Trauma Therapy for Children in Spanish Fork, UT
Helping your child heal from difficult experiences and build a sense of safety
In-person play therapy sessions for kids aged 3-12 yrs old.
When your child has been through something difficult, you want them to feel like themselves again.
You know when something feels different with your kid. Maybe your child has become more fearful, more reactive, more withdrawn, or seems to be carrying something they don’t know how to express.
Sometimes parents come to therapy knowing exactly what caused the shift. Maybe there was a major life change, a loss, a family transition, a difficult experience, or something that impacted your child’s sense of safety.
But other times, parents only know their child is struggling and they want help understanding why.
You may find yourself wondering:
“Did this affect my child more than I realized?”
“Will my child always feel this way?”
“Could I have done something differently?”
If you’re seeking trauma therapy, I know you care deeply. You've tried to support your child, tried different strategies, and reached a point where you realize their child deserves more support.
At Mighty Oaks, trauma therapy helps your child process the difficult experiences they’ve been through, build emotional resilience, and reconnect with their confidence.
There is always room for healing.
What is trauma?
Trauma is an experience that overwhelms a child’s ability to cope and leaves them feeling unsafe, powerless, or alone.
For children, trauma might not be from one single event. It can come from many different experiences, including loss, family changes, stressful transitions, frightening experiences, conflict, or situations where a child did not feel emotionally supported.
What matters most is not only what happened, but how your child experienced it.
Children often show us they are struggling through their behaviors before they have the words to explain their feelings.
Trauma may look like:
Increased anxiety or fearfulness
Clinginess or difficulty separating
Emotional outbursts or tantrums
Aggression or irritability
Changes in sleep or routines
Avoiding certain situations
Feeling like they are always waiting for something bad to happen
These behaviors are often your child’s way of communicating that they need support.
How I can help
Children process experiences differently than adults. They often communicate through play, imagination, art, and stories before they can explain their emotions with words.
That’s why play therapy is such an important part of trauma healing for children.
Play is the language of children.
Through play therapy, children explore, process, cope, and build new ways of being in a way that feels safe and natural. Play therapy isn’t just for “fun”— it’s a therapeutic intervention that allows children to integrate their difficult experiences and make sense of them in a way that allows them to move forward in life with more resilience and emotional regulation. Trauma is stored in the body and play therapy is a somatic intervention that facilitates healing at the ROOT.
For older children who are developmentally ready, I also incorporate Accelerated Resolution Therapy (A.R.T.).
A.R.T. is an image-based therapy approach that uses bilateral stimulation (much like EMDR) to help children process difficult memories and create new, healing experiences.
Because children naturally think through images and stories, ART can be a powerful tool for helping them move from focusing only on what happened toward creating a greater sense of safety and hope.
How we can work together
Our work begins with understanding your child’s story. The first few sessions are focused on you as the caregiver. We’ll talk about your concerns, your child’s experiences, family dynamics, and what you hope will change.
Once we understand your goals, your child will begin individual play therapy sessions where they can explore emotions, build coping skills, emotional regulation, and work through experiences at their own pace.
Throughout therapy, we’ll have regular parent sessions to help you understand what is happening in your child’s therapy and how you can support their growth at home.
You’ll have a partner who helps you understand your child’s needs while strengthening the connection between you.
Your child’s story can continue to grow.
Like little acorns becoming mighty oaks, children have incredible capacity for healing and growth.
FAQS
Frequently asked questions
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If your child has experienced something difficult or you notice changes in their emotions, behaviors, relationships, or sense of safety, therapy may be helpful. You don’t have to wait until things feel overwhelming to seek support.
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Many children do not process difficult experiences by talking about them directly. Play therapy gives children another way to express emotions and work through experiences in a way that feels comfortable.
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Trauma play therapy may include games, art, storytelling, creative activities, and imaginative play. While it may look like children are simply playing, therapeutic play includes intentional interventions on my part, including active presence and deep attunement to the experience and emotions of your child. If you think about it, many adults do not want to “talk” about their experiences, yet they still need to be “seen” and understood. In a similar way, sometimes with words, other times without words, play therapy helps children process emotions and experiences underneath the surface— in a way that helps them feel seen and understood.
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ART is an image-based therapy approach that uses bilateral stimulation to help process difficult experiences and create new, more healing associations. It can be especially helpful for older children who are ready to engage with this type of work.
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Parents are an important part of the process. Regular parent sessions help you understand your child’s progress and learn ways to support healing and connection at home.
Schedule a consultation today.
Schedule a consultation today.