Play Therapy

At Sun Counseling & Wellness, we know that children and adolescents often communicate and process emotions differently than adults.

That’s why we offer specialized play therapy for ages 2-18, allowing young people to express, explore, and understand their emotions in a safe, supportive environment tailored just for them. Child-centered play therapy is a nationally recognized evidenced-based treatment for children.

Our play therapists work with a wide range of presenting concerns, including: anxiety, depression, mood disorders, behavioral issues, coping with family transitions, processing trauma or grief, social challenges, neurodivergence (autism, ADHD, giftedness), and self-esteem and identity issues.

What is Play Therapy?

Play therapy is a therapeutic approach that uses play—the natural language of children—as a medium for communication and healing. Through the developmentally appropriate modality of play, children can express complex feelings, work through challenges, and build coping skills, and increase their emotional intelligence in a non-threatening way. Whether it’s through drawing, storytelling, games, or other forms of imaginative play, our licensed play therapists help children make sense of their emotions and cope with the challenges they face.
 
Our play therapists work individually with each child, adapting their approach based on age, presenting concerns, and personality. Sessions may involve structured activities or more free-form play, depending on the holistic treatment plan your therapist will tailor to your child’s specific needs. Parents can expect the following from our play therapy process:

What To Expect In Play Therapy:

Our play therapists work individually with each child, adapting their approach based on age, needs, and personality. Sessions may involve structured activities or more free-form play, depending on what best supports each child’s growth and comfort. Parents can expect the following from our play therapy process:

    • Initial Assessment: We’ll start with a thorough assessment to understand your child’s unique needs, goals, and any specific challenges they face. A typical start to treatment is a 60 minute parent-only intake where your therapist will gather all relevant history on your child and learn about your parenting style. After a few sessions with your child where the therapist assess your child in the playroom and begins to build rapport, you will meet for a parent consultation. Your therapist will update you on the first few sessions and provide a treatment plan as well as give recommendations for continued frequency of sessions and anything they might find helpful for your to incorporate at home.
    • Engaging, Developmentally-Appropriate Play: Using toys, creative arts, and interactive games, our therapists create an environment where your child can feel safe to express their feelings.
    • Parent Communication:You are the expert on your child, you know them best. Your therapist will team up with your expertise and theirs. Rest assured that you will be part of the therapeutic journey and are a key part of supporting your child’s progress. Parent involvement is an extremely important piece and your play therapist values the relationship with you as much as the relationship with your child! 

Child Counseling Ages 9-12

Play therapy and activity therapy are combined to support this age group. This hybrid integration, blending traditional talk therapy with activity-based techniques, is particularly effective for addressing the needs of 9-12-year-olds who may feel more comfortable exploring emotions through creative and interactive outlets. While both approaches prioritize your child’s mental and emotional well-being, the techniques and focus differ based on their developmental stage and individual needs.
 

What is a play therapist?

A play therapist is a mental health professional with specialized training in using play as a therapeutic tool. They are trained to understand the language of play and guide children in expressing and processing their emotions, building coping skills, and resolving challenges.

However, not everyone who calls themselves a “play therapist” has the qualifications or supervision necessary to provide this level of care.

Our trained play therapists have:

  • Extensive Education: A master’s degree in a mental health field such as counseling and social work.
  • Specialized Play Therapy Training: Certification programs which include coursework in child development, play therapy techniques, and ethical considerations. Maggie is a Registered Play Therapist (RPT) and Amanda is working toward this certification under the supervision of a registered play therapist supervisor! 
  • Supervised Experience: Hundreds of hours working under the guidance of a credentialed supervisor to refine their skills and ensure competency.

FAQ

There are so many wonderful choices out there, right?! Please read more about us to to make sure our experience aligns with your presenting concerns. You’ll also want to get a good feel for our personalities and style since a good fit is a must, so contact us and we can chat. Us therapists don’t take it personally if it’s not the right match, so please be honest!

It can definitely feel intimidating to meet with a total stranger and let them in on your life story. It is our job to make you feel as comfortable as possible and keep confidentiality. But, it is not just a job to us. We truly feel honored to walk alongside you in this journey and we wouldn’t do this work if we didn’t care deeply. We just ask that you commit to our work together, remain open and honest, and trust the process. This means that even though every session may not have an Oprah “aha!” moment, this work of processing, learning, and self discovery is all building towards something awesome!

That’s hard to say without knowing your story and meeting with you. We typically say when someone is motivated, let’s jump on that and meet weekly to gain traction. Our goal is to work ourselves out of a job! You will feel equipped to move to less frequently along the way and you and your therapist will continually assess this progress.

We choose to be out of network with insurance companies so as to avoid their “red tape” and involvement in your treatment. This means you self pay upfront at the time of service and then you can submit for reimbursement. Call your insurance company to determine if they have out-of-network benefits. If they do, we can provide a Super Bill (please note that this requires a diagnosis code.)

The million dollar question!

See our current rates on the policies page.

Need a reduced rate/ sliding scale/ lower fee provider? Please try https://www.opencounseling.com/north-carolina/charlotte or https://openpathcollective.org

EMDR is hard to explain and understand, but having done it as a client and now as a clinician for several years, Juliet is a firm believer in its benefits! She likes to say that it’s like a system update for your brain — to send any negative memories/thoughts/sensations that are stuck to where they belong. It doesn’t erase memories or traumas, but it definitely decreases their intensity and resolves negative beliefs by replacing them with more positive and adaptive ones. Clients will feel distress relief, healing, reduced physiological symptoms, and empowerment. EMDR is proven to help with grief & loss, abuse, traumas, phobias, low self-esteem, attachment issues, family disruptions, upsetting memories, PTSD, and food issues. Find more info here.

This is how all of us therapists start! A LCMHCA is provisionally licensed clinical mental health counselor associate who has completed a master’s level counseling program, passed necessary national examinations, and is currently working toward full licensure by completing a minimum of 3,000 of supervised clinical counseling hours.

Let's Walk Through it Together.

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