Child & Play Therapy

Honoring who your child already is, while supporting who they’re becoming through their own language – play

The Language of Play

Imagine this: a child walks into a room filled with sand trays, costumes, toy kitchens, plastic dragons, and baby dolls. They look around — cautious, curious — and begin to explore. A helmet. A sword. A tiny tea cup. In their hands, the toys begin to speak. Not in words, but in feelings. In dragons and firefighters and lost puppies. In volcanoes erupting and superheroes saving the day — all within the presence of an attuned and accepting person.

This is child-centered play therapy.

It’s not about fixing or directing. It’s about listening. Not to sentences, but to stories — the ones your child can’t quite say out loud yet but can express in their own developmental language.

In this space, the child leads. The counselor follows with curiosity, trust, and care. We reflect. We attune. We allow your child to be exactly who they are, moment by moment — even if who they are today is a pizza chef riding a dinosaur. We enter into the emotional world of your child and reflect back to them so that they may find their own confidence, their own growth, their own sense of self from the inside out.

Why We Believe in This

In Play Therapy we say:

“Play is a child’s language, and toys are their words.”

Children don’t sit down and tell us they feel anxious. They don’t say, “I think I’m grieving,” or “I’m not sure where I belong right now.” But they show us. In the battles they choose. In the rules they make. In the messes they create and clean up. In the relationships they build with us.

At Radish, we believe that play is how kids process the big stuff. That growth happens not by being told what to do, but by being deeply seen in what they’re already doing.

We trust the innate wisdom in children.

We believe that safety and connection — not correction — are the soil where resilience blooms.

The Research Backs it Up

Decades of studies have shown that child-centered play therapy supports long-term emotional growth, reduces disruptive behaviors, and increases self-regulation and self-esteem. This isn’t just a feel-good approach — it’s a well-supported path to lasting change.

Child-centered play therapy meets your child where they are. And that’s exactly where healing begins.

What it feels like to work with us

We’re not here to mold your child. We’re here to meet them, gently, with reverence for the world they carry inside. Working with us will feel like your child being welcomed — not evaluated. Like having a guide who sees behind the behavior to the tenderness underneath.

We won’t tell you we’ll make your child stop doing X or start doing Y. But we will walk alongside your family, helping your child build internal strength, emotional flexibility, and the kind of confidence that comes from being known.

And we’ll support you, too — because parenting is hard, and brave, and often lonely. We’re here to help you see your child more clearly, and to remind you that you're doing a good job.

What to Expect

1. Initial Parent Consultation

(50 minutes)

You meet with the therapist first. No kids yet. Just you and us, talking through what you’re seeing — the meltdowns, the shutting down, the separation anxiety, the sibling explosions, the rigid routines, the overwhelm. We listen. We ask questions. We wonder alongside you.

2. Weekly Play Therapy Sessions

(45–50 minutes)

Your child will meet one-on-one with their play therapist in our dedicated playroom. Sessions are 45–50 minutes and happen weekly. Your child leads the way. We track themes, emotional shifts, and patterns — all within the metaphor of their play.

3. Ongoing Parent Consultations

(every 3–4 sessions)

Because you’re part of this process, too. You are the most important relationship in your kid’s life, and supporting you as you gain confidence as a parent is a vital part of the process. These are chances to share updates, ask questions, receive insight, and collaborate. We’ll talk about what we’re noticing in your child’s play, how their emotional world is unfolding, and how to support their growth at home. We collaborate together every step of the way.

Pricing:

$100 per therapy session / $100 per parent consultation

Maybe you're here because...

Your child has big feelings that burst out at home and leave everyone exhausted.
They're struggling with transitions — to school, to new siblings, to changing routines.
You’ve noticed worry in their body — stomachaches, clinginess, restlessness.
There’s been a loss, a move, a change, a rupture.
They’ve experienced something scary, and you’re not sure how to help.
You’re just feeling stuck, unsure of what they need — but certain they need something.