Child and Family Therapy

 Getting to the root of the problem is the first step in helping your child work through the stressors and traumatic situations they have experienced. Depending on the age of the child, play therapy (including drawing/colouring) may be one of the tools used along with talk therapy.

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Play-focused therapy is a therapeutic approach that provides children with the opportunity to ‘play out’ feelings and problems. Toys are used to symbolically represent their inner and outer worlds.

Through the use of play the therapist is allowed into the child’s world and enabled to communicate with the child at their level which allows the child to make sense of their experiences. Play- focused therapy is a particularly appropriate treatment for children who have experienced trauma. Traumatic memories are stored at a sensory level and play allows these memories to be expressed and explored non-verbally. Eventually these memories can be integrated into a more verbal narrative.

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An appropriate combination of structure, acceptance, and attunement in the therapeutic relationship, creates a sense of safety for the child. By projecting feelings and experiences onto toys, children are able to create psychological distance from which to explore traumatic material. Play therapy allows the child to externalize their story, where it can then be better understood and worked through.