Child Therapy
Child Therapy in Sherman Oaks
Children often communicate through play rather than words. Our Sherman Oaks sessions use play based approaches suited to each child's stage, helping them process feelings in a way that feels natural and safe.
Play Is a Child's Language
Meeting Children Where They Are
Children often communicate through play rather than words. Our child therapy sessions use play based approaches suited to each child's developmental stage, helping them process feelings and experiences in a way that feels natural and safe. What looks like a game to a grown-up is often a child working out something important - a fear, a change, a wish they cannot yet name.
By following a child's lead in play, our clinicians gain a window into their inner world and gently help them make sense of it. A child does not have to sit still and explain their worries for therapy to reach them; the play itself is the work, and it meets a child on their own terms.
Emotional Regulation & Big Feelings
Helping Children Hold Big Feelings
Big feelings can be overwhelming for a small person - anger that erupts, fear that clings, sadness that has no words. Through play, children practice noticing and naming those feelings and discover that even the hardest emotions can be held and understood rather than acted out.
Sessions are attuned to each child's developmental stage, so what we offer a four-year-old looks different from what supports an eight-year-old. Over time, children build the emotional regulation and confidence that help them feel steadier at home, at school, and with friends.
Reasons Parents Reach Out
What Child Therapy Can Help With
- Big feelings - anger, fear, sadness that spill over
- Anxiety, worries, and trouble separating
- Adjusting to divorce, a move, or a new sibling
- Grief and loss at a child's level of understanding
- Behavior that has parents and teachers concerned
- Building emotional regulation and self-confidence
Parents as Partners
Working Alongside Families in Sherman Oaks
Parents are essential to child therapy. We check in with you regularly, share what we are noticing in sessions, and offer practical guidance you can carry into daily life. Change that begins in the therapy room lasts longest when it is supported at home, and you know your child better than anyone.
We welcome children and families from across the San Fernando Valley and West Los Angeles, including Studio City, Encino, Glendale, Beverly Hills, and Calabasas. Your child's first session is unhurried and gentle - a chance for them to feel comfortable and for us to begin understanding how best to help.
Questions Parents Ask
Children often communicate through play rather than words. Our child therapy sessions use play based approaches suited to each child's developmental stage, helping them process feelings and experiences in a way that feels natural and safe. A child rarely needs to explain their worries out loud for the work to help.
We work with children across early and middle childhood, adapting each session to where a child is developmentally. Play, art, and movement carry more of the work with younger children, while older children may use more conversation alongside play.
Yes. Parents are essential partners. We check in with you regularly, share what we are noticing, and offer guidance you can use at home. When it helps the whole household, we may also recommend family therapy so change is supported everywhere.
We do. Depending on your child's needs, we may coordinate with our speech, occupational, and art therapy services or use our sensory room and children's gym to help your child feel regulated and ready to engage.
Get started by booking a first session for your child and tell us a little about your child and what has you concerned. We will help match your child with a clinician and plan a gentle first session.
Support That Feels Like Play
If your child is carrying something big, we would love to help them find their footing in a way that feels safe and natural.