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Creative Ideas for Traveling Play Therapists

Writer: Tasha MilliganTasha Milligan

Updated: 3 days ago

Creative ideas for traveling therapists

Taking your play therapy room on the go can be a challenge. When space is at a premium, creativity is more important when you are a traveling therapist. This article aims to bring some creative ideas to help make it more manageable. I have scoured the internet to find some great resources and ideas.


Portable play therapy kit - full give and links to find resources.

by Meehan Mental Health

This site offers a guide for items to have on hand when you have to travel. It has a list of items that you will need for play therapy and includes links for where to find them. I like that it has resources for a traveling sand tray.


Take telehealth to the next level with these online play therapy rooms designed by a play therapist.

Sometimes it is not feasible to move an entire room of play items into your temporary space. I have often pulled out my laptop or tablet to play games or show short videos to support what we are working on in session. I have created these online play therapy rooms to support telehealth therapists, but all of these tools can also be used in person. It includes an online sand tray, lots of games, videos, and activities. I also use it as a bulletin board to keep resources for parents. I can quickly pull it up when a parent asks for a recommendation for what to do for a specific issue. You can also add your own resources to it.


DIY Fabric dollhouses for traveling therapists

by A Girl and a Glue Gun

This foldable fabric dollhouse brings the play to life while you are on the go. This page offers a tutorial on how to make these little dollhouses.


 

Counseling games to help with anxiety in children
 

Make dollhouses out of cereal boxes. What a fun and engaging activity.

by Studio Collectionaise

This is a cool idea. You can make dollhouses out of cereal boxes to make an on the go play place. This could be a fun craft activity to have children customize their own dollhouse.


Lego mat and portable storage idea.

by Autodesk Instructables

This is a helpful idea. You can create a play mat for kids to set up the Legos and play on, then pull the ties to store the Legos when you are done with the session. This would be a quick and easy way to get your Legos in and out while you are on the go.


Small lego box containers for play on the go.

by Making Things Is Awesome

These would be inexpensive to make and wouldn't take up much space. They are made from sandwich boxes and Lego toys from Dollar Tree.


 

How to use mouse trap game in play therapy


 

House of Boundaries is a game to help children with boundaries and recognize different levels of emotions.

Baggie or File Folder Games

I may be partial, but I think games are the most powerful force in therapy with children. They can learn skills, process emotions, work on social skills, and so much more! Be sure to visit my store, as all of my books and games would be great for travel, as they take up little space and have all you need for a powerful therapy session. There are way too many games to list here, but I do have a link to a list of games organized by presenting problem. There are well over 100 games listed, all under $20. Most of these would be helpful for traveling therapists.



diy playdough kits

by Be A Fun Mum

Love. Love. Love. This picture screams portable sand tray. It's like doing sand tray with playdough as the medium instead of sand. This could be perfect for traveling therapists, as it would take up little space, no need to tote a sand tray, and you could switch out the kits to provide variety. Each kit has a different theme, allowing exploration of specific issues.


Homemade dolls are also another area to explore. Creating these with kids would be a fun activity as well. This is just a brilliant idea that could be used in so many ways.


Containers for play dough kits for travel

by Party Through the USA

This site offers helpful ideas for storage for playdough while you are on the go and ways to build kits so that when you get to your session, everything is prepared ahead of time. I like the variety of ideas on this site.


Sensory box ideas to bring sensory play on the go.

by Fun Sensory Play

Sensory toys are helpful for emotional regulation. This site has creative ways to build a sensory box that you could take with you into sessions. You might create a few of them and rotate them so kids can get different sensory experiences. I always enjoy making coping skill toolboxes with kids when we begin counseling. Many of these ideas could be integrated.


play mat with car parking for toy cars

by Mindy Makes

This one is cute and functional. The mat can be rolled out for kids to drive the cars on, then can be rolled up and hold the cars for storage.


Doctor travel kit for play therapists on the go

by Creative Green Living

This site offers ideas for a travel kit with all your favorite doctor or dentist toys. These are always helpful when kids are worried about medical visits, processing past medical issues, or simply building connections. Playing doctor is a way for kids to work on nurture issues. This could be useful with children with somatic symptoms.


 

Breathing activities to calm emotions - play therapy interventions to use in session.
 

DIY Travel coloring cases for traveling therapists

by Family Fresh Meals

This would be an easy way to contain the art mess. You can have your paper and crayons or markers all bundled together for easy access and quick cleanup.


Portable activity kit - organize play therapy materials in durable zipper bags to store in a binder for easy access.

by Mama. Papa. Bubba.

I like the idea of using these durable zipper bags to keep everything together in a binder. You could have all of your resources for the week planned out and just zip them up in their respective bags and you are set!


Use a scrapbook bag to take your play therapy practice on the go. It makes your go to activities portable so you can play wherever you need to.

Scrapbook Bag

I used to use a scrapbook bag like this when I had to travel between schools. It rolled like a suitcase and had a pullout handle on it. It also had dividers and storage built into the sides and top, but a big space to fill with toys and goodies in the middle. It made traveling around much easier and doable. The image shown is from Amazon, but there are a lot of options out there. The one I had was wider, more square in shape, and allowed more storage space.


Thanks for reading this post. I hope you have found some new ideas and are inspired. What tips and tricks have you learned? Comment below to share your experience. Be sure to read the other blog posts in this creative play therapy interventions series:


Creative ways to use dinosaurs in play therapy
Creative lego activities for play therapy
creative ways to use playdough in play therapy
creative ways to use cars in play therapy
play therapy ideas for somatic symptoms
creative interventions for brain education
Creative ways to use puppets in play therapy
how to use flannel boards in play therapy
creative ways to use angry birds in play therapy
creative ways to use superheroes in play therapy
creative ways to use Inside Out characters in play therapy
Creative ways to use dolls in play therapy
Creative ways to use monsters in play therapy
 

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