play therapy & parent support

Our work with children is trauma-informed and neuro-diversity-affirming. We pay attention to how each child experiences safety, connection, sensory input, and communication. Through play and caregiver collaboration, we build on a child’s strengths and adapt therapy to their needs, whether they are navigating trauma, ADHD, Autism, or other challenges.

Play Therapy helps children communicate their inner experiences through the use of toys. In the playroom we use sand, art, clay, and toys to create a welcoming environment where a child’s anxiety and resistance to change decreases and their openness to learning new skills and practicing new coping increases, encouraging an overall sense of mastery. Children learn to:

• experience and express emotion

• develop new and creative solutions to problems

• develop social and relational skills with family/peers

• become more responsible for their behaviors

• develop respect and acceptance of self and others

• cultivate empathy and respect for thoughts and feelings of others

• develop self-efficacy and confidence in their abilities

What to expect:

FAMILY TIME: We’ll start each session with the child and parent/caregiver sharing about their week followed by a play-based activity to rehearse new skill sets and be supported by the playful engagement of parents/caregivers.

PLAY TIME: Next it’s time for kiddos to process in a child-centered environment where they get to choose and direct their activities in many of the ways they would like to. That might look like imaginative play with toys or puppets, inviting the therapist into their play, creating art, or exploring movement. Children can participate in ways that feel comfortable and accessible to them; we adjust the pace, materials, and level of support as needed. Play based assessment allows your therapist to see how the child perceives their family and social environment as well as how they cope with new situations, their problems, and the world around them.

PARENT/CAREGIVER MEETINGS: Every month - 6 weeks we will have a separate session with the caregiver(s) to collaborate on our observations and provide support on specific parenting tools to strengthen the relationship with your child and support their therapeutic goals.