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Arlene and Michelle are a mother and daughter team.
Arlene Pinheiro is a licensed Marriage & Family Therapist specializing in play therapy for children 3-12 yrs. old. She also provides family therapy, couple counseling and parenting coaching. She has 35 years of experience.
Michelle Pinheiro is a licensed Social Worker specializing in play therapy for children 3 - 12 years old as well. She also has an extensive background in substance abuse treatment and individual counseling for teens and adults.
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What is play therapy and how does it work?
Play is the child’s natural form of communication. During their play, children reveal unconscious fears, worries, thoughts and wishes. The toys are the child’s words.
The play therapist is trained to read the meaning of the child’s play, and as patterns or themes emerge, she shares her thoughts with parents, and a plan is developed to work toward a healing process both at home and in the play therapy room.
"Regardless of the symptoms, there are three major goals of play therapy. These are: improved self-worth, self-responsibility and decision making skills."
How do we get started?
- Initially parents come without the child for an intake meeting. This gives us a chance to talk about your concerns, take a developmental history and decide the most pressing issues.
- During the next session the child is introduced to the therapist and the play room (siblings can come too!)
- Next time, parents come and attend the first 10 minutes of the session in the playroom with their child. The rest of the time is spent with the child and therapist alone.
- Next, the Parents and the therapist meet alone to discuss a plan of action.
- Time Frame: All families are unique; therefore, we cannot accurately identify how many hours it will take to resolve behavioral issues. In our experience, it takes 10 - 20 visits over the course of 6 months to a year to make significant changes.
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