Teen & Child Therapist San Jose and Campbell

A visit to the San Jose psychologist’s office shouldn’t seem like more work for the kid—that’s just another way to make a child shut down, to make them feel like they’re being tested in school and in another anxious situation. That’s why we use play therapy to help break through their tough exteriors and ease them into good communication and counseling.

Our play therapy is focused on the child, with no wrong answers. It is a safe space for them to be themselves and to turn yet another doctor appointment into something fun. We use toys in our offices to set them at ease, but also to give them free expression to act out their fears, anxieties and experiences in a safe environment. Play therapy helps form a bond between the child and the child therapist and is a unique way to form a connection that will build the trust necessary to make psychological breakthroughs.

Play therapy works through three main stages: the first is where the patient plays in a safe environment and builds a relationship of trust with the counselor. The second stage is to begin to work through problems, building on the exploratory experiences we had in the first stage. It is here where the counselor begins to fully understand and examine the issues the child is facing.

Finally, we lay out a continued self-care (and parent-guided care) plan in which we wean the child from the need for counseling and let them transition into the care of now-needed parents and guardians. This can take a short time or a long time depending on the diagnosis of the child and their response to therapy, but we have seen great success stories, even in the most challenging cases.

Sometimes it’s not enough to just treat the child, but time must be taken to get the entire family together to discuss the problems. The therapist will be able to assess family dynamics and create a customized treatment and recovery plan for the child that they’ll be able to use as they go forward outside of a therapy environment. There’s always a benefit in letting the counselor see the full picture of the child’s behavior and issues, and see how the parents respond. Child therapy is about training parents to be good counselors as much as it is about teaching children to overcome. We’re here for you in the San Jose area for child and family therapy.