Play therapy is a developmentally sensitive approach that honors the unique emotional and psychological needs of children.

Rather than adapting adult models for use with kids, play therapy is built on the understanding that play is a child’s natural way of communicating.

I’m sure you have noticed a time when your child seemed to be acting out something they saw or experienced. This is a child’s way of making sense of their world and developing an understanding of their circumstances. Play therapy can offer a space for a child to explore these situations in a way that is comfortable for them.

Many children struggle with how to handle difficult emotions or manage and cope with stressful situations.

Play therapy offers a developmentally appropriate type of therapy for children to make sense of those tough moments, build resiliency and a stronger sense of self.

In play therapy, toys serve as words and play as language, allowing me to gain valuable insight into a child’s inner world. This process provides a safe and supportive environment where children can work through emotional challenges, develop healthy coping skills, improve self-regulation, and build stronger relationships. Interventions are carefully tailored to align with the child’s cognitive, emotional, and developmental capacities.

Although the term "play" may suggest something casual or surface level, play therapy is a deeply purposeful and evidence-informed clinical method that has years of research behind it.

It offers meaningful opportunities for therapeutic engagement and emotional healing in a way that recognizes how children naturally process and make sense of their experiences. While your child may describe their session as "playing," please know that each session is carefully guided to support their emotional growth and well-being with a theory and research behind it.

Because children are in a different stage of brain development compared to adults, it’s helpful to meet them where they are to connect and provide therapy.

It’s hard for children to find words for their experiences and feelings. This comes with time and development. Play therapy offers children a chance to transform and work through things from the inside out.

Children can reach a resolution, understand themselves better and start to increase self esteem while playing out struggles and scenarios that they might be dealing with outside of the play room.

Play therapy offers children a chance to play out difficult moments, work through hard emotions and practice different behavior in order to make sense of their situation and gain some mastery over themselves and their actions.

I primarily utilize Child Centered Play Therapy in my work with children. Child Centered Play Therapy is a non-directive therapeutic approach in which the child leads the way. In this setting, children will find appropriate ways to cope with unresolved feelings and they can learn they are responsible for their own behavior.

Children are still learning to understand their emotions, so it’s completely normal for them to have a hard time putting their feelings into words or expressing them in ways that seem appropriate. Child Centered Play Therapy removes the pressure of finding the right words and allows the therapist to communicate and understand the child in their language, which is play.

The playroom is designed and furnished with a variety of carefully selected toys, designed to promote the expression of a wide range of feelings and circumstances.

The play materials are grouped into some categories such as real-life toys, which help children reenact everyday situations; nurturing and role-play toys, which support emotional expression; and creative materials, which encourage open-ended, self-directed expression.

There has been much research done on the appropriate toys and items to have in a play room in order to facilitate play therapy and the different themes that show up in a play therapy session.

For more information about play therapy please feel free to watch this video or visit the Association for Play Therapy website -

https://www.a4pt.org/

The Process of Therapy

Step 1

DISCOVERY CALL

When you reach out through the contact form, we can schedule a free 15-minute consultation phone call to see if we’d be a good fit. In that phone call, you will have a chance to ask any questions and tell me a little bit about why you are seeking play therapy services and I can discuss what you can generally expect from the play therapy process for your child.

Step 2

INITIAL SESSION

We will complete a thorough intake together via telehealth without your child present. This allows you to speak freely and allows me to ask questions about your reason for seeking services. This will allow me to have a greater context and understanding of the situation. We can also discuss what treatment will look like and an overview of the play therapy process.

Step 3

ONGOING SESSIONS

Ideally, I will meet with a child individually, once a week, for 50 minutes at my office. Once a month, I also meet with you via telehealth for a parenting session. This is a chance for me to provide an update about what the child is working through in the playroom, getting an update from you about anything outside the playroom and discuss strategies that might be helpful at home to help with progress.

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All therapy services start with a free 15 minute consultation

Intake session

$200/50 minutes

ongoing Sessions

$150/50 minutes

Frequently Asked Questions

  • I am not paneled with any insurance companies, but I do have superbills automatically generated on the first of every month that can be submitted to insurance companies for reimbursement.

    If you would like to seek reimbursement for services, you can call their insurance company before beginning treatment to ask if the you or the child has out-of-network mental health benefits, if those benefits cover in-person and telehealth sessions with procedure codes 90791, 90837, 90834, 90832, 90846, and 90847 and what portion of payments they will be responsible for.

  • -American Express

    -Discover

    -Mastercard

    -Visa

  • In the beginning of treatment, I meet with children individually once a week for a 50 minute session. These are in person at my office in Scottsdale.

    For therapeutic reasons, I won’t be able to check in with parent or guardian in front of the child as I’ve found this disrupts the process and rapport.

    For every three sessions I have with a child I will have a parenting session via telehealth. This usually works out to once a month meetings with the parent or guardian. These appointments include me providing an update about what the child is working through in the playroom and gathering an update from you about how they are doing at home and school.

    This often leads into modeling and discussing different techniques or strategies that help parent and/or guardian feel more confident responding to and helping the child at home.

    We can have parent consultations more often if you feel it’s needed.

  • You can just let them know that they’ll be coming to play with me, Kathryn, in my playroom, which is filled with lots of toys.

    If they ask why, you can explain that special playtime can sometimes be helpful. It’s also more beneficial to encourage children by saying something like, "This is your time and you can play however you need to." This reinforces the idea that therapy is a safe space for self-expression without any imposed expectations.

    Depending on the child's age and how much they understand about their behaviors and challenges, you might also mention that my job is to support kids with their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. That it can help to have someone to talk to or play with when things are hard or you’re having a tough time.

  • I do not provide play therapy services virtually.

    However, parent coaching and individual therapy can be provided virtually, via telehealth.

  • Sandtray therapy, like art therapy, is a creative and flexible way to explore thoughts and feelings. It can be adapted to fit each person’s unique needs and can work well with many different therapy styles.

    The experiential component of sandtray therapy is one of its most powerful and transformative aspects. Unlike traditional talk therapy, which relies heavily on verbal communication, sandtray therapy engages clients on a sensory, emotional, and physical level—making it a deeply felt, hands-on experience.

    I offer this therapy to children and adults if appropriate.