Child, Teen and Adult Psychotherapy Services in San Diego
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Play Therapy Series: Play Therapy with Tweens/Teens

7/31/2019

 

By: Panicha McGuire, LMFT, RPT 

Welcome to my blog series on play therapy!  The series will go over how play therapy works with children, teens, and even adults. Don’t forget to check out my previous post on play therapy with young children and school-aged children!

This week, we will focus on how play therapy works with tweens and teens.  Recently, many parents who refer their teens to see me will see my Registered Play Therapist credential and wonder how this will work with their teen because their teen doesn’t “play” anymore.  Well, our teens are not yet adults but are not children either.  So, what does that mean when it comes to play therapy?  Many of our tweens and teens are already going through so much with hormone changes, peer pressure, school pressure, and identity struggles, it can be difficult to expect them to just talk.  Having a teen sit in a room with a professional and asking them to share or answer intrusive questions can be really intimidating.  I find that my teens are more relaxed when they are engaged in an activity.  
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Play therapy with teens is simply using activities or experiences that would be of interest to the teen while resolving their issues.  It can be a way to engage them in something that might seem “boring” or “uncool”.  I’ve actually completed a complicated Lego model with a teen once.  We would work on it little by little in our sessions while the teen shared their struggles with me.  The finished Lego project then became a symbol of healing.
Some examples of play therapy with teens that I use in my practice are:
  • Soothing items like modeling clay, play-doh, or slime helps teens focus on something rather than looking at me straight in the eye while talking about something difficult. Teens with sensory cravings also feel more relaxed when using these tools. 
  • Similar to the previous one, I also like to play Uno or Jenga with my teens while we touch base on the previous week
  • Using examples of current trendy subjects or media in discussion
  • Making a collage/portrait of their past selves, current selves, or future selves
  • Painting/coloring while talking
  • Using poetry or song lyrics to convey their feelings
  • Creating goals or discovering their identity as outlined by their favorite video game (missions, objectives, character builds etc.)
Play therapy is effective for all ages as it’s a tool that is fun and engaging in comparison to traditional talk therapy.  Play therapy gives teens the opportunity to use their creative minds and strengths to further their progress in treatment.  
 
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For more information about working with Panicha in play therapy, please check out her bio here or feel free to reach out to us via phone! ​

At Thrive, we take a positive, client centered approach to therapy that is focused on creating a genuine connection with our clients.  If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about yourself, your child, or teen attending therapy, please reach out to us by phone at 858-342-1304. 
 
As always, thanks for reading and comments are always welcome regarding any issues around child or teen psychotherapy services in San Diego by Thrive Therapy Studio.  
 
To stay in the loop on the services offered and to receive updated information about Thrive, please feel free to sign up for the newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/cvGx5n.

Play Therapy Series: Play Therapy with Young and School-Aged Children

7/23/2019

 

By: Panicha McGuire, LMFT, RPT 

Welcome to my blog series on play therapy!  The series will go over how play therapy works with children, teens, and even adults! I often get many questions and concerns from parents regarding the use of play therapy and how it works.  My hope is that this blog series can shed some light on some myths or concerns.  There’s a common misconception that play therapy is simply playing, and as many parents would think, “Why would I pay for someone to play with my child?”.  Play therapy is actually more than just play.  It’s actually a recommended treatment for children of all ages. Children communicate through play. They play before they even acquire verbal language.  Imagine a child who has witnessed violence and abuse in the home, their play would most likely reveal themes of aggression and violence with their toys.  Therapists use play therapy to help children express their feelings when they might not have verbal language to do so, or when saying it out loud is difficult.  The goal of play therapy is to help children express themselves through a comfortable medium, and learn effective ways to solve problems. 

What can I expect in play therapy for a young child or school-aged children?
At our practice, parents and caregivers play an important role in the child’s treatment.  I usually start with an intake interview with parent(s) to collect information about the child, and to discuss what they hope to see change.  When it applies, I also like to include the child’s teacher, providers, or other caregivers to get a good overall look at the child’s environment.  In the playroom, there are specific types of toys and games that encourage the child to express themselves such as dollhouses, instruments, or arts and crafts.  Depending on the child, I would either let them express themselves without any direction from me (nondirective) or I would guide them with specific activities (directive).  Play therapy sessions typically start at once a week and usually last 45 minutes.  In my experience, nondirective therapy works best for my clients that have difficulty opening up or have had traumatic experiences as these clients need time and space to resolve their issues. Most clients that I see, however, fall under the directive category.  This type of play therapy has more input from the therapist and includes teaching skills or asking direct questions to the child.  Although directive play therapy resolves issues quicker, it is best for certain cases.  During the intake, I discuss with parents what they can expect from play therapy and which direction I would be taking with their child.  Below are some examples of what play therapy would look like.

