Play Therapy and Expressive Arts

Play is a powerful way for children to discover the world and themselves and make sense of their experiences. Children are more limited in their ability to express themselves verbally, but since play is the natural means of expression for children, toys become their words and play becomes a safe and effective form towards exploring difficult issues and processing past traumatic experiences. Play therapy, as well as other creative interventions such as art, sand-tray, and music, helps remove barriers, relaxes tension, and creates a fun and safe environment where children can start healing. 

Play Therapy Benefits Include:

>> Encouraging creativity
>> Promoting healing from traumatic events
>> Facilitating the expression of emotions
>> Encouraging the development of positive decision-making skills
>> Introducing new ways of thinking and behaving
>> Learning problem-solving skills
>> Developing better social skills
>> Enhancing attachments and relationships

Play Therapy and Trauma

I have a deep understanding of the effects of trauma on children and families and recognize that traumatic experiences can impair a child’s ability to function each day in the following ways: brain development, attachment patterns, emotional regulation, self-harm, behavioral capacity, learning and school performance, self-worth and social skills. Play is considered to be especially important for the healthy development of these children who have experienced stressful events or past trauma. While the effects of trauma tend to reside in the nonverbal areas of the brain, a person’s capacity to communicate and process adverse issues resides in the brain’s frontal lobes. As a result, children affected by trauma may find it difficult to let other people know that they need help. The physical and role-playing activities associated with play therapy have proven instrumental in helping to move traumatic memories and sensations from the nonverbal brain areas to the frontal lobes.

Attachment and Parenting

I have extensive experience providing treatment and attachment repair work to foster/adoptive children, or children who have had a break in attachment, in order to help them heal and feel safe in their current home environment and with their current care providers. I firmly believe relationships are the heartbeats of life and strive to provide an integrative approach in working with and supporting parents in the healing process. I am passionate about incorporating various treatment modalities, such as Attachment-based EMDR, Theraplay, and Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) that help foster feelings of safety and connectedness, leading to enhanced parent-child bond, improved behaviors and emotional wellbeing of your child.