More time. More space. A chance to go deeper.
Most therapy is built around a 50-minute hour.
Sometimes a child could use more room than that.
A play therapy intensive offers two longer in-person sessions over two days, with time in between for your child to rest, play, integrate, and come back again.
It isn’t about squeezing weeks of therapy into a weekend or pushing your child to accomplish something on a schedule.
It’s about giving the therapeutic process more room to unfold.
Who is a play therapy intensive for?
An intensive may be a good fit for a child who could benefit from more time and space than a weekly therapy hour allows.
That might include a child who:
Is grieving the death of someone important or another significant loss
Has been through a frightening, overwhelming, or disruptive experience
Is struggling after a major family change, separation, or transition
Has persistent meltdowns, anger, aggression, or explosive behaviour
Holds everything in through perfectionism, people-pleasing, masking, or anxiety
Has been struggling for a while and seems stuck in the same patterns
Would benefit from in-person play therapy but lives too far from Pender Island for weekly sessions
Your child does not need to be in crisis—or have a diagnosis—for an intensive to be appropriate.
Sometimes what they need is simply more room for the work.
Who is it not for?
A play therapy intensive may not be the right fit for a child who:
Is currently in crisis or needs a higher level of care
Needs the consistency of ongoing weekly therapy
Needs specialized treatment outside my scope
Would find two longer sessions overwhelming
Is being brought to therapy primarily to obtain an evaluation, recommendation, or documentation
I do not work with children involved in high-conflict divorce or custody cases. If that’s your family’s situation, I may be able to help you identify the kind of provider you need or point you toward someone who may be a better fit.
An intensive gives us more room to follow your child—not more pressure to make something happen.
1. We start with a free consultation.
We’ll talk about what’s been happening with your child, what you’re hoping therapy might help with, and whether an intensive seems like a good fit.
2. We schedule your intensive.
We’ll choose two consecutive days for your child’s in-person sessions on Pender Island and schedule our virtual parent intake beforehand, and the virtual follow up session approximately a month later.
3. You complete the necessary paperwork.
You’ll receive intake forms through my secure client portal so I can learn more about your child, your family, and what’s bringing you to therapy.
I’ll keep it as painless as possible.
4. We meet for the parent intake.
Before your child’s intensive, we’ll meet virtually for 50 minutes.
This gives us time to talk without your child in the room, fill in anything I need to know, and think together about what will help them feel comfortable when they arrive.
We’ll also talk about how to prepare your child. Some kids do best knowing exactly what to expect. Others need very little information ahead of time. We’ll figure out what makes sense for your child.
They don’t need to arrive ready to “do therapy.” They just need to arrive as themselves.
What happens before we begin
Child Play Therapy Intensive
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Two-day Intensive on Pender Island
Two days on Pender Island · $1,800 CAD
A concentrated play therapy experience for children ages 2–12, with support before and after the in-person work.
Your intensive includes:
A 50-minute virtual parent intake before the intensive
Two 90-minute in-person play therapy sessions on consecutive days
Parent involvement during the in-person sessions when it makes sense for your child
A 30-minute virtual parent follow-up about one month later
The two in-person sessions aren’t divided into a predetermined formula. A younger child may need more time with a parent in the room. An older child may spend nearly all of the time working with me independently.
The structure follows the child—not the other way around.
Travel, accommodation, and meals are arranged separately and are not included.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Play therapy intensives are for children ages 2–12. The way we use the time will look different depending on your child’s age, developmental needs, and what brings them to therapy.
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Maybe.
For some children—especially very young children—having a parent involved for part of the intensive can be important. Other children may do most or all of the session with me independently.
We’ll talk about what makes sense for your child during the parent intake, and we can adjust as we go.
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There isn’t a predetermined agenda your child has to complete.
We may play, create, build, move, talk, tell stories, use toys or characters—or follow something entirely different that becomes important to your child.
The structure follows the child—not the other way around.
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Remember: this doesn’t look like 90 minutes of sitting in a chair talking.
Children can move, play, take breaks, have a snack, go outside, or shift what they’re doing. And if your child has reached their limit, I’m not going to make them keep going simply because there are minutes left on the clock.
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Sometimes an intensive can stand on its own. Sometimes it can complement ongoing therapy or help a child through a particular period of grief, transition, anxiety, or dysregulation.
During our consultation, we can talk about whether an intensive makes sense for what’s happening with your child.
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That doesn’t necessarily rule out an intensive. With your permission, I may coordinate with your child’s existing therapist when that would support continuity of care.
An intensive isn’t intended to compete with or replace an important therapeutic relationship your child already has.
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If you don’t live locally, yes, you’ll likely want to arrange accommodation for at least one night because the two sessions take place on consecutive days.
Travel, accommodation, and meals are not included in the intensive fee.
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You’re welcome to come from anywhere.
We’ll schedule the sessions so you know exactly when you need to be on Pender, and you can plan your travel and overnight stay around them.
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About a month later, we’ll meet virtually for a 30-minute parent follow-up. We can talk about what you’ve noticed since the intensive, how your child is doing, and whether anything else would be helpful.
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You don’t have to figure that out before contacting me.
That’s part of what the free consultation is for. Tell me what’s happening with your child, and I’ll help you think through which option makes the most sense.