Lego Therapy

Individual Lego based Therapy is a creative and hands on approach originally designed to support children with social and communication difficulties, like those on the autism spectrum, but it's now being adapted in powerful ways for individual therapeutic work with adults too, especially those processing trauma or emotional neglect.

• Safe expression through building: You use Lego to build models that represent feelings, memories, relationships or even abstract ideas like trust or fear. It gives shape to things that are often hard to verbalize.

• Rebuilding broken narratives: Through metaphor and storytelling, you can reconstruct scenes from your past, changing how you relate to them. It’s surprisingly powerful to "rebuild" moments of hurt and shift perspective while your hands are busy.

• Empowerment and control: If you’ve felt voiceless or powerless, choosing the pieces, directing the process, and seeing your thoughts take form can be quietly radical. You become the builder, not the object being shaped by others.

• Regulation and grounding: The physical act of sorting, clicking, and creating can help manage anxiety, calm the nervous system, and keep you present when the emotional content gets heavy.

• If the emotional scars from childhood are hard to speak aloud, LEGO therapy gives your hands a way to tell the story for you, one brick at a time.

Individual LEGO® Based Therapy for children is a creative, play-centered approach that helps kids express themselves, develop emotional awareness, and build confidence—especially when verbal communication feels difficult or overwhelming.

Here’s how it typically works in a one-on-one setting:

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Safe, Structured Play

• The therapist provides a calm, non-judgmental space with a variety of LEGO bricks and mini-figures. The child is encouraged to build freely or in response to gentle prompts, like “Can you build a safe place?” or “Show me what it feels like when you’re angry.”

Emotional Expression through Metaphor

• Children often reveal their inner world through stories they create while building. A tower might represent a parent’s anger, or a wall might symbolize how they protect themselves. These metaphors let children express complex feelings without needing adult vocabulary.

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Rebuilding Narratives

• A therapist might invite the child to “change” a difficult scene in their build—adding doors to a “locked room,” or giving a figure a “helper.” This allows them to explore new outcomes and regain a sense of control.

Building Emotional Skills

As they build, children naturally explore themes like:

• Trust and safety

• Conflict and resolution

• Coping with change or loss

• Self-image and identity

I can gently guide the conversation or simply reflect back what the child shows, helping them connect emotions to their creations.

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Regulation and Focus

LEGO play has a calming, rhythmic quality. It supports sensory regulation and helps anxious or hyper-aroused children settle into the session.

This approach can be especially powerful for children who’ve experienced trauma, attachment disruption, or who struggle to talk about their feelings. It gives them a language of play—and a sense that their stories matter.

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Children's group Lego Based Therapy (sometimes called Lego Club in schools or therapeutic settings) is a structured, social development program that uses collaborative Lego play to build communication, teamwork, and emotional regulation skills - especially helpful for neurodiverse children, or those with social, emotional, or behavioural needs.

Group Adult Lego Therapy is very much like individual Lego therapy but is structured for groups.