Services

Play therapy is a model of working with children using specific trained therapists, toys and space facilitating the emotional well being of children. Play therapy is a recognized model for therapist to use the language of play in therapeutic relationship with their clients. Children express themselves in play: they mimic, act out, demonstrate, and redo strong emotional moments.

This is a natural and healthy expression of feelings and a way of coping with the world as they see it. I am trained to facilitate this expression and support children in therapeutic play.

Everyone I know would like a moment every now in then to feel completely in control, safe and in charge of their destiny. This is actually one aspect of what all seek in therapy. For children, the words to express these things are just not there yet. And so, in times of stress, grief, crisis and anxiety, children express themselves with behavior, changing of patterns (such as sleeping or eating) and in their relationships with friends and family. Play therapy provides space and time to facilitate the emotions and provide insight and behavior changes for themselves and their families.

Play therapy has applications for all ages, but may look very different to different developing children, teens, and young adults. As parents and guardians, you know your child best, and I will count on you to partner with me facilitating his/her emotional well being. In our initial consult, we can discuss your hopes and goals, and the developmentally appropriate approach for your child.

Thank you for considering 2nd Star Counseling for your family. You have taken an important and courageous step. In the following paragraphs, I have briefly illustrated how play therapy might work for your child at any age, and be a continuing support for your family through times of transition and struggle.

Please note that the ages and approaches listed here are only a general guideline. It will be up to you and I to find the right approach and setting for your child’s overall experience in therapy.

Adolescents are not little kids, nor are they adults. Their bodies change, their priorities change, their feelings, friends, favorite foods, and importantly, their relationship with their parents all undergo transformation. It is this time that they need their parents the most, yet are hardwired to seek support from outside the family. Therapy for adolescents is a careful attendance on the part of the therapist, not only to what is said in session, but what is not said. While more verbal and expressive in spoken language than younger children, adolescents often struggle to find the right words. Ways of playing with adolescents involve games, art, music, wilderness and eco-therapy applications and sincere empathy. It is not easy to be an adolescent. Or the parent of an adolescent. Issues of concern in adolescents include:

• General Anxiety
• Stress
• Body issues
• Addictions
• Self-harm
• Depression
• Extreme mood shifts
• Isolation
• Fears of failure
• Fears of success
• Social anxiety (bullying)
• Academic struggles

All my therapy includes time for family check in and ways of facilitating communication. I am part of your big picture plan for change. We can use assessments, discussion, plans and parenting styles aiding you to be your child’s best resource today and for the future. You might be interested in partaking in Filial Play, where parents learn to engage in play therapy with their child and build a close relationship.

In addition, recognizing the changing face of family is important in the therapeutic process. Things you might be looking for insight on include

• Co-parenting strategies
• Blending families
• Parenting your grandchildren
• First time parents
• First teenager in the family

Please don’t hesitate to call or write for a consult or if you have any questions.

Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity. Carl Jung

There are those who find their lives harder than they think they need to be, those whose lives have taken an unexpected turn causing grief, uncertainty and sadness. My job is too interpret the ways your choices, feelings and other factors serve in your life, help you decide if they still serve, and promote positive change in collaboration with you. As a Jungian therapist, I believe we are interconnected with something larger than ourselves, and seeking that connection, facing the challenges in day to day living will brings about a lasting change in our lives. We will work together to find the right way for you.

Named for Carl G. Jung, Jungian therapy (also called Depth or Transpersonal) is one model among many illustrating the way we think about mental health. Jungian therapy can take many forms, including wilderness and artistic applications. Like Jung, I believe in the subconscious making its desires known, its needs paramount in our lives and its ways understandable through work and reflection. I am interested in facilitating opportunities for interconnectedness and Mitakuye Oyasin, “we are all one.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitakuye_Oyasin) Let’s go outside and explore how a relationship with nature can facilitate relationships with the people in our lives.

I am not a Jungian Analyst. Analysts work for many years in research and training to claim the title. However, my work in researching the subconscious through dreams, art, music and conversation has proven to be a positive model of change for my clients and in my life as well. My particular specialty is in understanding the archetypes of personality and working with dreams. During session, I will invite you and support your journey through sadness, fear, anxiety and we will find the change you are seeking to bring to your life.

For more information on Carl Jung or to see some Colorado resources, go to http://www.junginstituteofcolorado.com/index.php/about/about-c-g-jung/.
For more information on the Transpersonal Certificate at Regis University, go to http://www.regis.edu/RHCHP/Academics/Degrees-and-Programs/Certificates/PGC-in-Transformative-Counseling.aspx

My journey as a private practitioner was made easier by some fantastic peers, professionals, cohorts, supervisors, professors, colleagues and best for last, family. This incredible group of individuals supported me in every way. I believe that I am called to pay it forward and share what I have learned.

Beginning in 2015, I will offer affordable supervision, peer consults, and group collaboration for mental health practitioners. Check the events schedule for helpful conferences, events and groups in your area.

Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity. Carl Jung

There are those who find their lives harder than they think they need to be, those whose lives have taken an unexpected turn causing grief, uncertainty and sadness. My job is too interpret the ways your choices, feelings and other factors serve in your life, help you decide if they still serve, and promote positive change in collaboration with you. As a Jungian therapist, I believe we are interconnected with something larger than ourselves, and seeking that connection, facing the challenges in day to day living will brings about a lasting change in our lives. We will work together to find the right way for you.

Named for Carl G. Jung, Jungian therapy (also called Depth or Transpersonal) is one model among many illustrating the way we think about mental health. Jungian therapy can take many forms, including wilderness and artistic applications. Like Jung, I believe in the subconscious making its desires known, its needs paramount in our lives and its ways understandable through work and reflection. I am interested in facilitating opportunities for interconnectedness and Mitakuye Oyasin, “we are all one.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitakuye_Oyasin) Let’s go outside and explore how a relationship with nature can facilitate relationships with the people in our lives.

I am not a Jungian Analyst. Analysts work for many years in research and training to claim the title. However, my work in researching the subconscious through dreams, art, music and conversation has proven to be a positive model of change for my clients and in my life as well. My particular specialty is in understanding the archetypes of personality and working with dreams. During session, I will invite you and support your journey through sadness, fear, anxiety and we will find the change you are seeking to bring to your life.

For more information on Carl Jung or to see some Colorado resources, go to http://www.junginstituteofcolorado.com/index.php/about/about-c-g-jung/.
For more information on the Transpersonal Certificate at Regis University, go to http://www.regis.edu/RHCHP/Academics/Degrees-and-Programs/Certificates/PGC-in-Transformative-Counseling.aspx