Individual Child Counselling

Playing and Painting Are Your Child's Natural Means of Communication

  • Play therapy assists your child in 'acting out' feelings in a safe setting.
  • Art therapy helps your child express him or herself in a calm and soothing manner. It offers a permanent and tangible record of your child's feelings that can be used as a basis for discussion.

A Typical Counselling Session

During play and art therapy sessions your child is given the choice to use art/play materials to work through difficult feelings. Under the therapist's trained guidance, unexpressed emotions become visible. Examples of expressive materials include a dollhouse and dolls, puppets, sandtray, dress-up clothes, Playmobil, Lego, toy soldiers, simple percussion instruments, simple board games, paint, pastels, markers, stickers, construction material, collage, fabric and clay.

boy play fighting

Building a Trusting Relationship

Typically, a minimum of 12 sessions is recommended. This allows time for a trusting relationship to develop between the therapist and your child, and for your child's issues to surface. The sessions will begin with a meeting between you, the child's parent(s) or caregiver(s), and the therapist to discuss your concerns regarding your child. The subsequent sessions are with your child and the therapist. A brief update on your child's progress will be provided at the end of every 6 sessions.

Benefits of Play Therapy and Art Therapy

  • increased self esteem
  • decreased anxiety
  • sense of accomplishment
  • insight into one's behaviour
  • decrease in disruptive behaviour
  • increased ability to problem solve
  • improvement in social skills
  • catharsis