The therapist draws a heart on a blank piece of paper and
encourages the client to color it in by picking one color to represent each emotion that they feel
inside them, and then coloring in the appropriate amount of the heart. For example, if the
client chooses yellow to represent the feeling of “happy” and they feel happy a lot, then they
would be encouraged to color in a lot of the heart. The therapist can then process some of
these emotions with the client by asking questions about when they feel particular emotions,
what is happening at those times, what they do with that emotion, etc. The therapist could also
ask questions about how much of the client’s heart he or she would like to see filled up with a
particular emotion. For example, if yellow is happy, the therapist could ask the client how much
of their heart they would like to see filled with happy, and then ask questions about what might
need to happen for this change to take place.

The Color Yourself activity: Similar to the Color Your World Technique, in the color yourself
activity, the therapist spreads a large piece of paper out on the floor and invites the client to lie
down on top of it. The therapist draws the outline of the client on the paper, and the client is
again invited to choose colors to represent emotions, and fill in as much of their body as
appropriate, but in this case, they can also be asked to color in the location of that feeling. For
example, if the client feels “worried” in their stomach, they would be encouraged to color in
that part of their figure with the color they have chosen to represent “worried”.

The Feeling Word Game: With the client’s help, the therapist uses a stack of 4X6 index cards to
write down the names of common feelings that a person of the client’s age might feel. If the
client cannot read, drawings facial expressions should be used. If the client does not suggest
feelings that the therapist thinks should be included, the therapist can suggest them. The cards
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are then lined up and shown to the client, along with a container of objects such as poker chips,
beads, or anything that can be used to show an amount. The therapist explains that for the
purposes of this game, the objects are really “feelings”, and then demonstrates how they will be
used in this game. The therapist does this by telling a story about him or herself and then
putting down, on top of each card, the amount of that feeling that they felt during the story.
For instance, if the therapist felt very happy and a little sad, then he or she would put a lot of
objects on top of the “happy” card and not as many on top of the “sad” card. The therapist then
tells a non-threatening story about the client, including opportunities for both positive and
negative feelings and asks the client to use the objects to show what they would have been
feeling during the story. The therapist can ask questions about the client’s emotional
experience as the client does this. The therapist then invites the client to tell a story about the
therapist and the therapist again uses the objects to talk about what they would have felt during
the story.

Life Maps: The client is given a piece of paper and invited to draw four circles on the paper, or
the therapist can give the client a piece of paper with four circles already drawn on it. The client
is invited to draw a picture of four major events in their lives (four things that have happened in
their life), one in each of the circles. The therapist may spend some time talking about these
events prior to presenting the client with the paper. After the client has finished drawing the
four pictures, the therapist invites the client to tell a story about each one. The therapist can
process each story with the client, and may talk about the parts of each of the stories that were
under the client’s control, and the parts that were not under his or her control, about choices
the client made, choices that others made, or about what might have been different if different
choices were made.

Pick-Up-Sticks: Using a game of Pick-Up-Sticks, the therapist has the client assign feelings to
different colors of sticks (yellow=happy, blue=sad, etc.) and then plays the game with the client
with the added instruction that when one stick is successfully removed from the pile, the player
names a time when they experienced that feeling. Both client and therapist give examples of
times when they have experienced a particular feeling, and the therapist can tailor the
information they share to be most relevant for the client’s presenting problem. The therapist
can also set a rule at the beginning that each player may use a certain small number of “passes”
during the game, or times when they do not have to offer an example. Additionally, some
assessment may occur as the therapist pays attention to which color of sticks the client choice
to pick up, which, if any, he or she appears to avoid, and which color elicits a “pass”.

The Worry Can: The therapist provides an empty can, such as a baby formula can, that was been
washed and dried and has a plastic lid, along with a strip of paper that is long and wide enough
to cover the can. The child is invited to decorate the strip of paper with pictures or words that
represent “scary things”. The therapist cuts an opening in the plastic lid that is big enough to
allow the child to insert folder pieces of paper. The therapists provides strips of paper and asks
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the child the write down his or her worries, with one worry per piece of paper, and then fold it
and put it inside the can. With a care-giver present, the child can then take out one worry at a
time, read it out, and the therapist can facilitate a dialogue with child and care-giver that
validates the worry, identifies the parts of each situation the child has control over and parts
that are outside of his or her control, and problem-solves ways of coping with that worry.
Activities That Address Grief and Loss

The Before and After Drawing Activity: This activity can be used as an assessment or diagnostic
tool, or as a part of the therapeutic process, to help the therapist to identify the client’s feelings
surrounding a change in their lives, such as parental divorce or the death of a loved one, and to
help to address those feelings with the client, helping to mourn the loss and accept the new
reality. The client is invited to draw a picture of his or her family prior to the change, and then a
picture of them after the change. The therapist pays attention to who or what is included, and
excluded in the pictures, and to the physical placement of family members.

