Therapy with children

When providing therapy to children I engage through the expressive arts as children naturally explore and express through play and creativity as they navigate and process their experiences, building and assimilating new strengths as they go forth on their journey of psychological and emotional development.  Movement, music, story telling, sculpture, painting, drawing, puppetry, costume and mask making as well as video creations and sand tray and nature exploration are all available for the child in therapy.

Sand tray is a method developed by Dora Kalff and Margaret Lowenfeld where children can explore in sand and develop visually symbolic “worlds”  often with water and other human or animal figures or objects from nature (shells, bark, stones, etc.)  These worlds often reveal aspects of the child’s experience and are a direct way for the child to process their experience and strengthen their developing identity.  

My studio/therapy space is a comfortable and stimulating, sunlit filled room that opens on to a deck, side yard and garden with a bluestone boulder wall that many children are inspired to climb and walk along.  Some children benefit from physical engagement and forceful play such as battling with foam noodles as play swords or play that requires more space that they can exert themselves in. The deck space and side yard are utilized for this play exploration. Further afield on the property is a woodland, creek and small waterfall and several ponds for nature based therapy. Children may look for and find frogs, toads, salamanders, turtles and a variety of insects.  Many children are drawn to navigate the stream rock by rock, build bridges over it, and search the water for tad poles, cray fish, and minnows. I do request a consent form for exploration in nature beyond the studio and adjacent yard area.  

What you can tell children about play therapy   A play therapist helps children with anything that is bothering them. This can be through talking directly about it but most often children feel more comfortable using their own preferred language which may take many forms in play and creative expression. 

Children whose parents have separated or divorced. I have provided therapy to many children who have experienced the separation or divorce of their parents.  While providing therapy for the child is my main focus I do offer some counsel and resources for each parent in their efforts to provide healthy parenting for the child and to relate with each other respectfully as they navigate their coparenting/parallel parenting relationship.