Wichita Child Counseling

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I’m not sure if professional help for my child is needed? 

You may want to start talking to other parents and professionals you trust about whether your child’s behavior is different than average behavior at that age.  Your child’s doctor and teacher are good resources, because they are likely to work with many other children your child’s age. 

If you are in the Wichita area, we encourage you to call us at 729-9965 for a free phone consultation.    

How Should a Child Be Prepared for Therapy?    

It varies widely based on the age of the child.  Parents should definitely not deceive their children about where they are going or why they are seeing a therapist.  However, depending on the age of the child, they may not need a detailed explanation of why they are going.  For young children, a simple explanation that they are “going to see a lady who has a play room and who helps children with their feelings and behavior” may be enough.  Although parents often tell children they are going to “talk to” someone, it usually helps reduce the anxiety of children if it is made clear that they can also play, not just talk.  Older children often are more enthusiastic about therapy if their parents emphasize more about the stress they feel the child has been under than about the parents desire for their behavior to change.  If the child expects the therapy to be like going to the principals office because of something they do wrong, then they are likely to have more anxiety and resistance. 

  How Long Does Child Psychotherapy Take?  

Therapy is generally a gradual process of helping a child gain new skills and change attitudes.  We generally recommend that children see us weekly, for 50 minute sessions, in the beginning.  Having appointments spaced more than a week apart in the beginning will slow down therapy substantially because an important part of the process is gaining rapport and trust with the child.   

How many sessions are necessary depends on the problem, the level of support the child has, and how long the problem has existed.  Recent problems are usually much quicker to deal with than long-standing problems.  Although some parents will see noticeable improvements in their children in just a few sessions, twelve sessions is usually considered brief therapy.  For more longstanding problems the child may come for a few months to a year.  Therapy usually progresses quicker where a child has good support from both parents and slower when there are family problems hindering their development.  In some cases family therapy, or a parent having their own individual therapy, will be recommended. 

For some problems, like sexual abuse, parts of the problem may not be able to be fully addressed at the child’s current developmental level.  It is important that the therapy start as early as possible, but we do not recommend years of therapy.  In such cases, children are often seen for weeks or months to resolve the current issues, and then later come back for therapy at a later developmental phase.  

What is play therapy? 

Play therapy refers to a variety of treatment methods which make use of the natural benefits of play.  

Why use play in therapy with children? 

Play is a natural form of communication for children and is the most natural way for them to resolve emotional issues. Even children who are quite talkative are not usually developmentally able to fully express their feelings verbally or to fully benefit from the "talk therapy" designed for adults. Play therapy allows children a safe psychological distance from their problems and allows them to express their true thoughts and feelings in ways best suited to their developmental level.  

What is a play therapist? 

A play therapist is a trained mental health professional who uses play with a child in such a way that the child can systematically address and resolve his/her problems. The Association for Play Therapy is an organization that credentials professionals who have advanced training and experience in play therapy. The credentials available through the Association for Play Therapy include the "Registered Play Therapist" and the "Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor".

Who can be a Registered Play Therapist?  

A Registered Play Therapist must: 

• have a Master's degree in a medical or mental health profession,  
• be licensed or certified in his or her field,  
• have 150 clock hours in instruction in play therapy,  
• have at least two years (2,000 hrs.) of clinical experience post-Masters,  
• have provided a minimum of 500 hours play therapy experience,  
• have documented receipt of both general and play therapy specific supervision,  
• receive continuing education in play therapy in order to keep the credential. 

A Registered Play Therapist - Supervisor has additional requirements, including at least 1000 hours of play therapy experience. 

Is play therapy an accepted, effective treatment modality?  

Play Therapy is not a new or experimental therapy approach. It has been used and researched for over sixty years. Among therapists who specialize in therapy for children, it is widely accepted as a standard treatment.  

Why are some health professionals, and even mental health professionals, not well informed about play therapy with children? 

Professionals have generally not been routinely trained or informed about therapy practice with children during their years of college education. Most training in psychotherapy focuses on treatment methods for adults. Therapists who work with children generally have had to seek out opportunities for advanced training after they have begun experiencing the frustration of trying to apply therapy methods designed for adults to therapy with children. Like many mental health professionals, we worked with children as social workers for several years before we received any play therapy training or any information about it's effectiveness compared to other forms of treatment with children. Our experience has been that when we received training in play therapy, the results of our efforts at counseling children improved dramatically.  

What does the scientific research say about play therapy?

Play therapy has been researched in many studies for over 60 years and has generally been found to be an effective modality for therapy. Research on the effectiveness of play therapy with different types of issues can be found and downloaded from the website of the Association for Play Therapy: http://www.a4pt.org/

Where are the office located in Wichita?

The West office is located near Kellogg and Ridge Road, at 520 S. Holland, Suite 401, Wichita, KS 67209.  Click here for map.

The East office is located near Central and Roack Road, at 260 N. Rock Rd, Suite 207, Wichita, KS.