Child Psychologists and Child Therapists in Duarte, CA.

Children often lack the verbal and emotional regulation skills needed to express their feelings. Add that to the guilt, shame and fear that comes from believing something may have been their fault, and you have one hurting little kiddo. Child Therapy enters the child's world of play to help him or her identify and process grief, work through trauma issues, express feelings, and develop new coping skills. You can learn more about us at www.HealPlayLove.org

Having worked in the elementary schools as well as raising six young children myself, I have extensive experience in working with this group. I use a family systems approach to therapy and prefer to partner with parents in the treatment of their children. If family therapy is not a possibility, I will see children on their own, also creating a strong collaborative alliance with their parents.

Is your child going through a difficult time or life transition? They may be stuck in a cycle of mood swings or behavioral reactions. It sounds like your child or adolescent would benefit from counseling, and you have the heart and motivation to get them the help they need. I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and offer professional counseling for children, teens, and families. I'm also a certified Family Wellness Instructor. Additionally, I have experience as a student director and teacher and enjoy working with children, adolescents, and young adults in issues relating to identity and development. If you are ready for your child to begin the healing journey, I am here to help.

Everyone experiences pain / sadness at some point. Even we as adults though sometimes cannot explain what we are experiencing and exactly why. For our children, they will be less likely to verbalize what is happening for them and more likely to act it out. Our children need to be given the tools to best express their wants and needs, as well as whatever emotions and thoughts they are experiencing. Let's give them a voice and teach them the healthy ways.

Very few therapists specialize in therapy with young children. Fortunately, we have several on staff at the La Vie Center. Because we have over 25 therapists on staff, we have counselors that specialize in many different areas and working with young children is a particular area of expertise for us. Give us a call and we will find just the right child therapist for you.

Many therapists share they use play therapy in their practice with children, but have not taken further training on its use in therapy. I am a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, which means I completed 3 years and 3000 additional hours of practice after licensure, clinical supervision, consistent continued education courses, and significant focus in at least two play therapy evidence based practices. I utilize Child Centered Play Therapy, Filial Therapy, Digital Play Therapy, and Prescriptive Play Therapy to address children's needs in addition to creative arts therapies (Drama Therapy, Art Therapy interventions).

We offer a range of services for young children including those who are going through their parents divorce to being at risk for developmental delays, children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and individuals with adaptive functioning needs and behavioral challenges. Our approach integrates meeting the child where they are at with a mixture of play therapy and evidence-based practices from the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) depeing on the needs of each client and family.

Most of my work has been done with high schoolers and adolecents; however, I do have experience using play therapy and small groups with K-8th graders. As a mother of a child on the spectrum, I was trained in Greenspan's Floortime Approach. This later helped me with working with children of all ages. Play therapy helps children recreate the worlds they live in and helps me, the therapist, understand where they're coming from.