Play therapy with children ages 0-5
Play therapy with very young children (0-5) looks very different from play therapy with children who are more developed.  Therapy with young children have high parental involvement and often is used in family therapy.  I’ve worked with many parents and toddlers on building a connection or stronger emotional relationship, especially with those who have gone through a divorce, blended family, or separation.  I introduce many activities that would promote eye contact, soothing touch and interaction.  I’ve worked on reunifying some parents and toddlers who were separated at birth by helping them learn how to relate to one another.  For children who have some language, some activities I use to help promote expressing and exploring their feelings include: using clay to make facial expression, drawing, and painting.  To help explore what is going on in their lives or teaching them healthy communication skills through role playing, I might use stuffed animals, puppets, or a dollhouse.  With some children this age, giving them nondirective play also allows me to see themes of how they might be feeling or are treated at home or school. 
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What about school-aged children?
Play therapy with older children who already have verbal language tend to be more directive in my office.  Some examples include playing board games or card games to teach impulse control (not going out of turn, shouting out the answer, cheating), learning social skills through role playing, playing Candyland to express their feelings (ex. each color is a different emotion), creating fun ways to use relaxation skills, or drawing their support network.  If you come by our office, you might catch me playing red light green light down the hallway to help my client learn how to control their body. 
All in all, play therapy is about creating a healthy working relationship with your child.  Sometimes the feedback I get from children is that I’m one of the few adults they can trust to talk about difficult things with, and I also hear from parents that sometimes I say the same exact thing they have already said to their child but they happen to listen to me! As an adult, it can be very easy to sit opposite of your therapist and delve into the problems that brought you to treatment.  But for children, they need a more fun and creative way to get their minds working and that’s really what play therapy is!


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For more information about working with Panicha in play therapy, please check out her bio here or feel free to reach out to us via phone! 

At Thrive, we take a positive, client centered approach to therapy that is focused on creating a genuine connection with our clients.  If you would like to talk with a Thrive Therapist about yourself, your child, or teen attending therapy, please reach out to us by phone at 858-342-1304. 
 
As always, thanks for reading and comments are always welcome regarding any issues around child or teen psychotherapy services in San Diego by Thrive Therapy Studio.  
 
To stay in the loop on the services offered and to receive updated information about Thrive, please feel free to sign up for the newsletter through the following link: http://eepurl.com/cvGx5n.

Meet Panicha McGuire, LMFT, RPT

7/17/2019

 

A note from Thrive's founder, Dr. Erica Wollerman: 
Welcome to our last blog of our Meet our Therapist Blog series!  Since I am often the one writing our Thrive blogs, I wanted to make sure that our readers would be able to also get to know the amazing team I work with at Thrive. I am so grateful to work with each of these therapists and they each offer our clients something special. 


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My passion for the field developed first as a part of some self-exploration. I am a first generation Asian-American, and growing up with dual identities was not easy.  Am I American?  Or am I Asian?  I discovered the field of psychology in college and learned so much about myself and my family dynamics.  In the meantime, I was working as an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) specialist serving children diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities.  The work was so rewarding, but I soon realized something was missing.  Because of the stigma of seeking help in my family’s culture, I didn’t realize that there is an entire field of people that are there to help others struggling with mental health, family, and relationship dynamics.  I wanted to do more than behavior training, which led me to the field of family therapy. 

Creating relationships and witnessing my client’s growth has been the most rewarding part about being a therapist.  It is amazing to see the growth in someone on the first day they step into my office compared to the day they say goodbye.  And I don’t think it is all me.  I believe all my clients have potential for change and growth, some just need a little nudge and guidance.  My style in therapy could be best described as collaborative and authentic. Not all clients are the same as they all have walked different paths in their lives.  I pride myself in helping my clients use their existing strengths or interests towards their goals.  In working with children and teens, that could mean anything from academic strengths, extracurricular interests, or even video games.  Some of my teenage clients have frequently heard me use certain video games as an analogy in their treatment, with different levels being an obstacle they need to overcome to reach their goals.

In addition to being a licensed psychotherapist, I am also a Registered Play Therapist (RPT).  This means that I’ve completed specialized training and supervision to conduct play therapy.  Play therapy is the recommended treatment choice for children in all settings.  For adults, it’s easier and more natural to sit down and tell the therapist what your needs are.  For children and teens, they may need a different approach to resolve their problems and play is their language.  Imagine if I had taken the words “I’m angry with you” out of your mouth, you would be extremely frustrated that you are unable to express this statement. As an RPT, I use toys, games, or experiential activities to assess and teach children and teens how to express their feelings, cope with challenges, and learn new ways of relating to others. 

