Play therapy in Denver
A developmentally responsive way for children to express, process, and heal through play and relationship.
Play therapy gives children a natural, supportive way to communicate feelings, experiences, fears, and needs that may be difficult to explain with words. Through play, relationship, and therapeutic structure, children can build emotional awareness, coping skills, and a stronger sense of safety.
Play therapy may help when a child is navigating:
- Anxiety, worry, fears, or big emotions
- Life transitions, grief, family stress, or separation
- Behavioral concerns, school stress, or social challenges
- Trauma, attachment stress, or difficulty expressing feelings
Child-centered support
A safe space where children can communicate in their own language.
Children often process the world through play before they can fully explain it verbally. Play therapy uses that natural language in a therapeutic setting.
A therapist can observe themes, support emotional expression, build coping skills, and help children practise new ways of relating to themselves and others.
Care may also include parent collaboration so the support extends beyond the therapy room and into home, school, and family life.
Common reasons families choose play therapy
Children do not need adult words to show us what they need.
Play therapy can support children who are struggling emotionally, behaviorally, socially, or developmentally, especially when talk therapy alone is not the right fit.
Anxiety and fears
A child seems worried, clingy, avoidant, fearful, or overwhelmed by separation or change.
Big emotions
Anger, sadness, frustration, or emotional swings feel hard for the child or family to manage.
Behavioral concerns
Tantrums, defiance, withdrawal, impulsivity, or school concerns are affecting daily life.
Family transitions
Divorce, relocation, new siblings, loss, blended-family changes, or caregiver stress is affecting the child.
Trauma and stress
A child has experienced something frightening, painful, confusing, or disruptive.
Social challenges
Friendships, peer conflict, bullying, or social confidence feels difficult.
Grief and loss
A child is processing death, separation, illness, or another meaningful loss.
Communication difficulties
Feelings come out through behavior because words are not yet available or easy to use.
How therapy can help
Play therapy helps children express, practise, and heal.
A play therapist creates a safe relationship where children can explore feelings, experiences, and needs through developmentally appropriate activities. The work can help children build emotional language, coping skills, confidence, and connection.
Create safety
Build a consistent therapeutic space where a child can express feelings without pressure.
Understand themes
Use play to notice patterns, worries, strengths, needs, and emotional experiences.
Support growth
Practise coping, communication, problem-solving, and emotional regulation through play.
Our approach
Warm, developmentally responsive care.
Play therapy at Denver Mental Health Collective is shaped around the child’s age, needs, temperament, family context, and readiness.
Therapists may use child-centered play, expressive arts, regulation tools, attachment-informed care, parent collaboration, and trauma-informed support. The goal is to help children feel seen, safe, and supported as they grow.
Developmentally attuned
The work meets children where they are emotionally, verbally, and developmentally.
Relationship-based
A safe therapeutic relationship helps children explore and practise new patterns.
Family-aware
Care may include parent or caregiver collaboration when helpful.
Creative and expressive
Play, art, storytelling, and imagination can help children communicate what words cannot.
Meet Our Denver Play Therapists
Our Denver therapists offer play therapy and child-centered support for children navigating anxiety, big emotions, family transitions, trauma, school stress, grief, and behavioral concerns.
Sarah Thompson
Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Art Therapist
Offers creative, trauma-informed support for children, families, and clients navigating emotional healing.
Jennifer Radomski
Student Therapist
Supports children, teens, and families with warm, developmentally responsive care.
Rachel Greear
Licensed Provisional Counselor Candidate
Supports adolescents and adults with anxiety, identity, relationships, school stress, and emotional growth.
Amanda Giltz
Licensed Professional Counselor Candidate
Supports adolescents, adults, and older adults navigating burnout, anxiety, life transitions, relationships, and stress.
WHAT TO EXPECT
A grounded process for starting Play-informed care
Starting Play-informed therapy does not require you to have everything figured out. The first step is a conversation about what you need, what feels difficult, and which therapist may be the right fit.
Start with a consultation
Use the free consultation to ask questions, share what brings you in, and see whether this approach may fit.
Clarify the focus
Your therapist helps you identify goals, patterns, strengths, and the kind of support that feels useful.
Begin with support
Together, you build a steady process that can include insight, skills, practice, and reflection between sessions.
Questions
Common questions about play therapy.
Is play therapy just playing?
No. Play therapy uses play intentionally within a therapeutic relationship. Play helps children express feelings, practise skills, process experiences, and communicate what may be hard to say directly.
What ages is play therapy for?
Play therapy is most often used with children, but expressive and play-based approaches can be adapted depending on developmental needs.
Will parents be involved?
Often, yes. Parent or caregiver involvement may be part of the process so support can continue at home and in daily routines.
How does play therapy help with behavior?
Behavior is often communication. Play therapy can help identify underlying emotions or needs while building coping, regulation, and communication skills.
Can play therapy help after trauma or loss?
Yes. A trauma-informed play therapist can help children process difficult experiences at a safe and developmentally appropriate pace.
How do we know if play therapy is right for our child?
A consultation can help clarify your child’s needs, your family’s goals, and whether play therapy or another support may fit best.
Related support
You may also be interested in
If this approach is not the exact fit, these related services may also support your next step in therapy.
Individual Counseling
One-on-one support for anxiety, depression, trauma, identity, transitions, and stress.
Family Counseling
Support for families navigating communication, conflict, parenting stress, transitions, or repair.
Teen Therapy
Support for adolescents navigating emotions, identity, school stress, family dynamics, and mental health concerns.
EMDR Treatment
Structured support for trauma, distressing memories, anxiety, and experiences that feel hard to process.
Children do not have to carry big feelings alone. Play therapy can offer a safe, creative space for expression, healing, and growth.