What Makes Come Play Unique?
/Written by: Evangeline Bauer, Founder and CEO of Come Play, STL
When I think about Come Play, my mind immediately gravitates toward the individual children we serve. It's difficult not to get teary-eyed when reflecting on the profound impact we have on the lives of these young individuals. Come Play is not just another therapy center; it is a place where children's needs are understood, catered to, and nurtured throughout their unique developmental journeys.
Children, like all of us, experience seasons of growth and change. At different stages of their lives, they require different services to thrive, whether it be play therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, or other specialized interventions.
On any given day in our office, we may be coloring with a 3-year-old developing fine motor skills, doing art therapy with a 7-year-old experiencing grief, or exploring social skills with a teenager on the Autism spectrum. We may also be counseling parents on the challenges of raising their exceptional child.
In this blog article, we will explore what makes Come Play a unique place where the well-being of the child takes center stage, and a whole community of dedicated professionals comes together to make a difference - one child, one family at a time.
We Listen To You
One of the unique advantages of Come Play is our intake process. Whether you come to us by phone, email, or our website, rest assured you will be heard.
Our Clinical Team lead will be reaching out to you. You don’t need to go through multiple people until you finally connect with someone who understands. From the get-go, Come Play connects with you on a personal and knowledgeable level.
You don’t need a diagnosis. You don’t need to request a specific type of therapy or understand the root of your child’s challenges. Many of our phone calls simply start with a parent telling us, “I think something is off…” or “We need help, but we don’t know where to begin”.
Maybe it’s that their preschooler has frequent and intense meltdowns. Maybe they suspect Autism or ADHD. Maybe their teenager is struggling with depression and anxiety. Whatever your challenges, we start with a conversation.
From there, you will fill out some paperwork and come in to meet with our Clinical Team Lead for about an hour without your child. In this meeting, you will discuss your concerns further, as well as what your child’s interests are. We will recommend a specific plan, whether it’s a Psychological Evaluation or starting out with therapy.
Regardless of the treatment plan, we have a dedicated parent-only session every 6-8 weeks to discuss your child’s progress (in addition to brief updates after each individual session). You will always know what is happening in therapy and how your child is progressing with their goals.
What Is Play Therapy?
In addition to Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and Feeding Therapy, Come Play also offers Play Therapy. Play Therapy is simply the child or adolescent version of adult talk therapy. We believe that play is everyone's first language. Before any of us can verbalize anything, we mirror what we see around us. For little kids, this takes the form of pretend play. For older kids, play becomes more collaborative and complex.
Through Play Therapy, we will explore a child’s feelings, coping mechanisms, and experience of the world around them. We will build on strengths, improve confidence, and learn new coping skills to better navigate the child’s social, academic, and home life.
No diagnosis is needed to get started with Play Therapy. Anybody is welcome. Play Therapy falls under Behavioral Health, and is typically 1:1. However, based on the situation, we may bring in a sibling, a parent, or the entire family at times.
How does Play Therapy work for older kids and teenagers?
When you think of Play Therapy, you may think of preschoolers playing with blocks or in a toy kitchen. And yes, we do that with our little ones! But everyone can (and should!) play. Play is a universal language.
For older kids and teenagers, this may look like art therapy, meditation, yoga, virtual reality, drama, music, sports, and yes, even gaming. In fact, we have a go-to gaming therapist who is well-versed in popular video games. We realize that older kids don’t typically enjoy sitting and talking. So we forgo the couch and cater sessions toward your child’s interests in a fun and engaging way.
Psychological Assessments at Come Play
If you have concerns about anxiety, depression, or other mood disorders, or if you're worried about your child's learning or behavior, we're here to help. We offer thorough psychological assessments that can diagnose conditions like Autism and ADHD, learning disorders like Dyslexia, as well as different mood disorders. Our aim is to provide you and your child with the support and guidance needed to understand and address these challenges effectively.
What’s unique about our assessment process is that we will see the child in their natural environment, whether that’s in school, daycare, or at home. We offer a collaborative assessment that involves multiple disciplines. After the assessment, we meet internally as a group to discuss our findings. This information is all shared afterward in the parent meeting, where we will provide our results, reports, and recommendations moving forward.
We Aren’t Scary, We Are Fun!
The thought of therapy can be daunting for our little ones. Though play looks different for every kid, our clinical philosophy is to celebrate each child’s unique strengths and abilities while developing new skills to help navigate the world around them. Our clinic is warm and inviting, with bright colors, kid-approved spaces, and plenty of laughter.