Greenwich Play Therapy
Liz O’Brien, Licensed Professional Counselor and Board Certified Professional Counselor, is a play therapist specializing in the treatment of children and families with expertise in the following areas:
- Anxiety
- Behavior modification
- Anger management
- Bereavement/Loss
- Family Illness
- Trauma/Neglect
- Attachment issues
- Social skills training
- Parent coaching
- Divorce
Throughout childhood, children express themselves much better through play than by talking. The process of play therapy creates an environment where children can express themselves symbolically through their play; they communicate their conscious and unconscious feelings and experiences and in doing so, see that difficult feelings and memories become less intense. Within the context of their play, children are then able to work through and find solutions to their struggles.
Liz provides a safe environment where children do not have to talk directly about their sadness, anxieties, anger or problems. Through their natural mode of communication, play, children learn new skills whichlead to a greater ability to manage anxiety, cope with difficult life circumstances, improve self-esteem, increase problem-solving, develop greater self-controland learn healthier ways of interacting with others through improved social skills.
Liz believes that through a supportive therapeutic relationship and respectful collaboration with a child’s parent/s and other significant relationships in their lives, positive changes in behavior and mood can be achieved. As a play therapist providing solution-focused treatment, informed by Psychodynamic, Cognitive Behavioral and Family Theories, among others, Liz is committed to helping children, young adolescents and their families learn how to negotiate difficult life situations and teach them more adaptive ways of managing and moving beyond them.
