MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING & PLAY THERAPY WITH

Biblical Integration

HEALING THE MIND | NURTURING THE HEART

whether faith is included in counseling is entirely at your family’s discretion.

During the initial parent intake session, we take time to discuss many things, including your family’s goals for counseling and your faith & spiritual background. For many parents, faith influences how they understand their children and their roles as parents.

Integrating evidence-based mental health care and a family’s Biblical worldview allows space for the healing power of both. If you are interested in incorporating faith into your child’s counseling or have questions about what this might look like in our work together, I look forward to discussing it further during our initial consultation.

MADE BY DESIGN, WITH INTENTION.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

— Psalm 139: 13-14

MY APPROACH

1. Create space for what’s real: Develop a strong, trusting therapeutic relationship so children can share their struggles, hurts, fears, and questions in a safe, healing environment.

2. Tend to what hurts: Support children in processing the underlying experiences beneath the struggle — whether loss, relational conflict, life transitions, family challenges, or other painful experiences.

3. Challenge what isn’t true: Help children notice any harmful messages or beliefs they may have absorbed about themselves or others.

4. Root in truth: Support children in building a secure identity grounded in the truth of who they are in Christ—known, loved, valued, intentional, and never too far from Him.

With Children:

  • Exploring biblical themes such as identity, courage, grace, forgiveness, safety, belonging, kindness, grief, and hope when they arise naturally in your child’s play.

  • Pairing familiar Bible verses and prayers with self-regulation strategies.

  • Using developmentally appropriate Bible stories to explore courage, belonging, grace, kindness, grief, and hope.

  • Processing death, loss, and grief with an understanding of the Gospel and eternal life.

  • Understanding the precious nature of one’s identity in Christ, as a child of God.

  • Drawing connections between one’s beliefs and ways of interacting with others.

  • Exploring questions, doubts, and confusion with genuine curiosity rather than shame, judgment, or condemnation.

With Parents:

  • Developing counseling goals that reflect your child’s unique therapeutic needs and your family’s way of making sense of the world.

  • Understanding and responding to behavior from a framework rooted in Christian principles, including love, connection, grace, compassion, forgiveness, kindness, honesty, and obedience.

  • Identifying Christ-centered practices that encourage connection and regulation at home.

  • Anchoring daily routines in faith, peace, and shared Christian identity.

  • Gently reframing religious messages that may unintentionally contribute to anxiety, shame, or guilt while nurturing a more secure, compassionate understanding aligned with the character of God.

  • Unpacking questions about God, faith, prayer, suffering, loss, forgiveness, identity and belonging.

  • Supporting discipline that builds connection, accountability, repair, and growth without relying on fear or shame.

  • Helping understand the broader themes and needs emerging in therapy while preserving the playroom’s privacy — an important therapeutic element that allows the child to feel safe and be open.

When we understand how God designed the human brain and emotions, we can use that knowledge to apply the healing power of the Gospel more effectively.

It does…

✓‍ ‍Continue to follow your child’s lead as elements of faith emerge in the playroom.

✓ Keep your child’s clinical, emotional, and developmental needs at the center of therapy.

✓ Reflect your family’s beliefs, preferences, and goals through ongoing collaboration.

✓ Welcome big questions, confusing thoughts, and all feelings.

✓ Offer evidence-baed practice by a licensed mental health clinician.

It does not…

✕ Require your child to talk about faith, pray, or engage in any spiritual practice.

✕ Use spiritual reflection to minimize grief, trauma, anxiety, or other painful experiences.

✕ Treat questions, doubt, or negative emotions as sinful, shameful, or inappropriate.

✕ Assume that all family members share the same beliefs.

My faith guides how I understand people, struggle, purpose, healing, and inherent human value. I believe every child is intentionally created by God, with unique gifts and a meaningful purpose in the world. As adults, we have a responsibility to nurture the children entrusted to our care and to faithfully steward the gifts they bring to our lives. To steward those gifts, we must first recognize, understand, and honor them.

Faith holds a unique place in every family, and I never presume that you would like to include it in your child’s counseling. My goal is not to bring my personal beliefs into the playroom. Rather, it is to provide client-led research-based clinical care partnered with the healing power of the Gospel for families who desire it.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” — Ephesians 2:10

The love of Jesus embraces all people, fully.

LGBTQ+ children, teens, and families are welcomed, respected, and affirmed in my practice. Each person's unique expression of our God-given identity reflects the mysterious perfection in which we were made. It is my goal to help each child feel safe enough to explore their authentic self and to walk with pride in who they’re called to be.

  • Christian-integrated therapy is a therapeutic approach that combines evidence-based mental health care with a client’s Christian faith, as desired by the client. Faith may be explored as a source of meaning, hope, identity, comfort, and connection while addressing your child’s emotional and relational needs.

  • Faith integration is always completely optional and up to the discretion of the family.

    It is an opportunity for whole-person care for clients who want to weave their faith into their growth and healing in the playroom. We will discuss what role, if any, you would like faith to have in your child’s therapy.

  • Absolutely. I welcome families from a wide range of Christian backgrounds, and you do not need to belong to a particular church or have every belief figured out. Whether your family is rooted in a faith tradition, exploring what you believe, or somewhere in between, we will approach faith in a way that respects your family’s values and comfort level.

  • No, biblical integration in play therapy is professional mental health care provided by a clinician, with faith thoughtfully included when desired.

    Biblical and pastoral counseling are meaningful sources of spiritual support often provided by pastors or ministry leaders.

  • Big, tough questions are welcome here! Young faith is refined through the process of wondering, feeling uncertain, wrestling with ideas, and feeling disappointed and angry.

    Play therapy is a place for children to explore all topics, including faith, without judgement, criticism, fear, shame, or pressure to reach a particular outcome. My role is not to tell your child what to believe, but to help them feel safe enough to be honest about what they think and feel.

  • Prayer can be a meaningful way of finding inner stillness, comfort, and connection. I follow the child’s lead and make space for prayer when it is something they naturally seek, initiate, or find meaningful. If desired, yes.

    Rather than directing a child toward prayer, I respect their own way of connecting with their faith and spirituality, while remaining sensitive to the beliefs and values of their family.

Questions