Child & Family Therapy
Play Therapy for Children
Ages 2 to 9
I provide prescriptive play therapy, which means that I am trained in a variety of types of child-focused therapy techniques. Prescriptive play therapy allows me to adjust my approach with each individual child, integrating various techniques into their treatment plan and into our sessions. This way we are not limited to any single approach. Every treatment plan is unique and tailor-made to the child.
The foundation of all of my interactions with children, regardless of therapy technique, is play. Play is how children best communicate. Whatever a child is struggling with out in the “real world” is likely to manifest in their play. I am trained to identify those struggles as they appear in play, and then to intervene gently through play. This way, the child feels that I am speaking their language, and working through the problem will feel emotionally manageable and even fun for them.
Along with my foundation in play, my other strongest influencer is taking a gentle approach. Every step of therapy, even with a child as young as four years old, must happen with the child’s informed consent and un-coerced participation. I am a gentle person by nature, and this nature is one of the things that makes me a great therapist for children. I prioritize felt safety, which is distinct from actual safety. Felt safety happens when adults adjust their own behavior and arrange the child’s environment to send both subtle and overt cues of safety to the child’s brain. Felt safety is a subjective experience that is critical for children to experience in the play therapy setting and in turn allows them to confidently engage in treatment. When children come to my office, they know that safety of all types is guaranteed, and saying “no” is always okay!
Play therapy is typically accompanied by adjunctive family therapy or parent consultation sessions, where I help parents extend interventions I use in sessions to the home and even the school setting, when needed. I am experienced at dialoguing with schools around mental health issues of childhood and can support you to get needs met in any setting. When appropriate and desired, I do school-based observations and provide services in the home setting.
When working with neurodiverse children (Autism, ADHD, Highly Sensitive Child, etc.) I take a neurodiversity-affirming approach. I also have specialized training in working with children grieving a loss.
Here are some of the modalities I am trained in, which I integrate into my prescriptive approach, if you would like to learn more:
Preteen/Teen Activity-Based Talk Therapy
Ages 9 to 18
I use a prescriptive approach to work with preteens and teens. This means I consider their difficulties and adjust my approach and treatment plan to precisely meet their needs and leverage their strengths. I design activities that work in conjunction with their interests.
For example, if your preteen is really into music, we will do a lot of music-centered activities, such as a “Soundtrack to Your Life,” where I guide them in picking songs that resonate with them and together we make a burned CD with those songs. This allows us to discuss and explore their core beliefs and needs in a more natural, flowing manner.
Family Therapy
My approach to family therapy is mainly informed by Attachment-Based Family Therapy and Collaborative Problem Solving. These techniques work well with all ages, including teens and even young adults. These techniques of family therapy emphasize consideration of family dynamics (how we influence one another’s behavior) and positive communication with one another. I work with families with young children and families with adult children.
There is no issue too big or too small for us to tackle together—I have successfully supported families dealing with everything from minor miscommunication to self-harm and suicide.
Please note that these are samples made by Dr. Earley and are not client-created materials, which are considered confidential material.