Theoretical Roots of Child-Centred Play Therapy

From Nondirective Therapy to Child-Centred Play Therapy: A Clinical Overview

For clinicians working with children, understanding the theoretical roots of child-centred play therapy (CCPT) is more than historical background — it shapes how we understand the therapeutic relationship, the role of the therapist, and why we do what we do in the playroom.

The influence of Carl Rogers

The foundations of CCPT trace back to the relational therapy movement and, critically, to Carl Rogers. Building on earlier relational work, Rogers (1942) developed what he initially called nondirective therapy, later refined as client-centred therapy (1951) and today known as person-centred therapy. At its core, Rogers’ framework rested on a fundamental belief in the individual’s natural drive toward growth and their inherent capacity for self-direction. The therapist’s role was not to diagnose, direct, or correct — but to create the conditions in which the client could move toward their own healing.

Virginia Axline and the application to children

The translation of these principles into work with children is largely the contribution of Virginia Axline (1947), a student and later colleague of Rogers. Axline’s significant achievement was operationalising Rogers’ philosophy for use in the playroom — making abstract theoretical principles concrete and applicable in therapeutic relationships with children.

Axline’s nondirective play therapy makes no effort to control or change the child. It is grounded in the belief that a child’s behaviour is, at all times, driven by the push toward complete self-realisation. The objectives are self-awareness and self-direction — not symptom reduction as an end in itself, but the development of the child’s capacity to know and direct themselves.

In practice, this means the therapist maintains a well-stocked playroom and allows the child genuine freedom — to play as they choose, to be silent, to lead. The therapist’s active role is one of reflection: attending closely to the child’s thoughts and feelings, naming them, and accepting them without judgement. Axline’s premise was that when a child’s feelings are expressed, identified, and accepted, the child is freed to deal with those feelings rather than remain burdened by them.

In her own words, Axline (1950) captured the essence of this approach:

“A play experience is therapeutic because it provides a secure relationship between the child and the adult, so that the child has the freedom and room to state himself in his own terms, exactly as he is at that moment in his own way and in his own time.” (p. 68)

Child-centred play therapy today

What began as nondirective play therapy evolved into client-centred play therapy and is now widely known as child-centred play therapy (CCPT). It is not simply one approach among many — it is the most widely researched and the most frequently used approach among play therapy practitioners (Smith et al., 2022). Its evidence base continues to grow, and its principles remain as clinically relevant today as when Axline first articulated them.

For clinicians, returning to these roots is a useful exercise. The nondirective stance, the unconditional acceptance, the belief in the child’s own capacity — these are not just philosophical positions. They are active clinical decisions that shape every moment in the room.

References

Axline, V. M. (1947). Play therapy. Houghton Mifflin.

Axline, V. M. (1950). Play therapy procedures and results. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 20(1), 68–76.

Landreth, G. L. (2012). Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship (4th ed.). Routledge.

Rogers, C. R. (1942). Counseling and psychotherapy. Houghton Mifflin.

Rogers, C. R. (1951). Client-centered therapy. Houghton Mifflin.

Smith, N., et al. (2022). As cited in Landreth, G. L. Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship (4th ed.). Routledge.