About Play Therapy
Children naturally process difficult emotional content through play. I am consistently impressed and encouraged by the resilience and creativity that kids bring to the process of therapy, even in the face of significant challenges, including trauma, depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, and severe behavior problems. I am enlivened by this work and grateful to be able to share in the process of healing transformation with families.
The potential for therapy to make a positive impact on children is enhanced by the involvement of caregivers in the process. While I take seriously my responsibility to protect the confidentiality of the children I work with, I also believe in the importance of using insights gained from the therapy process to help inform your understanding of your child. I attend to this balance as I seek to help kids and their families improve their lives and relationships.
Gaming Groups
Does your child HATE THERAPY? Maybe they need a different approach:
I run virtual therapy groups for kids ages 9-14 using various gaming platforms (but especially Minecraft). These are not about teaching social skills (or teaching anything for that matter), but rather are child-led group sessions focused on fostering meaningful connections among members. As the therapist, I attend to ruptures that occur and help mediate repairs, as well as encouraging group members bring their full, creative selves to the experience. These groups are incredibly fun and often high-intensity!
Working with Parents
We often bring our children to therapy because we believe they need to change. Fortunately and unfortunately, it is often we who must initiate this transformation by changing ourselves. While maintaining the confidentiality of your child’s therapy, I seek to use insights gained therein to support you in the process of transformation.
“To build children you must first be built yourself. Otherwise, you’ll seek children out of animal needs, or loneliness, or to patch the holes in yourself. Your task as a parent is to produce not another self [another you]... but something higher. It’s to produce a creator.”