“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.” ~Fred Rogers

 

Play therapy is a set of evidenced based therapies designed to work with children through the language of play. These therapies may include use of a variety of tools in the office, including but not limited to sandtray, games, art, books, and carefully selected toys through either therapist directed or child-directed play. Play therapy can be utilized to treat a variety of childhood concerns including anxiety, depression, ADHD, autism, behavioral concerns, grief/loss, divorce, school concerns, trauma, crisis, and more. Play modalities can be used with an individual child, sibling sets, and with families as a whole.

 

Amy Engelhard, MA, LMFT, Laurie Dwyer, MA, LMFT and Becca Lee, LICSW at Mindful Families have years of experience and training in play therapy and have a multitude of therapeutic tools to offer during the course of treatment of children.