"Does my child need therapy?"

     When parents are concerned about their child, a great place to start is with your child's pediatrician. Ruling out any medical causes for the concerning symptom(s) is important. The pediatrician can make recommendations based on his/her knowledge of your child.

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Some risk factors and symptoms to consider:

• Sudden onset and/or significant change in the child's behavior, affect and/or mood.

• Change in school performance, activity level, sleep patterns, appetite, relationships, or interests.

• A significant stressor like divorce, loss, a medical procedure, or traumatic event in a child's life (even if your child is not exhibiting any adverse symptoms.) The risk of developing symptoms could be mitigated with the opportunity to explore feelings and thoughts about these stressors in a safe, therapeutic environment.

• Behavioral or psychological symptoms that cause a significant decline in a child's daily functioning like anxiety, depression, and other symptoms.

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"How will Play Therapy help my child?"

     Play Therapy allows the child to create a familiar environment in which to work through past traumatic experiences, to reduce intense and unpleasant emotions, and to develop and enhance resilience skills for their future well-being.

     Play is the natural language used by children to make sense of their experiences and the world around them. This special process uses toys, games, art, movement, books, and other items familiar to children to help them feel comfortable and to help the therapist understand and treat their presenting issues. 

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"How will EMDR help my child?"

     EMDR is Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is the use of bilateral stimulation to help process traumatic events, unpleasant feelings and emotions, and intrusive thoughts. EMDR has been used to help people reprocess and reduce the overwhelming effects of trauma and other problems.

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"How will Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy help my child?"

    Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence based model of treatment for children and adolescents used to reduce the symptoms of trauma. Research indicates TF-CBT reduces symptoms related to post traumatic stress disorder. The model has specific sessions that are used for both the child/adolescent of the traumatic event as well as their parents.