Holding Identity in Play: Using Play Therapy to Support Gender Exploration and Guide Caregiver Conversations
Location
LSUHSC-NO
Publication Date
April 2026
Start Date
9-4-2026 10:00 AM
End Date
9-4-2026 2:00 PM
Description
Gender curiosity is a normative aspect of early childhood development, yet clinicians frequently report feeling underprepared to hold identity material when it surfaces in the playroom. This case report examines the application of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) with an 8-year-old Vietnamese female referred for anxiety and recurrent school-associated headaches, in whom transient gender exploration emerged as one thread of a broader identity narrative.
The child presented with no prior psychiatric history and a pattern of evaluative anxiety, occurring approximately three times per week and resulting in frequent early school dismissals. Medical workup was unremarkable. Treatment consisted of 30 weekly CCPT sessions emphasizing a non-directive, affirmative stance in which the child's symbolic play guided the therapeutic process. Gender-affirming, developmentally sensitive care was prioritized throughout, with language and interventions following the child's self-identification and avoiding pathologizing of identity shifts. Weekly caregiver guidance sessions provided psychoeducation on normative gender identity development, processing of caregivers' own emotional responses, and strategies for reducing inadvertently rejecting language and behaviors at home.
Across the course of treatment, somatic symptoms decreased significantly, with headache frequency reducing from approximately three episodes per week to one to two per month, largely preceding high-stakes academic events. School avoidance diminished and tolerance of evaluative stress improved meaningfully.
This case illustrates how CCPT's non-directive framework creates conditions for identity exploration to surface and resolve at the child 's own pace, without clinician-imposed direction or premature conclusions. It further underscores the clinical necessity of caregiver involvement, as affirming caregiver responses are empirically associated with reduced internalizing symptoms and improved child wellbeing. Implications for clinicians working at the intersection of anxiety, somatic presentations, and early gender exploration are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Georgis, Kelly DO, MPH and Roi, Cody DO, MPH, "Holding Identity in Play: Using Play Therapy to Support Gender Exploration and Guide Caregiver Conversations" (2026). Dept. of Psychiatry Research Symposium. 35.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/psych_rd/2026/posters/35
Holding Identity in Play: Using Play Therapy to Support Gender Exploration and Guide Caregiver Conversations
LSUHSC-NO
Gender curiosity is a normative aspect of early childhood development, yet clinicians frequently report feeling underprepared to hold identity material when it surfaces in the playroom. This case report examines the application of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) with an 8-year-old Vietnamese female referred for anxiety and recurrent school-associated headaches, in whom transient gender exploration emerged as one thread of a broader identity narrative.
The child presented with no prior psychiatric history and a pattern of evaluative anxiety, occurring approximately three times per week and resulting in frequent early school dismissals. Medical workup was unremarkable. Treatment consisted of 30 weekly CCPT sessions emphasizing a non-directive, affirmative stance in which the child's symbolic play guided the therapeutic process. Gender-affirming, developmentally sensitive care was prioritized throughout, with language and interventions following the child's self-identification and avoiding pathologizing of identity shifts. Weekly caregiver guidance sessions provided psychoeducation on normative gender identity development, processing of caregivers' own emotional responses, and strategies for reducing inadvertently rejecting language and behaviors at home.
Across the course of treatment, somatic symptoms decreased significantly, with headache frequency reducing from approximately three episodes per week to one to two per month, largely preceding high-stakes academic events. School avoidance diminished and tolerance of evaluative stress improved meaningfully.
This case illustrates how CCPT's non-directive framework creates conditions for identity exploration to surface and resolve at the child 's own pace, without clinician-imposed direction or premature conclusions. It further underscores the clinical necessity of caregiver involvement, as affirming caregiver responses are empirically associated with reduced internalizing symptoms and improved child wellbeing. Implications for clinicians working at the intersection of anxiety, somatic presentations, and early gender exploration are discussed.