When working with children and adolescents, I do my best to provide an atmosphere of empathy and acceptance. I work to listen without judgement and prove myself worthy to be invited into a child’s world. Through the strength of the therapeutic alliance, we are able to explore the causes and contributing factors to psychological and familial issues, and emerge from this process with the insight and motivation to change for the better.

Therapy with younger clients doesn’t often look the same as traditional psychotherapy for adults, and is much more geared to forming a working relationship or rapport through shared activities or games. As adults communicate through speaking, kids and adolescents often communicate through play. As such, getting to know a younger client and the things they enjoy doing is paramount for any effective therapeutic intervention. Sometimes this may involve art, board games, or just sharing online videos or memes, but it all leads to a place of trust and vulnerability from which real change can manifest itself.

In my work with younger clients (and with older clients who are receptive to it) I often utilize play therapy, art therapy, and Minecraft as a therapeutic tool. “Minecraft therapy” is something that can allow a client to express themselves in a 3-D landscape and see things from different perspectives, and it has the added benefit of being something that many kids love to do! If you are interested in this approach for yourself or your child, reach out to me today and we can discuss the process.