If someone has suggested play therapy for your child, you might be wondering where this approach came from and whether it’s a legitimate form of support.
After all, the word ‘play’ can sound casual, even a bit informal, when your child is facing real emotional difficulties. It’s natural to want reassurance that this is a proper therapeutic approach, not just supervised playtime with good intentions.
You need to feel confident that anyone working with your child has proper training and qualifications, especially when you’re trusting them with something as precious as your child’s emotional wellbeing. Understanding where play therapy comes from, and how it developed into the regulated profession it is today in the UK, helps you see why it’s now recognised by schools, healthcare professionals, and educational psychologists as an effective way to support children.
Play therapy isn’t new or experimental.
It’s been developing for nearly a century, with UK professional bodies ensuring high standards for over 30 years.
Where Play Therapy Began: Understanding the Foundations
Play therapy emerged from early work with children in the 1920s and 1940s, when psychologists began recognising something that now seems obvious but was quite revolutionary at the time.
Young children communicate through play long before they have the language skills to explain their feelings in words. When a seven-year-old builds a scene in a sand tray or acts out a story with puppets, they’re often showing you what they can’t yet tell you.
An American psychologist called Virginia Axline built on this observation in the 1940s, developing her approach from Carl Rogers’ person-centred therapy principles of acceptance, empathy, and trust.
Axline created what she called ‘non-directive play therapy‘, which means the child leads the session, choosing what to play with and how to play, while the therapist provides a safe, accepting space without directing or judging. Her approach was based on a simple but powerful idea: children know what they need to express, and given the right environment and support, they’ll find their own way to work through difficulties.
Her book ‘Play Therapy’, published in 1947, became the foundation for modern practice and is still influential today. This respectful, child-led approach continues to underpin how many play therapists work with children and young people.
Related: Building Resilience in Children: How Creative Therapy Develops Emotional Strength
How Play Therapy Developed in the UK
Play therapy arrived in the UK during the 1980s, but British practitioners quickly recognised the need for proper professional standards specific to UK practice.
The British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT) was established in 1992, followed by Play Therapy UK (PTUK) in 2000. These organisations set training requirements, ethical standards, and supervision frameworks designed to protect children and ensure therapeutic quality.
In 2013, PTUK became the first play therapy register anywhere in the world to gain accreditation from the Professional Standards Authority, an independent body that reports to Parliament.
This accreditation means registered play therapists must meet strict standards for training, ongoing supervision, and safeguarding checks, giving you confidence that your child is in safe hands. Every registered practitioner undergoes enhanced background checks, works under clinical supervision, and follows clear ethical guidelines.
You can verify a therapist’s registration online through either BAPT or PTUK’s websites, which means there’s complete transparency about who’s qualified to work with children.
Play Therapy in UK Schools and Services Today
Today’s play therapists undergo extensive training before they can practise with children.
Those registered with BAPT or PTUK have completed university-level courses, including supervised clinical work with children, personal therapy to understand the therapeutic process themselves, and ongoing professional development.
Therapists must maintain their registration through continued supervision, regular training, and annual checks, ensuring standards remain high throughout their career.
Many UK schools now commission play therapy services, with sessions delivered during the school day. This school-based approach works well because it’s easy for children to access, reduces any worry about attending therapy, and fits naturally alongside other pastoral support your child might be receiving, whether that’s support from a learning mentor, the school counsellor, or their class teacher.
Schools often fund these services through Pupil Premium or Special Educational Needs budgets, recognising play therapy as an evidence-based early intervention. The growing body of research shows that play therapy can help children with anxiety, behavioural difficulties, trauma, attachment issues, and the everyday challenges of growing up.
What This History Means for Your Child
Play therapy’s development over nearly a century, combined with rigorous UK professional standards, means you can feel confident when choosing this support for your child.
The requirement for registration, ongoing supervision, and Professional Standards Authority accreditation exists precisely to protect children and give families peace of mind. This isn’t someone with a weekend course offering to play with your child. It’s a regulated profession with clear training pathways, ethical frameworks, and accountability.
When considering play therapy for your child, always check that the practitioner is registered with PTUK or BAPT. As a PTUK-registered Certified Play Therapist working in West Kent schools, I’m happy to answer any questions about how play therapy might support your child.