S3E9 - Parent Companion for Play Therapy: Four Universal Outcomes of Child-Centered Play Therapy
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
Release Date: 10/22/2025
S3E25 - “That’s Mine!” Understanding Possessive Behavior in Kids
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
In this episode, I answer a question from Melissa about children who are possessive of their things and struggle with sharing. I explain why phrases like “that’s mine” are often tied to power and control, and why this behavior is also developmentally appropriate, especially for younger children. Kids only have control over a few areas of their lives, so when they feel powerless, they grab control wherever they can — including toys and people. Understanding this helps parents respond without frustration or shame. I walk through how to use reflection of feeling, choice giving, and clear...
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S3E24 - Parent Companion for Play Therapy: Layers of an Onion-How Children Work Through Issues in Play Therapy
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
In this episode of the Parent Companion for Play Therapy series, I explain the idea of layers of an onion and how it helps parents understand what’s really happening as children work through challenges in child-centered play therapy. Each issue a child brings — anxiety, control, regulation, self-esteem, fear — is its own layer, but none of them exist in isolation. They are all connected and influence each other as part of the child’s overall growth. I walk through how these layers develop and shift together over time, alongside the four universal outcomes of play therapy. When a child...
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S3E23 - How to Respond When Children Are Put in the Middle of a Divorce and Conflicting Messages
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
In this episode, I answer a question from a mom navigating a difficult co-parenting situation during divorce. Her young children are repeating things they’ve been told at the other parent’s house — including statements that aren’t true and comments that put them in the middle of adult conflict. I explain why shielding children from divorce details is not only appropriate, but essential for their emotional safety, and why kids should never feel responsible for adult problems. I walk through child-centered ways to respond when children repeat things they shouldn’t know or accuse a...
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S3E22 - Parent Companion for Play Therapy: Why Kids’ Brains Work Differently in Therapy
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
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...
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S3E21 - Helping Kids Speak Up in Co-Parenting Situations
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
In this episode, I answer a question from Deborah about co-parenting, shared custody, and how to support a 12-year-old who doesn’t want to go back and forth between homes. I explain why, even at this age, kids are still not comfortable using words to handle emotionally charged situations, especially when feelings are involved. Expecting a child to clearly and calmly advocate for themselves in a tense relational situation often reflects adulthood bias, not developmental reality. I walk through why it still matters for the child’s voice to be heard, but how parents can support that in...
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S3E20 - Parent Companion for Play Therapy: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (How Child-Centered Play Therapy Changes the Story)
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
In this episode of the Parent Companion for Play Therapy series, I explain the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy and how it shapes a child’s behavior, identity, and sense of self. Children often become what the people in their lives expect them to be — not because those expectations are spoken directly, but because they’re communicated through tone, reactions, labels, and assumptions. I talk about how easily children become branded as “the bad kid,” “the quiet kid,” or “the problem kid,” and how those expectations quietly limit who they believe they can become. I also...
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S3E19 - Sibling Jealousy: A Middle-Child Perspective
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
In this episode, I answer a question from Kylee about sibling jealousy — specifically how her seven-year-old daughter reacts during her siblings’ birthdays. I explain how birth order plays a significant role in this dynamic and why middle children often struggle with attention and identity. I walk through how jealousy fits into the bigger picture of being “the forgotten child” in a family of five, and why her daughter’s reactions make sense developmentally. I also share practical steps to reduce jealousy and strengthen connection, including building in weekly one-on-one time with...
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S3E18 - Parent Companion for Play Therapy: The Nature/Nurture Balance Behind Kids’ Behavior
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
In this episode of the Parent Companion for Play Therapy series, I talk about nature versus nurture and how both play a meaningful role in the behaviors parents often seek therapy for. I explain the difference between a child’s inborn personality traits (nature) and the experiences that shape them over time (nurture), and why many struggles — anxiety, control, sensory sensitivities, aggression, timidity — usually reflect both at work. I walk through how child-centered play therapy honors who a child naturally is while helping them regain regulation when life experiences have pushed their...
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S3E17 - Why Your Child Fights for Control — and How to Respond
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
In this episode of the Parent Companion for Play Therapy series, I talk about how many challenging behaviors in young children can be traced back to one core issue: power and control. Melanie wrote in with concerns about her two-and-a-half-year-old nephew — picky eating, tantrums, saying “no” to everything, refusing to follow directions, and melting down when overwhelmed. I walk through how each of these behaviors connects to a child’s need to feel some sense of control in their world, especially when so much of daily life is directed by adults. I also explain why giving in during big...
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S3E16 - Parent Companion for Play Therapy: "Snowball Effect" and the Power of Momentum in Child-Centered Play Therapy
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast
In this episode of the Parent Companion for Play Therapy series, I explain the idea of snowball momentum — how one area of growth in child-centered play therapy naturally leads to progress in other areas. Children rarely work on just one issue in isolation. As they begin addressing themes like power and control, self-esteem, anxiety, or aggression, progress in one area creates movement in the others. That momentum grows session by session, especially during the work phase of therapy, and becomes the driving force behind lasting change. I walk through how these therapeutic themes feed into...
info_outlineIn this episode of the Parent Companion for Play Therapy series, I explain the four universal outcomes of child-centered play therapy — the lifelong benefits every child gains from the process, no matter what brought them into therapy. While each child works through their own unique challenges, all children who experience CCPT develop four essential skills: an expanded emotional vocabulary, increased regulation, stronger self-esteem, and a broader worldview.
These outcomes don’t just help children right now; they impact every part of their future — from relationships to confidence to problem-solving. I walk through what each of these outcomes means, how they develop in play therapy, and how parents can support them at home.
Ask Me Questions: Call (813) 812-5525, or email: brenna@thekidcounselor.com
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Common References:
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.