What is play therapy? 

Therapeutic play is a well established discipline based upon a number of psychological theories. It works on the premise that toys are like the child's words and play is the child's language. Play therapy allows trained clinicians to assess and understand children's play. 

A safe, confidential and caring environment is created which allows the child to play with as few limits as possible. Play therapy is used strategically to help children express what is troubling them when they do not have the verbal language to express their thoughts and feelings. By confronting problems in the clinical setting children are able to cope with difficult emotions and find healthier solutions to their problems. 

What is filial therapy? 

Filial therapy is a closely related form of child-centered play therapy that engages the parents or caregivers directly as the agents of therapeutic change. Infant attachment lays the foundation for relating intimately with others and is a powerful indicator for future social and emotional outcomes. Filial therapy strives to enhance the parent-child relationship by empowering parents with constructive ways of interacting with their child and creating an accepting environment where he or she is the sole focus. 

Parents are taught to utilize the principles of play therapy at home and given the skills necessary to practice effective listening and respond to a child's emotions. There are behavioral components within the play sessions where the structuring and limit setting skills add security, boundaries and clear consequences which help eliminate unwanted child behaviors while teaching parents balanced parenting skills. Filial therapy nurtures infant attachment and ultimately strengthens the parent-child relationship. 

What is family therapy?

Family therapy is based on the principle that each family has its own individual structure and patterns of communication. These patterns are determined by the personalities of all family members, parents’ beliefs and values, and the influence of the extended family. As a result, each family develops its own unique character which affects all of its members.

Family therapy focuses on understanding individuals' thoughts, feelings and behavior within the context of their families. The goal is to harness and strengthen family resources, and help family members work collaboratively to deal with their issues and improve their communication skills. 

What are parenting solutions?

Children undergo significant social, emotional, cognitive and biological changes in their early years. Parenting solutions are specific techniques based on developmental psychology and behavioral medicine that help primary caregivers understand the root cause of their child’s behavior, identify age appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, and find effective strategies to manage those behaviors.  

WHAT IS EMDR?

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing is an evidence-based treatment that allows access to, and the processing of, difficult memories and experiences. During EMDR therapy the individual focuses on an external stimulus, most often either lateral eye movements directed by the therapist or bilateral tapping. This particular movement enables access to the traumatic memory network, enhances information processing, and allows new, more adaptive, associations to be formed between the two, reducing emotional distress.

It is different from talk therapy in that the insights gained by the individual come from their own accelerated intellectual and emotional processes instead of the therapist’s interpretation.