Confidentiality
Therapy sessions with children and teenagers are confidential just like those with adults. Therapists keep the specifics of what a child says and what they may do in the sessions private in order to build trust in the relationship between the child or teen and their therapist.
Therapists may talk to parents about therapy, but this will be done in a generalized format including themes of their play and areas of clinical focus. Specifics on what your child said or did will be kept confidential. Therapists do have a legal and ethical obligation to inform a parent if their child has expressed themselves to be a danger to themselves or others, and in cases of concern regarding reported abuse or violence by a child or teen.
Therapists will encourage children and teens to include their parents when appropriate or may invite parents to sit in on the therapy session should that benefit your child. You may choose to schedule an appointment at any time to talk about your child by phone or email. My standard procedure is to meet with parents approximately every 4th session to consult on your child's progress.
Therapists may talk to parents about therapy, but this will be done in a generalized format including themes of their play and areas of clinical focus. Specifics on what your child said or did will be kept confidential. Therapists do have a legal and ethical obligation to inform a parent if their child has expressed themselves to be a danger to themselves or others, and in cases of concern regarding reported abuse or violence by a child or teen.
Therapists will encourage children and teens to include their parents when appropriate or may invite parents to sit in on the therapy session should that benefit your child. You may choose to schedule an appointment at any time to talk about your child by phone or email. My standard procedure is to meet with parents approximately every 4th session to consult on your child's progress.
What to Expect
My approach to therapy with children and teens is to use a prescriptive method of play therapy (using the best fitting evidenced based practice that meets the unique needs of your child through a child's natural language of play). What is meant by this is, I don’t believe all children can fit into a one-size-fits-all model or approach to therapy. I have received extensive training and studied a variety of theoretical approaches and methods to help individuals so that I can tailor my approach to your child’s unique abilities and/or specific needs.
Play therapy involves using toys, sand, art, crafts, games, and other materials to help children express themselves. Play offers the child an environment of safety. If children are able to say what they think or how they feel through toys, art and other media with someone who can translate their behavior and facilitate the process, they will respond positively and are able to successfully work through their presenting problems, symptoms or issues.
Play therapy may be short-term and at other times, it may be more long-term. Regardless of the time frame, it is important that a child be given the opportunity to complete the play therapy process once they have begun. A child's symptoms may get worse before they get better. When a child begins to identify and address his or her concerns, he or she will need to complete the process in order for it to have lasting effects.
I often utilize play based or prop based approaches within my work as I incorporate other therapies into practice. You can expect the use of art, sand tray miniatures, puppets and other playful mediums to be utilized as I work with your child to process difficult emotions and/or experiences.
Teenagers also respond well to art-based or ‘playful’ techniques in counseling and therapy. The approach is disarming and creates security and comfort during expression of the issues they are struggling with. Many teens and young adults I have worked with report that they enjoy the creativity of therapy using art, music and/or play for self-expression, thus gaining a deeper sense of themselves and how to move forward in life.
When preparing your young child for coming to see me in therapy, the best thing is to tell them that they are coming to a place that has toys and a therapist they can talk to when they are ready. If your child wants to know why he or she is coming to see us, you can say something like "It seems like things have been really hard for you at home (or school, etc.) and sometimes it helps to have a special time for yourself with a special person to talk to." –or- “We found a special person for you to talk to about what has happened. She talks to lots of kids who have had things like this happen to them.” For older children, you can let them know that they will be talking with a therapist as well as engaging in art or game activities. With older children, it also helps if you stress that you are willing to get involved in parenting or family therapy in order to help with any issues within the family they may want to address.
Remember, since children may play with sand or paint, they should wear comfortable play clothes, rather than "good" clothes. The play process is sometimes messy! I promise if your child comes to my office wearing a shirt that has seen better days, I will not be judging your laundry skills. I will be pleased to know that I won’t be sending them away with a stain on their brand new shirt.
A typical therapy session will last 45-60 minutes. If you need to speak with me, it is best to make a separate appointment. You are also always welcome to email or call me with concerns or questions. Depending upon your concern or request I may suggest that you schedule a parent consultation or therapy appointment to ensure I have time to properly talk about your questions or thoughts.
Play therapy involves using toys, sand, art, crafts, games, and other materials to help children express themselves. Play offers the child an environment of safety. If children are able to say what they think or how they feel through toys, art and other media with someone who can translate their behavior and facilitate the process, they will respond positively and are able to successfully work through their presenting problems, symptoms or issues.
Play therapy may be short-term and at other times, it may be more long-term. Regardless of the time frame, it is important that a child be given the opportunity to complete the play therapy process once they have begun. A child's symptoms may get worse before they get better. When a child begins to identify and address his or her concerns, he or she will need to complete the process in order for it to have lasting effects.
I often utilize play based or prop based approaches within my work as I incorporate other therapies into practice. You can expect the use of art, sand tray miniatures, puppets and other playful mediums to be utilized as I work with your child to process difficult emotions and/or experiences.
Teenagers also respond well to art-based or ‘playful’ techniques in counseling and therapy. The approach is disarming and creates security and comfort during expression of the issues they are struggling with. Many teens and young adults I have worked with report that they enjoy the creativity of therapy using art, music and/or play for self-expression, thus gaining a deeper sense of themselves and how to move forward in life.
When preparing your young child for coming to see me in therapy, the best thing is to tell them that they are coming to a place that has toys and a therapist they can talk to when they are ready. If your child wants to know why he or she is coming to see us, you can say something like "It seems like things have been really hard for you at home (or school, etc.) and sometimes it helps to have a special time for yourself with a special person to talk to." –or- “We found a special person for you to talk to about what has happened. She talks to lots of kids who have had things like this happen to them.” For older children, you can let them know that they will be talking with a therapist as well as engaging in art or game activities. With older children, it also helps if you stress that you are willing to get involved in parenting or family therapy in order to help with any issues within the family they may want to address.
Remember, since children may play with sand or paint, they should wear comfortable play clothes, rather than "good" clothes. The play process is sometimes messy! I promise if your child comes to my office wearing a shirt that has seen better days, I will not be judging your laundry skills. I will be pleased to know that I won’t be sending them away with a stain on their brand new shirt.
A typical therapy session will last 45-60 minutes. If you need to speak with me, it is best to make a separate appointment. You are also always welcome to email or call me with concerns or questions. Depending upon your concern or request I may suggest that you schedule a parent consultation or therapy appointment to ensure I have time to properly talk about your questions or thoughts.