Child Therapy / Play Therapy
Early experiences in a child’s life often have a formative impact on the child’s later development. When these experiences are characterized by instability and distress, they can have longstanding, detrimental effects on the child. However, early intervention in the form of child psychotherapy/play therapy may resolve emotional and psychological difficulties, thereby, helping to prevent the occurrence of significant psychological difficulties in adulthood.
In comparison to an adult, a child has limited verbal skills. Therefore, if a child encounters a problem, the child may have difficulty in articulating this. As a result, the child may express the difficulty in other ways: exhibiting strong emotions, such as, anger, sadness, or anxiety; and/or behavioral problems, for example, disobedience, bullying, or bed wetting. In order to empower children to work through these difficulties in accordance to their developmental abilities child psychotherapy/play therapy is indicated.
In dealing with my child clients the emphasis falls on play therapy and Teddy Bear Therapy (TBT) as method of intervention. The choice of intervention depends on the presenting problem and parents are involved at all stages of this process. Teddy Bear Therapy and Play Therapy has been proven to be effective with children presenting with:
- Being bullied
- Extreme shyness
- Performance anxiety
- Difficulties with friends at school
- Being rejected
- Having difficulty separating from his/her parents
- Difficulties in coping with divorce
- Phobias and fears
- Bed wetting
- Bereavement
- Trauma
As well as various other difficulties.
Therapy is available in English and Afrikaans.