The process of child play therapy: What you need to know
You want to enroll your child in therapy.
Your life has felt chaotic, and your child’s behavior is taking a toll on your family. You aren’t sure where to start in giving your child support.
Does a 5 year old even do therapy?
The answer is a resounding yes.
Therapy is available to you or your family no matter where you are in your life. Therapy comes in many shapes and sizes. It’s not one size fits all.
The language of children is play. So instead of traditional talk therapy, children typically do play therapy.
So how do you begin enrolling you child in therapy?
Find a therapist. Check out Psychology Today to find a therapist that best fits your child’s needs. At the Flourishing Way, Rebecca Self is completing her certification for Play Therapy and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. Who can support you and your family.
Intake. The first session is a 30 minute parent intake and a 1 hour child intake assessment. In these sessions, we focus on what brought you to therapy, as well as current strengths of the child. After the intake session, your therapist is able to create a plan and set goals with the parents.
Building rapport and completing the assessment. After the intake, the therapist focuses on building rapport with the child and continuing to assess the child’s behavior.
Introduce coping skills and therapeutic work. After rapport has been built with the child, the therapist starts to introduce therapeutic work and teaching skills that the child can use to cope.
Check in. Every four sessions the therapist will meet with the parent for a 15 minute session. In the session, you go over your child’s progress and assess if they are hitting goals. Parents can opt to schedule a longer session if needed, but at The Flourishing Way, we only require at least one 15 minute phone call or virtual session.
Get in touch with Rebecca Self to learn more about what child therapy looks like.