Child and Adolescent Therapy services

After many years I still love to work with children and teens, using my extensive training in play therapy, sand tray therapy and other expressive therapies, behavioral approaches, cognitive behavioral therapy, and now also incorporating my training in EMDR, stress management, and interventions informed by occupational therapy into my practice.

I’ve also come to expand my sense of play and it’s importance throughout our long lives. We know that laughing and humor contribute to resilience and stronger immune systems, and play in all its forms contributes to these positive emotions. And though I chose “playishealing” as my email many years ago, I retain it today because I think it still holds true for all of us, no matter our age.

Play is something you do with purpose, with the aim of having fun, exploring, connecting, and creating. At times, children’s play is purposeful and intense, a means of processing, communicating, creating or making sense of the world. As adults, our ability to remain playful and laugh, especially at ourselves, is directly connected to our resiliency and our ability to think creatively. Often times we teach children how to manage themselves in our adult world without allowing enough time for them to teach us how to remain in their world of play and imagination. I support parents in playing and connecting with their children as well as learning more about how to help their kids thrive.

My expertise in serving children and teens includes:

  • Twenty five years providing clinical work and clinical leadership in programs serving children and teens, including private practice, school, hospital and residential settings;

  • Certification or extensive training in play therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), trauma focused CBT, EMDR with children and teens, and several other modalities

  • Extensive training and experience in parenting support, including training in behavioral approaches and positive behavioral support models

  • Training and experience in administering specialized assessments including the ADOS(Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule), Conners, and a host of other assessments I integrate into my work. I have helped to develop programs for students with sensory challenges and who are also on the spectrum, so I draw upon that knowledge as well.

  • Extensive experience working with parents and their children coping with anxiety, emotional dysregulation, ADHD and its unique set of challenges, complex trauma and abuse history, kids coping with divorce, and many other challenges

  • Particular interest in teaching mindfulness to parents, working with young women and children who are challenged with ADHD, and a life long commitment to serving children and teens with trauma histories and complex trauma

 

“Siobhan is fabulous. She is kind, compassionate, wise and experienced. Siobhan has helped me to move forward in my life, especially through some difficult transitions, with new skills and support. She is a knowledgeable and experienced EMDR practitioner and utilizes other resources as well to meet each individual where they are. Siobhan has adapted to the "new normal" of providing counseling, including EMDR, through a secure telehealth app that is extremely easy to use. I highly recommend Siobhan! TY”

Ms. Masterson is perceptive, insightful, and committed to helping her clients grow and supporting their loved ones to that end. We had taken our adolescent daughter to a psychiatrist and two different therapy practices over the course of two years, and our daughter was not properly diagnosed or treated during that time. Ms. Masterson was the first person to really "see" our daughter. She identified the core issues and has used strategies that have been highly effective within a short time. In addition, Ms. Masterson helped us advocate for a targeted 504 plan with the school district. Working with Ms. Masterson has been transformative for our daughter and we wholeheartedly recommend her practice. AP

My sessions with Siobhan have been life changing. She is caring, empathetic, intelligent, patient, skilled in her profession and very kind. I feel so lucky to have found her and I would recommend her to anyone in search of therapy. -SM

Doing EMDR therapy with Siobhan was unequivocally one of the best decisions I've ever been fortunate enough to make. I was prescribed EMDR to recover from symptoms of Functional Neurologic Disorder after a car accident and not only did those symptoms resolve, I was able to get over my oldest hang ups. I'm so glad I didn't have to go the rest of my life without being able to experience the transformation of EMDR. -MF

“Nobody wants to do it - not real change, not soul change, not the painful molecular change required to truly become who you need to be. Nobody ever does real transformation for fun. Nobody ever does it on a dare. You do it only when your back is so far against the wall that you have no choice anymore. ”
— Elizabeth Gilbert, Author