Play therapy is defined as a technique, derived from traditional Freudian principles that uses expressive play to help release anxiety or hostility. Proponents believe that such a release has a curative effect. Play therapy is an eclectic set of techniques that uses expressive play as a substitute for or supplement to verbalizations. The way that children play, the objects they choose, and the nature of any verbalizations they make as they play can be revealing, cathartic, and/or therapeutic.