S3E30 - Parent Companion for Play Therapy: Understanding Aggression in Kids (What's Really Behind It)

Play Therapy Parenting: Real Parenting Questions Answered by a Child Therapist · Feb 26, 2026 · 13m · transcript

In this episode of the Parent Companion for Play Therapy series, I talk about aggression — one of the most common concerns that brings children into child-centered play therapy. I explain that aggression is usually rooted in one of two things: dysregulation combined with a lack of emotional vocabulary, or a mask for vulnerability. When children don't have the words for what they're feeling and don't yet know how to regulate those feelings, aggression becomes the physical way they show distress. Other times, aggression is a shield — a way to avoid the vulnerability underneath disappointment…