Play therapy differs from regular play in that the therapist helps children to address and resolve their own problems, using play materials as part of a therapeutic process. Play therapy builds on the natural way that children learn about themselves and their relationships in the world around them.  Play provides a safe psychological distance from their problems and allows expression of thoughts and feelings appropriate to their development. Through play therapy, children learn to communicate with others, express feelings, modify behavior, develop problem-solving skills, and learn a variety of ways of relating to others.

Play Therapy can be used as a short-term or long-term intervention. Play Therapy can be used in a variety of settings such as Children's Services, Community Agencies, Psychiatric Centers, Children's Hospitals, Schools, and Women's Shelters. Play Therapists work with children, teens, adults, groups and families.

Expressive arts therapy (EXA) is a therapeutic approach that puts creativity at the center of human experience. EXA conceives of human existence as essentially creative, as capable of bringing something new into being. Suffering occurs when this creative impulse is stifled. When we are stuck facing a difficulty and are unable to go beyond what actually faces us, we lose our sense of vitality. In EXA, we try to help clients find the possibilities that are present in their own experience. We do this by recourse to the world of the imagination through play, and art. Verbalizing the experiences can foster insight into feelings, perceptions and behavior.

An empathic therapeutic relationship is the ground which provides a base for our clients to go forward, but it is not itself the goal. They also need the encouragement to create a new world and sense of self. We believe that everyone has the resources to face the problems that arise for them. No special artistic skills are needed – we emphasize a “low-skill high-sensitivity” attitude. This is a playful approach which draws upon all the arts as needed in a gentle and respectful way. By helping clients access their resources and imagine new outcomes, expressive arts therapy makes it possible for them to find surprising possibilities that can then lead to changes in their own lives.

• uses singing, instrument playing, movement to music, listening, song-writing, improvising, imagery and talking to work through goal areas.
• involves assessment of strengths and needs of the client.
• can address goals in such areas as communication, social skills, self-awareness, cognitive skills, and mental health to name a few.
• facilitates strengthening of abilities and transferring of skills to other areas of life, improving quality of life.
  can be experienced in individual or group settings with no prior musical background.
  

Sandplay Therapy is a psychodynamic modality predominantly utilized in individual psychotherapy process.  Through spontaneous imaginative play in trays of wet or dry sand, clients sculpt the sand and position miniature figurines and objects to create three-dimensional scenes or designs that express and mediate between their inner and outer worlds. Sandplay is often a primary modality in the case of children; with youth or adults it complements a verbal therapy, enabling the expression of nonverbal symbolic elements. 

The psychotherapeutic use of sand, water and miniatures is offered to clients of all ages with diverse presenting issues. Because of Sandplay’s capacity to access deep and embodied emotion, implicit memory or trauma, the activity of creating a sandpicture within the “free and protected space” of the psychotherapeutic relationship provides a resource that is unique and beneficial to clients. When words are not easily accessible whether due to presenting issues, age, culture of origin, developmental stage, trauma, or cognitive difficulty, this approach offers a creative modality that enables clients to express complex inner experiences.