Children go therapy for many different reasons. Sometimes they go because challenging things are happening or have happened in their life. Sometimes they are struggling at school or at home. Sometimes they go to therapy because they struggle with making and keeping friends. Sometimes they are anxious or depressed or struggle with managing their emotions. Sometimes they are brought because their parent or guardian has concerns that "something just seems different" and they want to make sure that their child is happy and healthy.

Believe it or not, children can start going to therapy even as infants! Therapy looks different for each child and what their needs are. Your therapist will adapt therapy to best fit your child and family. Most children are best suited to recieving play therapy as it works at their developmental level. Play is the primary way that they express themselves and work through the challenges of growing up. Play therapy uses that to help them develop the skills that they need to continue to develop as healthy as possible. As your child gets older and matures, therapy will adapt with them.

Your child is really doing therapy! Sometimes it may be hard to tell, but play therapy is building emotional regulation skills, responsibility, social skills, and so much more. If you have specific concerns about how your child is doing with progressing towards their treatment goals and how play therapy is assisting in that progress, just ask!

Teenagers can be quite picky with choosing a therapist. This is a good thing! Finding a good fit in a therapist is important for everyone! Many like to have therapy that involves something less pressured than traditional talk therapies. Therapies using sandtray, art, or other expressive activiites are often preferred. They may also like to talk to the therapist while engaging themselves in a second activity. Board games are a popular choice.

I am a Registered Play Therapist which means that I have completed the required education, experience, and supervision hours to call myself a play therapist.

At Nurturing Divergence Counseling and Wellness we do not use ABA as it is not an affirming practice and we do not refer to provider who do ABA as it is against our values. Read more about the autistic community's stance on ABA here: https://neuroclastic.com/autism-101-resources-from-the-autistic-community/