Does your child need therapy?

Is your child having behavioral problems? Is your child struggling with his or her self-esteem? Are you interesting in helping your child adjust to a life transition, such as divorce or loss?

Children have feelings too. As much as we believe children are resilient to life's problems, they still need support and a way to deal with emotions. An effective method to help children adjust to life circumstance or trauma is play therapy.

Play therapy is a form of therapeutic therapy specifically designed to help children work through hurt to achieve healing.


Children do not receive the same benefit from talk therapy like adults. When was the last time you were able to carry on a lengthy and productive conversation with a 4-year-old? Children's language is play; children use play as a way to communicate. In addition, therapeutic play allows children to work through issues such as anger, anxiety, hurt, and fear within a safe and supportive environment.

The benefits of play therapy are numerous.

Children who experience play therapy:

• learn healthy ways to communicate with others, 
• increase self-esteem and confidence, 
• develop problem-solving skills, 
• increase their ability to self-regulate their behavior, 
• express feelings and develop empathy, and 
• interact appropriately with others.

One thing to consider is the amount of dedication and time required by you, the caregiver or parent, for your child in the play therapy process. Play therapy takes time and moves at the child's pace. At times sessions may not produce noticeable changes, but remember, a child's way of coping or adjusting is different than an adult's sophisticated and developed way of coping. The initial investment may seem like a large sacrifice, but the investment in your child's well-being will have life-long impact.