Play Therapy

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

I use play therapy techniques to help youth learn self-trust, self-compassion, and process and heal from difficult life experiences. I love developing a relationship built on mutual respect and trust with my kiddo clients, and helping them learn that they are inherently strong and resilient.

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 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.

Play therapy provides a unique environment where children are given the opportunity to increase self-awareness and self-confidence, understand their thoughts and feelings, become resilient and adaptable, learn to manage big emotions in healthy ways, develop age-appropriate coping skills, and adjust to life events and transitions. My to approach is rooted in psychodynamic and child-centered principles.

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.

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.

I do Parent Child Interaction Therapy and Child Parent Psychotherapy, two therapies that use play to help parents and children overcome difficulties and process difficult feelings. In Parent Child Interaction Therapy, I will help you follow along with your child's play, while also setting limits. In Child Parent Psychotherapy, I will also help you follow along with you child's play, and help your child use play to process difficult experiences.

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;

I use play therapy techniques to help youth learn self-trust, self-compassion, and process and heal from difficult life experiences. I love developing a relationship built on mutual respect and trust with my kiddo clients, and helping them learn that they are inherently strong and resilient.

Synergetic Play Therapy focuses on the connection between the therapist and child, creating a safe and supportive environment for emotional expression and growth. By integrating play, mindfulness, and neuroscience, this approach helps children express and process emotions, build self-regulation, and develop healthier coping skills. I work collaboratively with both the child and their family, fostering a deeper understanding of emotional struggles and creating a path to healing and resilience.

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.

Play therapy is a structured, theoretically based approach to therapy that builds on the normal communicative and learning processes of children. Play therapy strategically helps children express what is troubling them when they do not have the verbal language to express their thoughts and feelings. Toys are like the child's words and play is the child's language. Through play, we can help children learn more adaptive behaviors when there are emotional or social skills deficits.

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.

Through course studies at the University of North Texas I learned the basics of Play Therapy with some of the leaders in the field of play therapy and after graduation I continued my studies to get supervision to become a Registered Play Therapist (RPT).