Frequently Asked Questions

Play Therapy is a counseling approach using interactive, age-appropriate mediums to allow your child to process thoughts and feelings blocking them from happiness. Through toys, games, or art materials, counselors make the process as comfortable and effective as possible for the child’s unique healing needs. Often, because they feel they’re “just playing,” children and teens often don’t realize that they’re processing important emotional issues while doing so. Through Play Therapy, children learn to: communicate with others, express feelings, modify behavior, develop problem-solving skills, and learn various ways of relating to others. Play Therapy differs from regular play in that the counselor guides the sessions and works closely with the children to address and resolve their problems through play-based interventions. Playing provides a safe psychological distance from their problems and allows them to express thoughts and feelings appropriate to their development.

Sometimes parents are concerned whether their child will be nervous about going to see a counselor or if they will like the therapist and “open up.” Being honest with your child is the most important approach. Keep the conversation simple. Here are some things to consider:

Young Children: Explain to young kids that their counselor is similar to a doctor but they talk and play with children to help them solve problems and feel better. Make sure they know this “doctor” doesn’t give shots!

Older Children and Teens: Your older child finds reassurance in knowing that what they say in session remains confidential. It helps when the child has already heard this before and knows the parent won’t pry. Make sure your child doesn’t think they are going to see a counselor because they are being bad. “A counselor will help you to feel better,” is more helpful than, “a counselor will help you get your behavior under control.” When children see the counselor as a rule enforcer or a punitive authority, establishing a trusting relationship takes much longer.

After a session, you may wonder how your child did. Here are some tips:

Asking the therapist how the session went: Know that your counselor will be sure to inform you if specific details were discussed with your child that they feel you should know about. Because your child may have discussed emotional subjects, your counselor will not want to make your child feel uncomfortable. So, they may answer your concern by calling you after you leave. They may also simply nod “yes” if you ask them if everything is okay in front of your child, even if their conclusion for the session may not be that everything is “ok.”

Asking your child how the session went: When your child comes out of their session, you can simply ask, “Are you ready to go?” You can also follow up soon after with, “How are you feeling?” Overall, a general rule of thumb is to ask a question in a way that allows your child to tell you anything they want to disclose without feeling pressure. You don’t want them to feel nervous because you will want to know what they said in session. So, do your best to not bring judgment when voicing your concern.

Providing support when they offer insight into their session: If your child shares with you details about what they created in session, you can give praise in general terms. Often, a “wow” is enough for their emotional support. You can also praise their effort, by saying, “You made all that?” or, “You used a lot of different colors!” Matter-of-fact observations usually work best and provide the necessary acknowledgment. But be careful, if the child represented their inner struggles on paper, you may not want to say, “that’s so pretty!” General statements work best. Good examples include, “Wow, you did a lot of work,” or, “Oh, wow, I can see what you did there.”

Families play an important role in children’s healing processes. The interaction between children’s problems and their families is always complex. Children and families heal faster when they work together. The counselor will make some decisions about how and when to involve some or all family members. At a minimum, the therapist will communicate regularly with the child’s caretakers to develop a plan and monitor progress. Parents will receive feedback regularly. Other options might include family sessions, parent coaching on how to manage particular issues at home, or working directly with parents on other personal issues as described under the parent counseling section.

Confidentiality is very important to us. Successful therapy requires a high degree of trust with highly sensitive subject matter that is usually not discussed anywhere but the therapist’s office. At certain times, speaking to others like your family doctor, a teacher, or other professionals may be useful to the therapist. However, we will not do so unless you sign a Release of Information form. In working with your child, it is important for them to know that the content of their sessions is held private. Counselors will meet with parents separately to discuss progress and provide useful feedback. Meanwhile, children and teens are informed that counselors will disclose to their parents if they fear for the child’s safety. If the counselor deems a topic important for the parent to know, he or she will discuss this with the client.

State law and professional ethics require therapists to maintain confidentiality except for situations of suspected past or present abuse or neglect of children, adults, and elders to the authorities, including Child Protection and law enforcement, based on information provided by the client or collateral sources, or if the therapist has reason to suspect the client is seriously in danger of harming him/herself or has threatened to harm another person.

No. We have experience in working with an array of people who need to process thoughts and feelings around emotional issues keeping them from strength and happiness. We help adults relieve feelings of anxiety and depression, manage anger, and process traumatic experiences. We also provide couples counseling.

We understand that on rare occasions, you may have to miss an appointment due to an emergency. Because we have set aside our professional time specifically for you, we do request that you notify us of any change in your availability.

If you need to cancel or reschedule an appointment, please notify us at least 24 hours in advance of your appointment. If you reschedule within this timeframe, you will not be charged a session fee. Cancellations made less than 24 hours are charged a reduced fee. No-Shows are charged at full fee.

These cancellation fees and requirements also apply to online appointment cancellations and rescheduling.

We are always looking for licensed counselors, clinical social workers, and psychologists to join our team. Check out our Careers page!

*We do not hire interns or practicum students. At this time we are ONLY hiring licensed folks. Because of the amount of requests for internships we receive, please excuse if you don’t receive a reply to your inquiry.