Therapy For Children, Adolescents & Older Teens
Explore our compassionate approach to family therapy, designed to improve relationships by fostering understanding, communication, and connection among family members facing challenges together.
How We Help
Our dedicated team is equipped with specialized training to support children and adolescents. Under the guidance of a Registered Play Therapist – Supervisor, we recognize that each child and situation is distinct. Our expertise allows us to tailor therapy plans that address the unique needs of your child, ensuring a personalized approach to their mental health.
From the very young, to the teen about to become an adult, we can offer a treatment experience that will help them develop stronger, healthy attachments, heal from trauma, overcome fears, conquer anxiety and depression, and build the skills necessary to navigate the world as they grow and learn.
Get in Touch
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.
What We Offer
Play Therapy
Play Therapy is for all ages and stages of children and adolescents. Play Therapy is also for all abilities. For both the neurotypical child and the neurodiverse child, we can offer treatment to meet their specific needs.
Trauma Focused – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment that has been evaluated and refined during the past 30 years to help children and adolescents recover after trauma.
Therapy for Adolescents and Older Teens
Sometimes, teens have a hard time. Processing anxiety, depression, trauma, and friendship drama can stop them from being fully open to social growth. Our therapists can help them navigate these troubling times.
Why Families Choose Us
Our personalized therapy and compassionate care make a significant difference for families seeking support.
01
Proven Experience
Our skilled therapists have extensive experience in family dynamics, ensuring effective strategies tailored to your unique situation.
02
Tailored Approaches
We customize our therapeutic methods to address your family’s specific needs, fostering understanding and improving communication.
03
Comprehensive Care
We provide holistic support by collaborating with a network of healthcare providers, ensuring comprehensive care for every family member.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is play therapy?
“Play Therapy is based upon the fact that play is the child’s natural medium of self expression … It is an opportunity which is given to the child to ‘play out’ his feelings and problems just as in certain types of adult therapy an individual ‘talks out’ his difficulties.” Virginia Axline
Play Therapy is for all ages and stages of children and adolescents. Play Therapy is also for all abilities. For both the neurotypical child and the neurodiverse child, we can offer treatment to meet their specific needs.
From http://www.a4pt.org:
“Play Therapy, a modality of child therapy, is a powerful tool for addressing cognitive, behavioral, and emotional challenges. Licensed professionals use play therapeutically to help clients better process their experiences and develop more effective strategies for managing their worlds.”
For additional information regarding play therapy and its benefits, please visit the National Association for Play Therapy page at http://www.a4pt.org
Does My Child Need Play Therapy?
Deciding whether or not to take your child to a play therapist for child and/or family therapy is a personal choice. Children are seen in therapy for an array of reasons, such as behavioral issues (caused by bullying, grief and loss, divorce and abandonment, physical and sexual abuse, and crisis and trauma) and mental health disorders (ie: anxiety, depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity or ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, academic and social impairment, physical and learning disabilities, and conduct disorders).
Research suggests Play Therapy is an effective mental health approach, regardless of age, gender, or the nature of the problem, and works best when a parent, family member, or caretaker is actively involved in the treatment process.
What does a therapy session for youth look like?
Your therapist will first meet with you, the parent or guardian, to take a complete history of the child and their unique circumstance and symptoms.
The therapist then meets with your child in 1-2 individual assessment sessions to determine how your child communicates best, how your child responds to the therapy environment, and get to know your child as the wonderful human they are. The therapist then meets with you again to discuss treatment and a plan moving forward.
You will always know what your therapist will be working on with your child and will expect you to be an equal partner in the therapy process. If your child is older, they may join you in the parent session to give input and have a voice for their needs.
Our skilled therapists know how to work with your child and their therapeutic needs.
And you will always have input and gain skills to help your child at home throughout the process.
WHAT IS TF-CBT?
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) was developed by Drs. Anthony Mannarino, Judith Cohen and Esther Deblinger. TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment that has been evaluated and refined during the past 30 years to help children and adolescents recover after trauma.
Currently, 25 randomized controlled trials have been conducted in the U.S., Europe and Africa, comparing TF-CBT to other active treatment conditions. All of these studies have documented that TF-CBT was superior for improving children’s trauma symptoms and responses. TF-CBT is a structured, short-term treatment model that effectively improves a range of trauma-related outcomes in 8-25 sessions with the child/adolescent and caregiver. Although TF-CBT is highly effective at improving youth posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and diagnosis, a PTSD diagnosis is not required in order to receive this treatment.
TF-CBT also effectively addresses many other trauma impacts, including affective (e.g., depressive, anxiety), cognitive and behavioral problems, as well as improving the participating parent’s or caregiver’s personal distress about the child’s traumatic experience, effective parenting skills, and supportive interactions with the child.
The federal government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has recognized TF-CBT as a Model Program due to the extensive outcome data from randomized controlled trials that support its effectiveness in improving a variety of problems.
While TF-CBT was originally developed to address the needs of children who experienced sexual abuse, over the past 15 years it has been used and studied for many other populations of traumatized youth. Research now documents that TF-CBT is effective for diverse, multiple and complex trauma experiences, for youth of different developmental levels, and across different cultures.
Reach Out Today
Therapy Can Be More Than Just Talking
We offer more than just talk therapy for your child. Sometimes talking is the last thing your child wants to do. Our therapists are skilled in reaching your child through expressive methods such as Expressive Art, Expressive Sandtray, Drama, Music, and much more creative expression techniques to help them open up and learn how to better connect and heal.