I have strong feelings about this too. While I didn't play games or use toys with my first t, she did encourage me to remain in that childlike place by treating me as a child and rather than enabling me to move on, it actually encouraged greater dependence. This leads me to wonder whether it is helpful to regress in this way, although I imagine it's different for different people depending on where they're at. It certainly didn't work for me. I only realised the extent that it kept me 'stuck' when I worked with my former and current ts who have both focussed on the adult in the present moment and only deelved into the child's needs when they naturally arose in session due to need for closure. The emphasis is on moving on, not indulging in childlike behaviour for longer than absolutely necessary. Even though young parts are appearing with my current t, I'm aware we are looking at moving through them slowly.

I also wonder if staying in child mode prevents the grief process from occuring naturally. I never grieved properly for my childhood at the time because I was getting so much from my T that I didn't need to.

I don't know, I guess it varies from client to client.