Child Therapy in Etobicoke

We are here to help your child grow into their best, most confident self. Our child therapists can help you to manage emotional, behavioural, and social challenges that feel too big to manage on your own.

We provide a safe, welcoming, and playful space for child therapy, for children ages 3-17 to build and develop social and developmental skills. Children can thrive with proper supports and skillsets when navigating particular milestones, transitions, social, emotional and academic situations.

Depending on your child’s age, personality, and needs, therapy will draw from a combination of:

• Play Therapy: which uses toys, stories, and creative play to help kids express emotions they may not have words for. Play therapy enables children to express, process, and resolve complex emotions through their natural language of play rather than words

• Attachment-Based Therapy: focuses on helping children to build trust, safety, and emotional regulation, involving the caregiver-child interaction. It aims to establish a “secure base,” allowing the child to feel safe, understood, and unconditionally loved.

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): a structured, goal-focused approach that helps kids understand how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours are connected.

• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) skills: especially helpful for older kids and teens struggling with emotion regulation or impulsivity.

• Mindfulness & Self-Regulation Tools: which help kids learn to calm their bodies and minds when emotions feel too big.

What are the goals of child therapy in Etobicoke?

• Emotion regulation: to find ways to identify and manage big emotions like anxiety, fear, anger, and/ or sadness
• Coping strategies: find healthy strategies to use with overwhelming emotions
• Social and communication skills: to develop ways to express needs, build empathy, and improve interactions with others
• Self-esteem: to develop confidence in themselves and their decisions
• Behaviour management: to reduce disruptive behaviours, improve attentiveness to instructions, and establish positive, healthy routines

What are signs my child might benefit from working with a child therapist?

• Behavioural changes: consistent meltdowns or tantrums, increased anger, defiance, or aggression toward others
• Emotional distress: persistent anxiety, worry, fear, or sadness
• Withdrawal: social isolation, loss of interest in activities, or seemingly detached from others
• Physical changes: sleep disruptions (waking with anxiety, nightmares) and appetite
• School issues: sudden avoidance, withdrawal, or behavioural issues
• Regression: reappearing behaviours like thumb-sucking, bedwetting, or intense separation anxiety
• Attachment issues: difficulty leaving parents or caregivers
• Disturbing thoughts: self-harm thoughts (and/ or behaviours)

Will parents be included in child therapy?

• Absolutely! We believe in the whole system approach – it takes us, your child, and the family unit working together to create and maintain positive changes. It is our goal to work with you to transfer what we learn in the therapy room into home and school environments.
• Child therapists work heavily with parents to help them understand and respond to the child’s emotional needs, fostering secure attachment.
• Parent check-ins: A large part of what makes child therapy successful is practicing the techniques and strategies we learn together, outside of our space, and to communicate feedback as to what remains the same, improves, or worsens at home.