Services

Individual Therapy

In individual therapy, the therapist and client work together to alleviate emotional distress, improve relationships, and enhance functioning at home, school, and in other settings. When working with children, individual therapy often incorporates play and psychoeducation to help them express emotions, develop coping skills, and work through challenges. Building rapport and establishing a trusting therapeutic relationship are essential components of the process. Parent involvement, guidance, and coaching may also be incorporated into treatment to help parents better understand their child's needs, reinforce therapeutic progress, and support positive changes at home. The level of parent involvement is tailored to the child's age, developmental needs, and treatment goals.

A variety of therapeutic approaches may be used when working with children and adolescents, including Play Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Client-Centered Therapy. Treatment is tailored to meet the unique developmental, emotional, and behavioral needs of each child.

In addition to these approaches, Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) is also used, an evidence-based, parent-focused treatment designed to help parents support children experiencing anxiety and related challenges. SPACE helps parents develop supportive responses to their child's anxiety while reducing accommodations that may unintentionally reinforce anxious behaviors. This approach empowers parents with practical strategies to foster their child's confidence, independence, and emotional resilience.

Play Therapy

Play therapy is a type of therapy that uses play to allow children to express and communicate their feelings. Play is the natural language of children, and play therapy allows for children to use their natural ability to express their feelings and resolve conflicts using toys and other materials in the therapeutic process. Play therapists use various tools in addition to toys including storytelling, puppets, drama, music, dance, sandtray, painting and drawing, and board games.

To learn more about Play Therapy visit the Association for Play Therapy website here https://www.a4pt.org.

Sandtray Therapy

Sandtray therapy is a non-verbal, expressive approach that can be used with children, teenagers and adults. It originated from pediatrician Margaret Lowenfeld’s ‘World Technique’ where miniature objects and sand were used together as a form of communication. Sandtray therapy allows a person to construct their own microcosm using miniature objects in a tray of sand. The scene or world created acts as a reflection of the person’s own life and allows them the opportunity to resolve conflicts, remove obstacles, and gain self-insight and acceptance. As a child builds a world in the sand, they will choose, place, and arrange miniatures in the tray. The objects that a child chooses and the way in which they express the interaction between the items allows the child to express both conscious and unconscious parts of themselves. Sandtray therapy provides a unique opportunity for a child to nonverbally engage in client-directed self-expression in a fun, safe, and contained environment.