When new clients notice the fidget toys, art supplies, and stress balls scattered around my office, they often assume I only work with children. Then I watch a 45-year-old executive find their voice while molding Play-Doh, or see a withdrawn teenager open up during a game of Jenga.
The therapeutic power of play doesn’t end at childhood—it simply evolves.
For children, toys are natural communication tools. A dollhouse becomes a safe space to act out family dynamics they can’t yet verbalize. Building blocks help process feelings of control when everything else feels chaotic. The symbolic language of play often reveals what words cannot.
Teenagers, caught between childhood and adulthood, often feel too “mature” for traditional therapy approaches. But challenge a 16-year-old to a game of Connect Four while discussing peer pressure, and suddenly walls come down. The activity creates comfortable distance from intense topics while keeping hands busy and anxiety manageable.
Adults benefit most when they stop overthinking. When a stressed parent squeezes a stress ball while discussing work-life balance, their nervous system begins to regulate. Art supplies help perfectionists embrace “good enough.” Even simple fidget toys can ground anxious clients in the present moment.
Play activates different neural pathways than traditional talk therapy, accessing creativity and emotional processing in ways that sitting still and “just talking” sometimes can’t reach. It reduces the pressure to perform or say the “right” thing.
In my experience, healing happens most naturally when we stop trying so hard to be serious about it. Sometimes the deepest insights emerge from the simplest play.
Here are just few fidgets I’ve kept on hand over the years!
Salt + Cedar Collective 