Therapy That Speaks Your Child’s Language

Play Therapy

Behind every behavior, there’s a story.

Kids are still developing in their ability to understand, process, and verbally express their feelings, wants, and needs. This means we shouldn’t expect them to be able to behave like adults and sit and talk about their feelings and the things going on in their inner and outer world. This is where play comes into the picture. Play therapy is the most developmentally appropriate way of helping children navigate their emotions, life events and stressors, environment, and relationships. Play is the natural language of children which allows us to meet them where they are and allow them to feel more heard, seen, and understood.

You want someone working with your child who truly gets the necessity of using their natural language to have a deeper understanding of your child’s world. You want someone with the knowledge, training, and experience in how to help children navigate their emotional expression in this way and someone who holds space and listens with empathy and no judgment for them and for you. You need someone who truly understands and values the need for you and your child to feel safe, validated, supported, and accepted just as you are.

Here's How We Can Help

Customized support tailored to meet your specific needs.

Play Therapy

In play therapy, the child mainly leads the sessions and is able to choose what and how to play. This is done through a combination of toys, art, symbolic, and pretend play to express their experiences, feelings, wants, and needs. The therapist uses responses, reflections, and connection to help connect what the child is expressing to words and feelings to help facilitate their emotional growth and ability to process their experiences and inner and outer worlds.

Directive Approaches

Sometimes this process is supported by the use of more directive activities such as books, journal prompts, or guided art activities to help meet specific therapy goals or address particular behaviors.

Caregiver Collaboration

Caregivers will be taught specific skills, activities, or language to use at home so the child is continuing to feel better understood.

What Makes Us Different

Play-based and child-led sessions

Focus on connection and building relationships

Therapists with specialized training in play therapy

Parent collaboration throughout the therapy process

Celebrating all moments of growth, big and small

A warm and welcoming environment and staff

What Families Can Expect

We focus on fostering relationships to lead to meaningful and lasting change.

More effective communication

Reduced challenging behaviors

Stronger family connections

Parents who feel confident and supported

Therapists who truly care about your child and family

Kind Words from Our Families

Your success story could be featured here.

We’re here when you’re ready.

If this sounds like you, you’re right where you’re supposed to be, and we are here to help!

Kristina Lutz

Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Registered Play Therapist™, and Owner

I’m Kristina, a Florida-based Registered Play Therapist™ who is passionate about using the powers of play and connection to help children grow and heal and to help strengthen family relationships.

The foundation of how I live my life and my approach to therapy are both centered on:

Intentionality
Connection
Authenticity

These are the things I am sure to always show up with and use to cultivate and foster every relationship I’m in.

Growing up, I saw the impact that being understood vs not had on my own self-talk, ability to express my feelings, and my coping strategies. This discovery led me to really focus on trying my best to show my genuine love and care for people. My hope is that they will feel comfortable and safe enough to be their true selves with me and never feel like they have to walk through things alone.

From middle school through most of my college years, I was fully convinced I was going to be a pediatric dentist. I loved my time interning at a dental office, but when I did more reflecting on my experiences, I realized my passion was really the aspect of helping kids and parents through the fear and anxiety of experiencing something new that could also be intimidating or scary. I then really put it all together that every job and volunteer experience I had throughout my life had one major thing in common: I truly loved connecting with and helping others, especially kids, navigate through their emotions.

In college I was already majoring in psychology because I was fascinated with understanding the way people think, act, and feel, so this made the pivot from dentistry to counseling pretty easy. Then, in my master’s program I learned all about play therapy and how play can be used as a window into the inner world of a child and I fell in love with using play to help children heal. I became determined to learn how to understand this language and listen through this way of communicating that required no words.

All of these passions and interests really came together and led me to pursuing a credential as a Registered Play Therapist™ so that I could have the tools and training to help children and their families on a whole new level.

Now, as a therapist for over 5 years, I support children and families in growing individually and in their relationships with each other. I also help them understand their emotions and build meaningful connections with themselves and others.

Hazel

Certified Therapy Dog

Hazel is a certified therapy dog who loves people, but especially loves kids and babies. She is a 2-year-old mix between a Golden Retriever and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Hazel loves to spend her time running around, playing with her toys, or cuddling up with people. We really got lucky with Hazel because she is a natural at bringing joy and comfort to people. She is the perfect mix of smart, silly, sassy, and sweet and her favorite thing to do is to spread her love to others.

A lot of people say she is like a human trapped in a dog’s body because of her deep understanding of the things people say and feel. She is really good at remembering people’s preferences with how they like to interact with her and can tell when someone may be a little nervous to meet her. She is an amazing addition to our team and is easily the fan-favorite everywhere she goes.

Outside of work she also likes to volunteer at different places like libraries, hospitals, and schools to help bring joy to people in those settings.

Some of Hazel’s favorite things: cuddling, snacking on fruit like blueberries and strawberries, watching tv (especially if it involves a dog or a baby), chasing after bugs in the yard, and swimming.