Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach founded on the principle that your thoughts influence your actions. It has proven to be effective for adults, adolescents, and older children. For younger children, CBT can be adapted into Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy (CBPT), incorporating play to engage them in the therapeutic process. CBPT is particularly useful for children dealing with behavioral issues, anxiety disorders, sleep problems, trauma, and the effects of parental divorce.

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CBPT is used to help children learn new ways of coping. Children learn through play and spend a great deal of their lives playing and mimicking what they see. Utilizing CBPT in therapy, children can:

• Learn about their world through play

• Play to model behaviors shown to them

• Process what is happening in their lives through play

• Experiment through play

• Develop many skills through play.

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You can expect that during the first session that information will be gathered on the child’s history, parent’s history and information will be provided on what to expect in sessions. What you can expect with CBPT is:

• structured

• goal orientated

• short-term

• collaborative with the child and their family

• guided by both the child and the therapist

• play based

• psycho-educational

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CBPT allows the child to feel safe to express his or herself to work

through their current struggles while fostering a positive

therapeutic relationship.