CHILDREN

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
— Plato

Welcome to Shannon's Playhouse...Explore the Magic!

I am trained as a Play Therapist and work with children ages 2-18 using a variety of child-centered and play therapy approaches. I received extensive training working with abused and traumatized children at the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady's Children's Hospital as well as through the Registered Play Therapy Program at the University of San Diego, California. Play therapy is to children what counseling is to adults. Play therapy utilizes play, children's natural medium of expression, to help them express their feelings more easily through toys instead of words. Play Therapy is used to successfully treat children experiencing a variety of symptoms or conditions, including:

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Difficulties with Emotional Regulation

  • Behavior Problems

  • Somatic Complaints

  • Peer Problems

  • Aggression

  • Grief & Loss

  • Attachment Issues

  • Parental Divorce

  • Physical, Sexual, and Emotional Abuse

  • Gender Identity & Confusion

  • Domestic Violence

  • Physical Illness & Injury

  • Exposure to Traumatic Events

In the textbook Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship (2nd ed.), Landreth (2002) defined child-centered play therapy:  

A dynamic interpersonal relationship between a child (or person of any age) and a therapist trained in play therapy procedures who provides selected play materials and facilitates the development of a safe relationship for the child (or person of any age) to fully express and explore self (feelings, thoughts, experiences, and behaviors) through play, the child's natural medium of communication, for optimal growth and development. (p. 16)

PLAY THERAPY FAQs

ADOLESCENTS

“To care of another individual means to know and to experience the other as fully as possible.”
— Irvin D. Yalom, Existential Psychotherapy

Having spent my professional career specializing in working with teenagers and their problems, I bring with me a unique passion for working with teenagers. Before opening up my private practice, I worked with teens at Kearny Mesa Juvenile Hall, Juvenile Forensic Services, The Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady’s Children’s Hospital, and the Fred Finch Youth Center. I specialize in working with adolescents who have experienced abuse and trauma.

Treatment specialization includes: