“ Sometimes the most important part of therapy for children and youth is simply learning that safe adults exist”
My approach to children’s therapy recognizes that children communicate through play, movement, creativity, and connection long before they communicate through words alone.
Co-Regulation
Children rarely open up when they feel pressured to talk. They open up while coloring, building, creating, moving, and simply feeling safe with someone. That’s why I don’t just sit across from children in therapy — I sit with them in it. Co-regulation is the process of helping a child’s nervous system feel calm, safe, and supported through connection with another person. Before children can manage big feelings on their own, they first need to experience what it feels like to move through those feelings alongside someone who can help them feel steady, understood, and safe
Play Therapy
Play is one of the primary ways children make sense of the world around them. Through play therapy, children can explore emotions, relationships, problem-solving, social interactions, conflict, and real-life experiences in ways that feel safe, natural, and developmentally appropriate. Sometimes children communicate thoughts and experiences through characters, stories, games, and imaginative play long before they can explain them directly with words. Play therapy creates opportunities for healing, confidence-building, emotional expression, and connection in a way that meets children where they are.
Creative Art and Self Expression
Sometimes thoughts and feelings can feel too big, confusing, or overwhelming to explain out loud — especially for children and youth. Through expressive art and parts work, we can begin to externalize those inner experiences in ways that feel safer, more understandable, and less overwhelming. Art creates space for curiosity, self-compassion, and understanding without pressure or judgment. Sometimes healing begins simply by helping a child realize that every part of them has a story worth listening to.