Play Therapy is a form of counseling or psychotherapy that uses play to communicate with and help children to prevent or resolve psychosocial challenges. This is thought to help them towards better social integration, growth and development, emotional modulation, and trauma resolution.
With play therapy, children use "play as their language and toys as their words" to process feelings and resolve anxieties and trauma. This works where traditional "talk therapy" or "cognitive behavioral therapy" do not. Through guided play therapy, the therapist strategically helps children express what is troubling them when they do not have the verbal language to express their thoughts and feelings.
In play therapy, we meet the child "where they are," build a positive relationship with the child in order to provide a safe emotional experience necessary for healing, and assist the child with in learning more adaptive behaviors when there are emotional or social skills deficits.
I have worked with children since 2007, individually and within the family system. I generally include other family members as part of the child's treatment, as the family dynamic as a whole can be helpful or hindering to the child's healing. To the parents of my clients, I recommend the book: Boundaries for Kids, by Cloud and Townsend.
I also try to work closely with the child's pediatrician or psychiatrist if medication is needed and help to provide assessment tools such as the Vanderbilt Assessment (AD/HD) and others (anxiety/depression) to better understand your child's needs. If additional psychological testing is needed, I can assist you with resources for these services.
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"Out of all the professionals who have worked with my child, Mindy has been the most helpful. She was able to talk with my son's teacher and helped him with coping skills for his anxiety." -D
