Genuine Heart Counseling

Open Monday Wednesday & Friday
By Appointment Only

Chandra Lontz-Smith, MA, LPC, RPT 

Licensed Professional Counselor, Synergetic Play Therapist, and Parenting Guide

(970) 815-1366

support4you@genuineheartcounseling.com

Child Therapy

Looking into therapy for your child is a tough thing. Looking into therapy for yourself is one thing, but for your kiddo, that's something else entirely.

We’re ready to celebrate our children, to throw them parties. We’re available to listen when a friend doesn’t treat them well or they’re mad at their brother. But rarely are we ready to put our kiddo in therapy. 

We might be able to admit that it’s not working the way we’re doing it, but it’s easier when that’s an inside voice. Making the actual call to a therapist to explain how unmanageable life feels or telling a friend or teacher that little Janie is in therapy… yup, that’s a different story.

So, take a breath right now. Feel your feet or your seat. Feel your body breathing, for just a moment.

Cuz if you’ve read this far you might be living what I’m writing.

You might be making the phone call to help your child feel better, but tending to yourself is going to be an integral part of your child’s healing.

So start right now, by taking a pause and a loving breath, right to your heart.

There are dozens of reasons parents call

  • Aggressive behaviors at school
  • Not respecting others
  • Resistance to discipline
  • Raging
  • 30-45 minute meltdowns
  • Difficulty with transitions
  • Self harm
  • Strong self-criticism
  • Low impulse control
  • Anxious or Hypervigilant
  • Isolation and withdrawal on the play ground
  • Struggles to connect with family or peers
  • Afraid to try new things
  • Cries easily
  • Seems bored or uninterested most of the time
  • Lost interest in activities they used to enjoy
  • Self doubt
  • Significant changes in appetite or sleep patterns
  • Low self-esteem
  • Excessive shyness

And there are countless situations that can lead to this

Here’s a list of a few:

  • Recent moves
  • New siblings
  • Medical procedures
  • Pre-birth and/or birth trauma
  • Sexual, physical or emotional abuse
  • Death or illness in the family
  • Changes in family structure
  • Divorce
  • Foster care and adoption
  • And sometimes there doesn’t seem to be a specific trigger and your kiddo is still having a tough time.

But with a little support, it doesn’t have to stay that way.

I want to help your family get back to having fun.

Synergetic Play Therapy™ Can Help

Play is the language children use to communicate their perception of the world as well as how they explore emotions, choices, behaviors and consequences.

Synergetic Play Therapy™ is a child-directed model of play therapy that encourages children to bring these explorations to life. 

With the ability to lead the play and the support of a safe, respectful relationship with a therapist, children gain greater insight into their internal world of emotions and bodily sensations and greater insight into the perceived challenges in their world.

As the therapist teaches emotional regulation techniques, such as naming emotions, breathing, bilateral stimulation (like squeezing or patting her legs), and body awareness, children begin gaining access to alternative ways of handling life situations.

What Can Synergetic Play Therapy™ Do For Your Child?

Reduce

Anxiety

Aggressive behaviors

Defiance

Nightmares

Outbursts

Excessive Shyness

Withdrawal

Increase

Self-Esteem

Empathy

Confidence

Consideration

Cooperation

Patience

My approach draws on the compassion and experience that comes from many years as a partner and step mom, a lot of mindfulness, and a strong passion for self-care and relational dynamics, as well as training in Theraplay and Hand in Hand Parenting and certification in Synergetic Play Therapy, all of which are passionate about and research-informed regarding development, attachment, attunement, connection, playfulness and emotional activation and regulation

What does your nervous system have to do with supporting your family?

It’s all about Regulation, which means creating:

Options for managing energy and behavior when we feel stressed or upset (dys-regulated)

Reconnection with ourselves

Tools that help us move more confidently and kindly toward our experiences, even the tough ones

bio pic with gorilla II

Regulation, connection and authentic expression are some of the most exciting things I have had the privilege and pleasure of studying in my life, and I believe whole-heartedly in the benefits these offer to us to more compassionately and skillfully manage in the midst of whatever might come our way. 

Don’t get me wrong, this does take practice.

But even that journey can be a a wonderful discovery into yourself and how you can better care for yourself. I would love to help you start, or continue, this journey.

Through my experiences with clients, I am continually inspired by the profound potential of our brains and bodies to naturally support healing and transformation and the organic, healing quality genuine connection has for managing tough experiences. My enthusiasm for Synergetic Play Therapy™ and Hand in Hand Parenting comes from this profound potential, as well as their emphases on child directed play and their roots in authentic expression, attachment, and neuroscience. 

I love the opportunity of supporting children through play. It is their own language, and they naturally gain better access to their own resources of emotional regulation and perspective through this process. And I love working with parents, helping them reorient to what’s already working for them; explore alternative options for managing conflict and discipline; and brainstorm for creative techniques for their own self care. I especially love sharing the guidance and research that both Theraplay and Hand in Hand Parenting provide that helps playfulness and connection take center stage as the healing remedy for stress and upsets. 

Synergetic Play Therapy is considered more that just a model of play therapy. Lisa Dion, its founder (2008) claims that it is a way of life, and as a SPT-oriented clinician since 2012, I wholeheartedly agree! I’d love to share these ideas with you. 

Give me a call if you think I might be a good fit for you and your family.