Why Our Approach Is a Good Fit for Kids on the Autism Spectrum
Our approach recognizes your child’s autism as an integral part of their identity, not a problem to fix. We prioritize genuine connection over behavioral correction, honoring their unique communication patterns and natural expressions like stimming. Through relationship-centered play therapy, your child can explore emotions safely while developing self-regulation strategies that work for their neurological wiring. […]
Supporting Your Child Through Major Transitions: Divorce, Moving, and School Stress
Supporting your child through major changes like divorce, moving, or school alterations requires understanding that their clinginess, outbursts, or withdrawal are normal responses to an overwhelmed nervous system. You’ll want to maintain consistent routines, validate their feelings without rushing to fix everything, and offer choices within the changes to help them feel empowered. Creating predictable […]
Why Punishments Don’t Work the Way You Think—and What Builds True Change
Punishments create fear-based compliance that doesn’t address why your child misbehaves in the first place. When you rely on consequences and threats, you’re targeting surface behavior while ignoring your child’s developmental needs for emotional regulation and problem-solving skills. Research shows that fear triggers fight-or-flight responses that actually block learning and growth. Instead, positive discipline approaches […]
Behind Every Behavior Is a Story: What Your Child Is Really Trying to Tell You
Your child’s challenging behaviors aren’t acts of defiance—they’re desperate attempts to communicate emotions and needs they can’t yet verbalize. When you see tantrums, aggression, or withdrawal, you’re witnessing your child’s primitive language system expressing unmet needs for emotional regulation, autonomy, or connection. Rather than viewing misbehavior as manipulation, approach it with curiosity about what’s driving […]
Big Feelings, Small Bodies: Helping Your Child Cope With Anger, Anxiety, and Sadness
When your child experiences big emotions, remember their brain won’t fully mature until their mid-twenties, making emotional regulation incredibly challenging. Their amygdala acts like an overactive alarm system, triggering intense fight-or-flight responses to seemingly minor situations. You can help by first regulating your own emotions, then validating their feelings without immediately trying to fix them. […]
Why Play Is a Child’s First Language—and How It Heals
Play becomes your child’s first language because their developing minds naturally express complex emotions through concrete actions rather than abstract words. When they’re processing fear, confusion, or trauma, toys and imaginative scenarios serve as natural translators for feelings they can’t yet verbalize — a concept supported by recent play therapy research. Through child centered play […]