Play Therapy

play therapy and sandtray therapy are offered for any age! Play is the language of children for expression, processing and healing.

Play Therapy is an effective approach for children to express their feelings and work through emotional challenges. Using play as a form of communication, I help young clients explore their emotions, develop problem-solving skills, and improve their social skills. Through safe and creative activities, play therapy provides children with the tools they need to cope with difficult experiences and build resilience.

Many therapists share they use play therapy in their practice with children, but have not taken further training on its use in therapy. I am a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, which means I completed 3 years and 3000 additional hours of practice after licensure, clinical supervision, consistent continued education courses, and significant focus in at least two play therapy evidence based practices.

As a registered drama therapist, I integrate elements of play therapy to help you safely explore emotions and experiences in a non-threatening way. Play therapy provides a space for creativity and spontaneity, allowing you to access deeper insights and process difficult feelings. This approach is especially effective for unlocking unconscious patterns and fostering emotional growth in a safe and engaging environment.

People use materials in the room to express their inner world and find new meaning with creative problem solving. Request intensives for faster progress.

While working with children I utilize play therapy where they learn to manage their feelings and emotions as well as social skills. In 2016, I developed a play intervention program for children with autism and developmental disabilities.

In play therapy, children engage in various activities like drawing, storytelling, role-playing, or using toys and games to represent their thoughts and emotions. I will create a safe, supportive environment where your child feels free to explore their emotions and experiences without judgment. I will work with your child to help them identify and understand their feelings, explore solutions to challenges, and develop coping strategies.

When working with children, I offer child-centered play therapy during in-person visits. These modalities compliment children’s natural language of play and creativity, and allow them to work through their feelings in a comfortable and safe way. Young people are so often being directed and required to perform. I believe having a space where they get to exercise their agency and voice their opinions and preferences is a therapeutic experience.

Trained in play therapy, I work with children from ages 3 and up utilizing child-centered and cognitive-behavioral play therapy approaches to help children accomplish their emotional, social, and behavioral goals. I work with kids who experience trauma, anxiety, depression, social/behavioral problems at school or home, co-parenting and blended family issues.

Play is the language of children, and often how we find out more about what they're thinking and feeling. I like to use play therapy as a way to engage with younger clients, whether the session is focused around undirected play or if we're simply playing a game together while we talk. I utilize dollhouses, sand trays, and therapeutic games in-session.

A few things I want you to know about play therapy: Children use play as means to process their world, it’s amazing. Play is for adults too. The therapeutic relationship helps to facilitate the play therapy process. Themes emerge from play. The foundation of safety and security, and ultimately healthy attachment are built and strengthened through play.

We offer child-centered play therapy, CPRT, PCIT therapy and approaches.

Play Therapy has been researched as the most effective modality for treating children. Children communicate through play, and in child-centered Play Therapy the therapist enters into the child's world, responding with validation and reflection to provide relief from the symptoms which brought the child to therapy. The therapist then models responding in a regulated way to the child's play, so that the child can acquire tools to support themselves in regulating their own emotions.

Through play therapy, children and youth are able to explore and express thoughts, feelings, and experiences that they have not yet developed the language skills necessary. Through play therapy, we are able to interact on a level that children and youth understand and respond to, leading to healing and growth.

I offer sand try therapy and play therapy from a Polyvagal lense.

Children often struggle to communicate their emotions with words. We believe that the language children use to communicate is often through play!

Play is the natural language of children, and in treatment, toys are their words. In treatment, kids use the natural language of play to make meaning of what they are experiencing and to explore new possibilities. Training: Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School's practicum for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Currently pursuing Registered Play Therapist Credentials from the American Association for Play Therapy;