Services

Sensory Integration Therapy - Children enjoy S.I. therapy because it is play based. Therapy involves activities that provide increased vestibular,proprioceptive, and tactile stimulation. Activities gradually increase in difficulty to provide the child with the “just right challenge”. These activities provide stimulation to the nervous system in specific ways to strengthen and reconnect the neural pathways and improve overall sensory processing.

Experiential Play Therapy - 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. Some children experience difficulties in making adjustments and processing issues they face in their everyday lives. Play therapy focuses on children’s need to express themselves, learn more about how the world operates, try out different solutions, learn more effective coping methods and work through their conflicts through the use of play and toys.

Sensory Diet Set Up – Children with sensory issues need the right amount of sensory stimulation and input during the day to help them focus, get organized and regulate themselves (i.e. a sensory diet). Setting up a sensory diet involves identifying your child’s specific needs and building activities into their day to get them the correct frequency, intensity, and duration of sensory input.

EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a method of psychotherapy that has been proven effective for the treatment of trauma. When a person is very upset, their brain cannot process information as it does ordinarily. A traumatic event becomes “frozen” and remembering a trauma may feel as bad as going through it the first time. Such memories have a lasting negative effect that interferes with the way a person sees the world and the way they relate to other people. EMDR seems to have a direct effect on the way that the brain processes information and assists with normal information processing. Therefore, following a successful EMDR session, a person no longer relives the images, sounds, and feelings when the event is brought to mind. The person still remembers what happened, but it is less upsetting. EMDR is similar to what occurs naturally during dreaming or REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

Wilbarger Protocol – The Wilbarger Protocol is a combination of deep pressure input and joint compressions as well as sensory activities that decrease a child’s hypersensitivity. Children who have sensory defensiveness often have adverse reactions to non-noxious sensory stimuli such as sounds, touch, food, and movement. The Wilbarger Protocol is also effective in increasing a child’s self-regulation. It is performed intensely for a 30 – 90 day period. I provide training, education, and follow up to parents during this time period.

SAMONAS Sound Therapy – Sound therapy uses CDs and headphones with specially recorded sounds, music, and tones to assist the auditory system to promote integration and organization of attention, behavior, and movement. Sound therapy programs are specifically tailored to your child to address goals from increased self-regulation to increased temporal-spatial organization. Once a program is established children continue to listen at home with frequent consultation with your therapist.

High Touch®Jin Shin – High Touch®Jin Shin is a form of acupressure that comes from oriental energy medicine. Its purpose is to release the tensions that cause various physical and emotional symptoms. It is gentle and noninvasive. High Touch®Jin Shin is extremely effective for helping children and adults become more integrated and balanced. I provide High Touch®Jin Shin sessions as well as training to parents and caregivers.

Alert Program (How Does Your Engine Run) – Children find it empowering to understand what is happening in their bodies. The Alert Program is designed to educate both children and parents on how their own internal engines run and what their engines need to keep going. We practice and experiment with different ways to raise and lower our alert level and develop a list of strategies for the child to use at home and at school. The program is playful and interactive and gives children confidence in making choices to help themselves.