In my play therapy practice, I work with families and their young children, in the 3-12 age range, who’ve typically come to me in distress from significant behavioral challenges. Stressors may include self-esteem, grief, trauma, separation, ADD/ADHD/ODD, divorce, adoption, foster care, and sensory integration issues.
Play therapy is to children what spoken therapy is to adults. Play is a child’s natural way of expressing themselves; just as talking is an adult’s. Challenging behaviors are a child’s way of letting the world know how they feel (frightened, overwhelmed, lonely, etc.). And they are not acting out to get attention; rather it’s because they need attention.
Through play therapy, I help your child become aware of the stressors or emotions they are struggling with. Then, together, we discover healthier and safer ways of handling them and practice them until they are integrated into new, positive patterns of relating to themselves, others, and the world around them.
I’ve worked with families, children, adolescents, and young adults for over 20 years. In addition to the tools of play therapy and counseling, I also apply extensive training in brain and nervous system development and function to determine the emotional and biological origins of a behavioral issue.
“We write this with great thanks for the work you did with our son. We can’t thank you enough for helping us find that happy CHILD that we knew was in there, but just needed to learn how to BE a child!”
– Parent