Child Therapy &
Play Therapy
Providing a pathway for healthy emotional regulation, resilience, and mental wellness for children aged 3-12
Note on Availability: To maintain the highest standard of therapeutic care, our play therapy playroom is currently at full capacity. We continue to welcome new families to join the waitlist, with priority given to those seeking recurring weekly support. Please see below for details on joining the practice.
Supporting Your Child’s Emotional Wellness and Growth
It can be heartbreaking to watch your child struggle with big emotions, behavioral challenges, or the weight of anxiety. At Strong River Counselling, we provide a safe, nurturing environment where children in Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities can explore their feelings and develop the resilience they need to thrive.
Every child communicates differently. While adults use words, children often use play to express their inner world. Our specialized approach integrates play therapy techniques and research-based interventions to help children navigate:
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Anxiety and Stress: Helping kids manage "big worries" and school-related pressure.
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Emotional Regulation: Teaching tools to handle frustration, anger, and meltdowns.
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Life Transitions: Supporting children through divorce, moving, or grief.
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Behavioral Challenges: Understanding the "why" behind the behavior to foster positive change.
Our Approach: Expressive Play Therapy in the Tri-Cities
At Strong River Counselling, we believe that therapy for children is most effective when it is an active, collaborative process. Because children often lack the verbal vocabulary to explain complex feelings, our Coquitlam-based therapists utilize Expressive Play Therapy. This approach allows children to communicate through their "natural language"—play.
Through the use of art, sand tray work, storytelling, and movement, your child can safely "play out" their inner experiences. This creative process helps them process trauma, release pent-up frustration, and develop new ways of relating to the world. By integrating attachment-based support and trauma-informed care, we ensure that every session feels safe and predictable.
Bridging the Gap Between Session and Home
We don't work with your child in a vacuum. We know that for real change to happen, the strategies learned in our play room need to translate to a more peaceful home life. We work closely with you—the parent—to decode what your child’s play is telling us. Often, child therapy is most effective when paired with Parent Support to ensure strategies are reinforced at home.
Whether your child is struggling with social skills, ADHD-related challenges, or self-esteem, we tailor our expressive treatment plans to meet their unique developmental needs. Our goal is to move beyond simple symptom management and help your child build a strong, resilient foundation for lifelong mental health.
Challenges We Support
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Emotional regulation
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Worries and anxiety disorders
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Low mood and depression
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Behavioural challenges including: defiance, aggressive behaviours, lying, impulsivity, stealing, developmental regressions (i.e. bedwetting, eating challenges), etc.
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Separation difficulties
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School refusal
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Bullying
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Interpersonal and social challenges
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Self-esteem
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Family conflict and sibling rivalry
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Life events including moving, starting school, divorce or separation, new siblings, etc.
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Traumatic events including emotional, physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence, grief and loss, etc.
What to Expect
At Strong River Counselling you can expect a warm, engaging, fun, and safe environment for your child. Our child therapy focus on building trust, fostering resilience and enhancing emotional development.
Our child therapy sessions are held in-person and we do not offer virtual sessions for children 12 and under.
How Child Therapy Works
Every child and family is unique. It is our goal to provide child counselling services that meet your individual needs. Therefore, we will create a tailored counselling treatment plan that works best for you.
Standard Structure for Child Therapy
Initial Intake Session
The initial meeting is held with parents and/or caregivers without the child. This is an opportunity to discuss what your concerns are, access the nature of the difficulties and severity across areas of functioning (i.e. home, school, socially and the community), establish goals of therapy and discuss next steps for counselling.
Child Therapy Sessions
Typically we recommend weekly 50-minute sessions to begin. This will to help the child feel comfortable with the environment, establish trust and a connection to their therapist, and to gain consistency in processing the challenges they are experiencing. This is the time we begin supporting the child in achieving the goals for counselling through mental health interventions.
Collaboration with Caregivers
Parent and caregivers are essential in the counselling progress for children. We will periodically meet to discuss the progress of your child’s treatment, discussing areas of growth, strengths, ongoing challenges, and collaborate on strategies to further support your child’s growth and success.
Finding the Right Support: Child Therapy
How do I know if my child needs therapy?
It is common for parents to wonder if a behavior is a "phase" or something more. We recommend seeking child therapy in Coquitlam if you notice persistent signs like regressive behaviors (e.g., sudden bedwetting), school refusal, intense "big emotions" that lead to frequent meltdowns, or a significant withdrawal from social activities. Early intervention at Strong River Counselling helps provide your child with a "soft place to land" before these challenges become deeply rooted.
If you feel your child needs support, we encourage you to join the waitlist now. While there is a wait for in-person play therapy, being on the list ensures your family is prioritized as soon as a spot opens.
What happens during a child therapy session at Strong River Counselling?
Because children process the world through experience rather than logic, we utilize Expressive Play Therapy and the Marie-José Dhaese model. In our Coquitlam clinic, sessions often involve sandtray work, art, and puppets. This allows children to "play out" their anxieties and traumas in a safe, symbolic way. While it looks like play, it is a scientifically-backed clinical process that helps regulate their nervous system and build emotional resilience.
How involved are parents in the child counselling process?
At Strong River Counselling, we believe parents are the primary agents of healing. While your child has their own private space to express themselves, we integrate EFFT (Emotion-Focused Family Therapy) to coach you as a parent. We provide regular check-ins to help you decode your child’s behaviors and teach you behaviour coaching strategies to use at home, ensuring the healing continues long after you leave our Lincoln Ave office.
Do you offer child therapy for anxiety and neurodivergence (ADHD/Autism)?
Yes. We provide specialized, neuro-affirming support for childhood anxiety, ADHD, and Autism in the Tri-Cities. Our approach focuses on co-regulation and sensory safety rather than just "compliance." Whether your child is struggling with school-based anxiety, OCD, or the emotional burnout that often comes with neurodivergence, our Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCC) offer a supportive, non-judgmental environment.
Get the support you child need by working with our experienced registered child therapists
Ready to take the first step? While the practice is currently at capacity, we invite you to join the Strong River Waitlist today.
Upon joining, families receive the Strong River Resource Package—a curated collection of clinical tools and co-regulation strategies to support your child at home while waiting for an opening. Once a recurring session time that matches your schedule becomes available, we will reach out to schedule your complimentary 15-minute consultation.
"Enter into children's play, and you will find the place where their minds, hearts, and souls meet." — Virginia Axline.