I’ve had experience with many types of clients from court mandated therapy to private practice, and the youngest being 18 months old to the oldest at 65 years old.  Although I can work with clients from any walks of life, my passion is in working with children, teens, young adults, and parents.  A framework that guides my practice with all my clients is attachment, or the emotional bond between people.  I believe that the emotional connections we had as children inform the way we relate to others as we develop through adolescence and adulthood.  Even my adult clients benefit from an attachment-based therapy as they often recognize how their relationship with others throughout their life has affected how they currently relate to their partner, friends, colleagues, or other relationships.  

Although I spend a lot of time in the therapy room, I continue to practice self-care regularly through the week with things I love.  Generally, I am either doing yoga, traveling abroad, enjoying geek-related things (video games, comics, attending cons, going to Disneyland etc.), or spending time with my family.  As a military wife, family time is very important to me as we often don’t have enough hours in the day or even year together.  Want to know another fun fact about me?  My dog’s name is Obi wan!  Yes, as in the Jedi. 


For more information about Panicha and her work, please check out her bio here! If you would like to schedule an appointment with Panicha (or join one of her many groups!), please also feel free to call our main number and ask for her or fill out our contact form here and note that you would prefer to work with Panicha! 

Meet Jennifer Gonzalez, LMFT

7/10/2019

 
A note from Thrive's founder, Dr. Erica Wollerman: 
Welcome to our latest blog series!  Since I am often the one writing our Thrive blogs, I wanted to make sure that our readers would be able to also get to know the amazing team I work with at Thrive. I am so grateful to work with each of these therapists and they each offer our clients something special. Since we have a team of 6, we will be sharing these blogs over the coming summer weeks! 
​

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Tell us about you and why you wanted to become a therapist. 
I was about ten years old when I figured out what I wanted to be “when I grew up.” I consider myself very lucky as I understand that not everyone has this luxury.  From a very early age I realized that I wanted to help people make a difference in their lives.  My journey began when I volunteered my little brother’s first grade class, this experience gave me the opportunity to witness some of the struggles that children face in and outside of the classroom.  
 
What do you love about being a therapist? 
It is my life’s passion and I can say with great certainty that I could not possibly imagine doing anything else! There is no better satisfaction than being part of an individual’s personal growth.  I enjoy being people’s support system and advocate to help those people that many times are struggling to help themselves. My favorite part of being a clinician is witnessing first-hand the progress that a person can make with a little assistance and encouragement. 
 
How would you describe yourself as a therapist? 
Client-centered! I believe that my clients are the experts on their own lives, and it is my job to learn about them from them and meet them where they are.  I am empathetic, humorous, a story teller, warm and non-judgmental. I see my approach as a collaborative effort and take the time to work on building and nurturing trusting therapeutic relationships with my clients.
 
Who do you love working with in therapy? 
I enjoy working with school-age children, adolescents, adults and families. Although my passion began with my work with children, through my education and experience I learned to love and appreciate every stage of a human’s development.  As a systemic thinker, I promote and advocate for family therapy whenever possible and appropriate. I believe that there is a lot of power to change, adapt or adjust to a situation when more members of a family are involved in treatment. My areas of focus include but not limited to depression, anxiety, academic and school-related struggles, attention deficit/hyperactivity, oppositional-defiance, grief and loss, self-harm, parenting, relationship and identity related issues.
 
Do you have a particular theory or framework that guides your work as a therapist?  If so, describe it and tell us why you use that. 
I have been trained in multiple approaches such as Solution-Focused Therapy, Structural Family Therapy, Brief Strategic Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  My philosophy is that the approach should be good fit for the client not the other way around. 
 
Share one thing you are passionate about in your professional or personal life. 
A professional goal I set myself post licensure was to become a clinical supervisor.  I enjoy being a teacher and leader; becoming a clinical supervisor will give me the opportunity to help others grow professionally and help create the next generation of therapists. This goal will become a reality this year! 
 
My personal passion is traveling! Culture and diversity never seize to amaze me.  Although culture shock can be scary and intimidating, I find it fascinating.  My goal is to visit all continents. At the end of this year, I will have visited 18 countries in 5 continents.  My travels provide me the opportunity to learn about different, backgrounds, idiosyncrasies, traditions, customs and beliefs which I often incorporate into my treatment.


For more information about Jennifer and her work, please check out her bio here! If you would like to schedule an appointment with Jennifer, please also feel free to call our main number and ask for her or fill out our contact form here and note that you would prefer to work with Jennifer! 

