Play Therapy
Play is the way that children tell us how they are: It is the language of children.
They don’t have a developed vocabulary yet, although that is certainly the goal of this work as children mature. Our therapists are trained to spot themes, nervous system reactions in play and to help guide the work in a productive direction. Our child specialists have toys in their office that are designed and chosen to work in a therapy realm.
Our experience, however, is that sometimes treatment through play is difficult for parents to understand, since it does not look like traditional talk-based therapy.
Parents sometimes don’t realize that the play we do may look like traditional, fun play, but it is carefully thought out and matched to your child’s needs.
Play therapy is evidence-based and effective.
Our first step in play therapy is to develop a trusting relationship with your child. Our work in treatment will rest on this relationship. During sessions we use a combination of tools to engage your child in the work, such as puppets, weighted blankets/weighted animals, music, rice/sand tray, squishies, legos, games, painting, bubbles.
We strive to meet each child’s individual differences. Neurodiversity is a joy for us. We welcome more interesting outlooks on the world and hope to help make our offices a safe place for children facing ableism, racism, sexism or other fears from the adults in their lives.
~ H.S. Client Testimonial