Children

Charting a course for emotional wellness.

Play Therapy Techniques

“Play is the child’s symbolic language of self-expression and can reveal what the child has experienced; reactions to what was experienced; feelings about what was experienced; what the child wishes, wants, or needs; and the child’s perception of self.”
-Garry L. Landreth

Through the therapeutic use of play, clients can transform their challenges into opportunities for growth and develop powerful tools to manage their lives with confidence and resilience.

Benefits of play therapy:

  • Enhance resourcefulness and build creative capacities for confronting problems

  • Gradually learn, at a feeling level, how to accept self

  • Increase empathy and respect towards self and others

  • Safely process difficult, stressful experiences (e.g. separation/divorce, loss, life changes, moving, new sibling, illness, natural disasters, etc.)

  • Confidently make choices while learning acceptance of responsibility for those choices

  • Enhance emotional regulation skills

  • Develop internal locus of control

  • Gain social skills that improve relationships with others

  • Strengthen belief and confidence in self

Sandtray Therapy

Through the use of expressive therapy, individuals can embark on a journey of self-discovery and healing. By creating scenes with miniature toys in a small sandbox, children can explore their inner world, including their struggles, hopes, and dreams. This non-verbal and instinctual process allows for the expression of deep emotions, leading to profound insights and a path toward positive change. With guidance from the therapist, the power of this technique can unlock the potential for transformation and growth.

Sensory play

Engaging in sensory play is an excellent way for your child to explore and develop essential skills in a fun and inclusive way. Through open-ended play, your child can learn to regulate their emotions, develop problem-solving abilities, and nurture their creativity. Activities like games, crafts, and other fun stuff that require the use of senses can help your child improve their movement, balance, and spatial awareness. By engaging their senses, your child can explore their environment and learn about the world around them in a constructive and enjoyable way.

Benefits to sensory play:

  • Helps with body dysregulation

  • Distress tolerance and dealing with disappointment

  • Emotional bonding with parents

  • Enhance self-regulation skills

  • Develop problem-solving capacities

  • Helps reduce anxiety

  • Develop sensory integration and processing abilities

Areas:

  • Children starting at age 3

  • Anxiety/Depression

  • Autism

  • Parent Coaching

  • Positive Discipline

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

  • Separation & Divorce

  • Blended Families

  • Attachment

  • Parent-Child Relationships

  • Sensitive Children

  • Trauma

  • Foster and Adoption