What is Play Therapy? 

Play is a universal activity as natural to children as breathing. Children’s play is more than fun and games. It’s how children learn to know themselves, relate to others, and work through emotional challenges. It’s deadly serious.

Play therapy is the established psychotherapy for children. Therapeutic play with toys, games, art, and other forms of playful expression is a window into struggles, symptoms, and emotional experiences impacting children’s development and a means of helping them resolve difficulties.

Even children with advanced language skills have difficulty identifying and labeling emotional experiences verbally. These unexpressed feelings and experiences can adversely impact relationships with parents, teachers, and peers. Through therapeutic play, I help a child put into words the feelings and experiences underlying their difficulties. Through this process, your child becomes more self-expressive and their need to express feelings through negative behaviors will decrease.

When your child is able to let you know what worries them, their relationships and self-esteem improve and your child will be able to experience more enjoyment of family, friends, and school which will make parenting more enjoyable.

I meet with caregivers regularly to support the therapy by offering more attuned ways of listening and responding to your child’s needs.