Child Play Therapy

Yes. Caregivers are an important part of the play therapy process. When we are working with a child, the first appointment is always with the parent(s), caregiver(s), or guardian(s) of the child, without the child present. This gives you a chance to share your concerns, and allows us to get a sense of how best to help. Your therapist will check in with you every so often to learn how things are going at home, and to be a resource to you if you have parenting questions or want suggestions for how to best handle or support your child.

All therapy is confidential, and that includes your child’s individual play therapy sessions. Your child needs to feel safe enough to talk about or work on things that are bothering them, and knowing that the therapist won’t tell anyone what he or she says or does is a big part of what makes play therapy feel safe. Rest assured that if your child discloses that he or she has been harmed or is in danger of harm, we will tell you. We will explain confidentiality and its limits to children at the beginning of the first individual play therapy session. When you and your child’s therapist meet, she will share general themes or feelings she has noticed during her work with your child, so that you can work together to support them.

You can tell your child that they will be meeting with a counsellor; a person who helps children talk about or work on things that bother them so that they can feel better. Please do not give your child instructions about what to say or do during play therapy. It is important that children feel free to express themselves as they choose.

After our therapist explains confidentiality to your child, our therapist will let them know that although we will not tell anyone what they say or do in therapy, they are welcome to share anything about the session with anyone. That being said, because children sometimes work on difficult or emotional things in play therapy without being fully aware that they are doing so, it is generally best not to question them too much about their play therapy sessions. You can trust your child to talk to you about the session if they feel the need to.

To check if your insurance covers therapy services with us, contact your insurance provider, or check your employer if you are in receipt of group benefits. Your insurance plan will define covered providers for therapy. We have listed below credentials that our therapists hold, as many providers only cover therapists with certain credentials.

Our offices have:

• MSW, RSW – master level registered social worker therapists (We have found that most plans have social workers listed as covered providers).
• MMFT (Master of Marriage and Family Therapy) therapists.
• MACP (Master of Arts, Counselling Psychology) therapists.
• M.Ed Counselling Psychology (Master of Education, Counselling Psychology) therapists
• CCC (Certified Canadian Counsellor) designation is held by many of our therapists. Many insurance providers recognize this designation as a covered provider.

* Please note that we do not have Psychologists at our office. If you require specialized diagnostics that can only be provided by a registered psychologist, please visit the Manitoba Psychological Society directory.

You can support your child during the play therapy process by doing your best to consistently be a stronger, wiser, and kinder person who your child can turn to when they need to connect. Someone they can trust to watch over and help them while they explore the world. If you are able to give your child extra nurturing, attention, and playtime during the play therapy process, that would be great! You can also support your child by taking good care of yourself, so you are able to be calm and relaxed as much as you can. All of this helps your child feel safe and secure in the world. There’s no such thing as a perfect parent, so do the best you can!

When you notice that your child seems to be feeling generally happy and confident, and you decide that it might be time to end the play therapy process, please let your child’s therapist know. You and your child’s therapist will then schedule a closing session for the child. It is very important that your child has a chance to say goodbye to the therapist, because the therapist will have become a person whom your child has built trust with. Having the chance to say goodbye makes ending play therapy easier for your child, and lessens the chance of them feeling hurt or rejected.

It is our policy not to become involved in the court process, because doing so could be detrimental to our relationships with clients. Our focus is on building strong counselling relationships with our clients, and on helping them heal and thrive.

When parents are separated or divorced, written consent from both parents is required for a child to attend counselling at Thrive. We understand that custody situations can be challenging, and we do not want to make this problem worse for the children involved by taking sides with one parent over another. Our goal is to be a stabilizing force for your family, so that your child can begin to feel calmer, happier, and more secure.

It depends on the child and on the situation. Just as the counselling process is different for each adult, the Play Therapy process is different for each child. Generally, the more challenges a child has experienced in his or her life, the longer play therapy might be expected to take.