Meet Angela Bianco, ASW

7/3/2019

 

A note from Thrive's founder, Dr. Erica Wollerman: 
Welcome to our latest blog series!  Since I am often the one writing our Thrive blogs, I wanted to make sure that our readers would be able to also get to know the amazing team I work with at Thrive. I am so grateful to work with each of these therapists and they each offer our clients something special. Since we have a team of 6, we will be sharing these blogs over the coming summer weeks! 
​


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Tell us about you and why you wanted to become a therapist. 
Hey there! My name is Angela and becoming a therapist was never something I thought would be my career path. I went to school in New York for acting and studied in a Shakespeare Conservatory in London. I fell in love with the process of researching the human condition, looking for the subtext, and finding ways to empathize with the hundreds of characters that would come my way through theatre, television, and movies. I studied Psychology to understand more about the human experience and how the brain works. I loved it. I loved it so much that I moved to England to train as a Drama and Movement therapist and had the opportunity to complete a Master’s program that combined two passions. I learned how to be a psychotherapist armed with creative tools and interventions to help people of all ages to reconnect with their creativity and support them in moving through trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, anger, and everything in between. I wanted to learn more about the systems of care in America and contribute to a growing body of mental health professionals who destigmatize mental health diagnosis by treating the person as a whole and not just a diagnosis. I went back to school for a Master’s in Social Work and concentrated on Families and Children. I discovered a new passion called Family Therapy, in which, I encourage my clients to bring as many family members as will fit on the couch! I guess that doesn’t answer the “why”! I learn a new “why” each and everyday. Today, I am a therapist because I will hold hope when it feels like it’s too heavy to hold on your own. 

What do you love about being a therapist? 
I love having the honor of being a witness to a family or individuals growth process and the “ah-ha!” moments. I love being able to create a safe space for my clients to unpack their obstacles, hopes, dreams, and desires and then support them in learning new tools to add to their ever growing toolbox. 

How would you describe yourself as a therapist? 
Present. Honest. Curious. Empathic. Resourceful. 

Who do you love working with in therapy? 
I truly enjoy working with a variety of clients across the lifespan. It gives me joy to spend one session in the play therapy room with a five year client who is working out conflict with dinosaurs and the next supporting a mother and teenage daughter build their relationship through intimacy exercises. I am here to sit with the adult who is processing emotional blocks that are preventing them from reaching their goals to the couple who want to save their marriage. I love all these moments. 

Do you have a particular theory or framework that guides your work as a therapist?  If so, describe it and tell us why you use that. 
One framework that I use with couples includes work by John and Julie Gottman. The approach not only supports and repairs relationships, it also strengthens existing happy couples. I enjoy walking couples through “building love maps” and witness their growth as they learn new things about their partner! 

Share one thing you are passionate about in your professional or personal life. 
I am currently working on becoming a certified Yin Yoga and Reiki practitioner. I am wildly passionate about using different healing modalities in my personal life and always looking for new ways to become energized and inspired by life!

For more information about Angela and her work, please check out her bio here! If you would like to schedule an appointment with Angela, please also feel free to call our main number and ask for her or fill out our contact form here and note that you would prefer to work with Angela! 

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Thrive Therapy Studio
5230 Carroll Canyon Rd. Ste 110
​San Diego, CA 92121
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Thrive Therapy Studio Therapists Offer Child, Teen, Adult, Marriage and Family Psychotherapy Counseling Services in San Diego, California.
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  • Welcome
  • About Thrive
    • Meet the Thrive Team >
      • Dr. Erica Wollerman
      • Dr. Maria Fowlks
      • Jennifer Gonzalez, LMFT
      • Ying-Ying Shiue, LPCC
      • Kim Macias, APCC
      • Dr. Andrea Seldomridge
      • Molly Llamas, AMFT
      • Abbey Stewart, AMFT
    • Appointment Information
  • Contact
  • Services
    • Group Therapy at Thrive >
      • Anxiety Group For Teens
      • Parent Support Group
      • Middle School Social-Emotional Processing Group
      • Young Adults Group (18-24)
    • Therapy for Children
    • Therapy for Teens and Young Adults
    • Therapy for Adults
    • Family Therapy
    • Parent Consultation
  • Resources
    • Information About Therapy
    • Academic Resources
    • San Diego Resources
    • Covid-19 Resources
    • Anti-Racism Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Resources for Specific Challenges >
      • Addiction and Recovery Information
      • ADHD
      • Anger Management
      • Anxiety
      • Autism/Developmental Disorders
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