We work with all ages! Don't let the word "play" fool you. We often get the question, "Do you work with adults?," and our answer is, "YES! We love working with adults as much as working with children!"
Our therapists are trained and ready to meet the needs of a wide range of ages. Naturally, some therapists work best with younger children; others work well with adolescents or adults. Any time we work with children, our therapists also work with the parents and caregivers, helping to provide an understanding of that child's unique mental health needs, paired with their experiences, and how a parent can best work with them.
When you call into The Center for Creative Arts and Play Therapy, part of our conversation with you will take into account your particular needs and what therapist might be a good fit for those needs at that particular age.
What does therapy look like?
Therapy should meet your unique needs and should not take a "cookie cutter approach." Starting services usually begins with the first session, an intake, that allows you to voice your concerns and goals, as well as to get to know the therapist and their approaches.
Sessions usually start out on a weekly basis and typically last from 45-55 minutes. When working with a child, at least a few minutes of that session's time is usually spent getting and providing parent feedback.
While on occasion it may be appropriate to meet with someone for only a handful of sessions, it is more typical for therapy to last up to a year. Sessions are usually individual, but can also take place with siblings, parents, a partner, or in a group.
Most therapists at The Center for Creative Arts and Play Therapy are licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as either a social worker or professional counselor; on occasion we host well-qualified interns from local colleges or universities who work in partnership with our licensed and experienced professionals. Our interns provide fresh perspectives and an energy that everyone in the therapy experience benefits from.
Why play and creativity?
It might be tempting to think of play as a less serious therapeutic approach. After all, play is fun and the media sometimes portrays therapy, especially with adults, as being quite serious. While we, as therapists, do take our professional work with you quite seriously, research also informs our approaches and tells us that play can be serious work for a child.
One of the founders of play therapy, Garry Landreth, describes play as a child's language, with toys as the words. While adult therapy may consist of a lot of talking, play, for children, is how a child "verbalizes" what is happening within their life experience.
The process of play, when acted out within a therapy session, allows a child to express their emotions, experiment with relationship dynamics, respond to limits set by the therapist, and accept the value that they have as a unique human being. Play and the creative therapies can be used to successfully address concerns related to anxiety, depression, ADHD, trauma, attachment, chronic illness, and other common childhood experiences.
With all of this talk about play and creative approaches being used with children, you may wonder whether play and creativity is an approach used with adolescents and adults. As with all of our therapeutic approaches, we have a discussion with you about where your comfort zone is. Play can be used effectively with adolescents and adults; many times play does not look the same with teens and adults as it would for a child.
Some of our therapists have specialized training in the use of art, movement, or sand in therapy, as well as the use of traditional play with older individuals. Art, play, movement, and sand can be especially powerful therapeutic interventions with adolescents and adults when treating concerns like depression, anxiety, and traumatic experiences.
When you use our website, you understand: Any resources and information found on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended to assess, diagnose, or treat any medical or mental health condition. When you use this website and its resources, there is no implication that it is part of a therapeutic relationship with any of The Center for Creative Arts' therapists or The Center for Creative Arts. Any information gathered from our website or websites linked from here is not considered a substitute for medical or mental health services. Links to other websites are provided for informational and reference purposes only. The Center for Creative Arts and Play Therapy does not endorse or guarantee anything linked to other websites.