Life Maps: The client is given a piece of paper and invited to draw four circles on the paper, or
the therapist can give the client a piece of paper with four circles already drawn on it. The client
is invited to draw a picture of four major events in their lives (four things that have happened in
their life), one in each of the circles. The therapist may spend some time talking about these
events prior to presenting the client with the paper. After the client has finished drawing the
four pictures, the therapist invites the client to tell a story about each one. The therapist can
process each story with the client, and may talk about the parts of each of the stories that were
under the client’s control, and the parts that were not under his or her control, about choices
the client made, choices that others made, or about what might have been different if different
choices were made.

Telephone Activities: The therapist makes a toy telephone available to the client and
encourages him or her to have a conversation with loved ones from whom the client has been
separated. Either the client or the therapist may act out the role of the loved one.
Alternatively, the client could be encouraged to “phone” the therapist or another third party to
tell stories about the loved one. The therapist can ask questions through the role play to help
the client to address any unresolved feelings connected to the loss.
Activities to Address Specific Issues or Concerns

The Line down the Middle of the Page: The therapist presents the child with a page of paper
that has a line drawn down the middle of it, and invites the child to examine two different
aspects of a particular issue. For example, the good and bad parts of living in two houses, of
having a new sibling, or moving to a new school, or the pros and cons of making a particular
decision, or the reality of a situation vs. the imagined parts of it, etc. The child can write things
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down on the appropriate side of the line, or draw pictures to represent their ideas, use stickers,
etc.
Activities to Promote Feelings of Safety

Making a Special T-Shirt: For children who have been sexually abused or who have difficulty
going to sleep, the therapist can work with a child and caregiver to make a special T-shirt that
can be worn anytime, or used as a nightshirt. The therapist can first talk with the client about
how he or she feels when going to bed, about what kinds of things the child has found to
helpful, and can suggest that only helpful technique is to create a special T-shirt that can be
decorated with pictures and words that will remind the child that he or she is cared for and safe.
The therapist supplies a plain cotton T-shirt and fabric paints and facilitates the process as the
child directs the care-giver in assisting him or her to paint the T-shirt. The care-giver and/or
therapist can add a special message to the shirt as a reminder to the child as well. As they are
decorated the shirt, the therapist can facilitate more conversation about the client’s feelings at
bedtime and the things that help him or her to feel safe.
Activities for Exploration, Creativity

Drawing with String: Taking a roll of any type or color of yarn or string, the therapist unravels a
length of yarn and demonstrates how to “draw” on a table or floor by forming shapes with the
yarn. The therapist holds the end of the yarn wherever he or she stops, then unravels another
length and asks the client to draw a picture as well. As the client is drawing with the yarn, the
therapist delivers positive and validating messages to confirm that anything the client draws is
okay. If other family members are present, each can be invited to take their turn and draw with
the yarn. The therapist then asks questions about what clients see in the drawings, asking
specifically if any letters are seen, any animals, any objects, etc. and praising the client each
time something is identified. This activity supports creativity and can be helpful in delivering
affirming and validating messages for clients with low self-esteem, and may be less threatening
than drawing with a pencil and paper.

Modeling with Clay: The client is provided with modeling clay, a flat surface such as a piece of
poster board, toothpicks, craft sticks, other figures and symbols and invited to “warm up” with
the clay. The client is then encouraged to create a story or a clay world on the poster board
using the modeling clay to create figures or representations of objects, along with other objects
provided. The client is instructed that they may ask for other objects if something else is
needed. The therapist can then process the picture created, in the same way as processing a
drawing or a sandtray.

Sculpt-It: This activity can be helpful to encourage parts of the family, such as the sibling subsystem, to work together. The therapist fills an ordinary shoe box with craft items such as paper
clips, pipe cleaners, string, paper cups, index cards, craft sticks, glue, tape, crayons, etc. The
family members are told that they have 15 minutes to create something using all of the items in
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the box. The therapist watches the process, offering reflective comments and reminders about
time left if family members lose interest or become distracted. When the time is up, the
therapists asks the questions such as what have they created, where did it come from, what
does it do, etc., and then asks the family members to make up a story about their creation.
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