What Is Play Therapy?
child counseling
Play therapy is a specialized form of child therapy designed for kids who struggle to communicate how they feel. Rather than relying on words, children use toys, games, and creative activities to express thoughts, process emotional experiences, and explore challenges safely. This approach is especially beneficial for addressing anxiety, depression, behavioral issues, trauma, and emotional regulation.
Benefits of Child Counseling & Play Therapy
With play therapy, your child will…
- Develop a trusting attachment to their therapist so they can process through what they feel and what’s bothering them. In turn, this will increase self-esteem, increase self-confidence, and helps develop more self-control.
- Learn new skills with the therapist, allowing them to practice healthier ways of interacting with peers and adults in real life.
- Develop greater empathy and understanding of others, helping to create more respect and kindness in their everyday lives.
- Learn better self-control when they realize they can freely express what they feel and what they need in productive ways.
- Learn to understand parents, and parents understand their child so that the adults can better support and help their child.
Our State of the Art Play Spaces
Why Child Counseling (Play Therapy)?
Natural Expression for Children: Play is their language. Through play, children reveal inner worlds safely.
Evidence-Based Benefits: Clinical studies show play therapy’s effectiveness in helping children with anxiety, behavioral challenges, trauma, and emotional development.
Therapeutic Relationship Builds Trust: A consistent, empathetic connection with a play therapist deepens healing capacity.
All humans like to play!
Adults problem-solve and think rationally about their issues, but children process their problems through play with their bodies.
Children express what they feel while playing because they don’t yet have the cognitive ability to “talk through” issues the way teens and adults do.
Playing provides children with a safe outlet to express feelings and thoughts that are difficult and hard to articulate.
Child counseling is a great way for children to express and work through difficult feelings and thoughts, thereby developing a greater understanding of themselves.
Child Counseling (Play Therapy)
can help with these issues:
- Decision-making skills
- Divorce
- Acceptance
- Self-image
- Social skills
- Grief and loss
- Depression
- Anxiety, worry, phobias
- School adjustment
- Anger management
- Attentional difficulties (ADHD)
- Cultural adjustment
- Family adjustment
- Behavioral concerns
- Learning disabilities
- Coping with violence
- Nervousness and Anxiety
- Trauma
- Sleeping difficulties
Parent Involvement
We believe caregivers can be the best therapists for the children, so we want to make sure you’re involved with the treatment of your child. While we engage in play with your child, develop rapport with them, and begin to understand their special language through play.
As change begins to happen with your child, we’ll show you how to be your child’s best therapist – how to communicate differently and help him express himself.
What to expect:
- Meet your therapist alone for the first appointment. This will allow time and space to understand you, your child, and your family dynamics before moving forward with therapy. In this appointment we will make a plan for your client’s counseling sessions, and book their upcoming appointments. Amanda Myers meets with parents for 1-3 sessions initially, depending on need.
- Meet 1:1 with your child alone for subsequent sessions for up to 53 minutes, depending on the attention span of your child.
- Meet with you 1:1 without your child as needed to update you on progress. Your child’s appointments are confidential, but your therapist will give you pointers and direction so you can help guide your child at home.
- When you have specific feedback or questions regarding therapy, send a message to your counselor through the client portal. Do not submit therapy questions to adminstrative staff.
Come to the couch!
Schedule your appointment and let’s work on this together. Or, call 214-547-1318.