Children

I utilize play therapy as well as cognitive behavioral techniques when working with children and adolescents. I have worked with many different issues that affect children, including divorce, bereavement, school difficulties, socialization, autistic spectrum disorder, ADD/ADHD, depression, anxiety, childhood trauma and coping with physical disabilities. These unique experiences have translated well into working with people in similar situations, as well as with any child or family that is coping with some type of obstacle in their lives, be it physical, social, emotional, relational or otherwise.

What is play therapy?

Play therapy is a therapeutic technique most often used when working with children. While a child may not be developmentally able to articulate their feelings, I can help them express what’s going on through engaging them in play. The sessions take place in a room that is specially furnished with toys, games, and equipment a child can use as tools for the dramatic scenes they direct while working with me. Through play therapy a child can create a world they can master, practice social skills, overcome frightening feelings and/or experiences, and symbolically triumph over traumas or upsets that have threatened their well-being. I will meet regularly with the child’s parents to share their observations, learn more about what is happening in the child’s life from the parents’ perspective, and to offer suggestions for how the parents can support their child’s therapy.