How I work

Play Therapy in Salt Lake City

Children do the work in the language they already have.

Book a free 15-minute callor call (801) 513-3505 · Mon–Fri, 9 AM–6 PM MT

“From the doorway, it just looks like they’re playing.”

How is playing actually therapy?

From the doorway it does look like play, and that’s the point. The sand, the figures, and the stories are a young child’s natural language, and what’s happening underneath is the real work: a hard feeling getting named, sorted, and made smaller, at their pace.

Your child works in their own languageBefore words come easily, play is how a child thinks something through, so the playroom floor is where the hard stuff actually gets processed.
You’ll know how it’s goingThe playroom stays your child’s private space, and you get plain, regular check-ins on how they’re doing and what helps at home.
Change you can see at homeThe point isn’t tidier play; it’s a child who melts down less, sleeps easier, or can finally name what’s wrong.

If you're here as a parent, you're probably wondering whether play can really be therapy for your child. It can, and it is. I'm Sarah, a licensed clinical social worker, and the children I see do their hardest work on the playroom floor: here's why play is the work itself, what a session looks like, and where you fit in it.

Why play is the therapy

For a young child, play isn't a break from the real work: it's how they think, sort out what's happened to them, and try on feelings that are too big to say. So the toys, the sand, the story told on a loop with tiny changes each time aren't a warm-up for the therapy. They're where it happens. It looks like playing because it is; it's also how the hard stuff gets processed, at the child's pace, in the only language they've got.

Who it tends to help

Parents usually arrive with something they can point at but can't fix by talking about it. Big feelings in a small body: meltdowns that don't feel like a phase. A slide backward after a move, a new baby, a divorce. Something the child went through that you'd undo if you could. Worries that show up at bedtime and won't be reasoned away. None of that needs a diagnosis first. If it's real to you, it's reason enough to call.

What a session looks like

A child comes into a room set up to be safely theirs, and they lead. Some days that's building things and knocking them down; some days it's a long, involved story with the figures; some days it's quiet and careful. I'm not watching from the couch; I'm following closely, reflecting what I see, sometimes nudging a theme, mostly keeping it safe enough for the real material to surface. Nothing is asked of a child before they feel safe enough to give it. Over weeks, patterns emerge, and that arc is the therapy happening.

Where parents fit

You'll never be left guessing. I keep the playroom a place your child feels is safely theirs (that privacy is what lets them be honest in it), and I keep you in the loop with plain, regular check-ins about how they're doing and what helps at home. You won't get a transcript; you'll always understand the shape of it. Some of that work is grown-ups only, and when the whole household is really the thing, family therapy is the room for it.

You don’t have to sort this out on your own.

Book a free callor call (801) 513-3505 · Mon–Fri, 9 AM–6 PM MT

What the evidence says

Reviews pooling decades of studies, including a widely cited 2005 meta-analysis, consistently find play therapy helps children across a wide range of difficulties, with the clearest gains when a parent stays involved.

The efficacy of play therapy with children: A meta-analytic review of treatment outcomesBratton, S. C., Ray, D., Rhine, T., & Jones, L. · Professional Psychology: Research and Practice · 2005
A meta-analytic review of child-centered play therapy approachesLin, Y.-W., & Bratton, S. C. · Journal of Counseling & Development · 2015

Family Therapy in Salt Lake City Anxiety Therapy in Salt Lake City

From the journal

What play therapy actually is

Your therapist

LCSW · Licensed in Utah · No. 13989909-3501

MSW · University of Utah

Verified on Psychology Today

The things people ask first

How is playing therapy?

For a young child, play is how they think and work things out; it's their language before words are. So the sand, the figures, and the stories aren't a warm-up for the therapy; they're where it happens. What looks like playing from the doorway is the hard stuff getting processed, at their pace, in the only vocabulary they have.

What ages is play therapy for?

It fits younger children best (roughly the preschool through elementary years) because that's when play is still the main language. As kids get older and words come more easily, the work gradually shifts toward talking. On the first call we can figure out what suits your child's age.

Will I know what's happening in sessions?

Yes. You'll never be left guessing. I keep the playroom a place your child feels is safely theirs, because that privacy is what lets them be honest in it, and I keep you in the loop with plain, regular check-ins about how they're doing and what helps at home. You won't get a transcript, but you'll always understand the shape of it.

How much does play therapy cost?

Sessions are 53 minutes and $150. The first call is free, and it's a parent call; we talk before your child ever comes in.