Play Therapy
Big Feelings Have a Place to Play
You’ve tried talking. Consequences. Reassurance. Maybe even Googling at midnight. At Illuminate, we offer children a way to process big emotions safely in the language they naturally speak: play.
Our therapists are trained in Child-Centered, Trauma-Informed, and Synergetic Play Therapy, helping kids regulate their nervous systems, build resilience, and feel secure at home and school.
Is Play Therapy the Right Approach for My Child?
Sometimes kids do move through phases. And sometimes their behaviors are telling us they need more support.
Play therapy may be a good fit if your child is displaying or has experienced:
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This might look like:
Frequent meltdowns or explosive reactions
Intense anger, panic, or tearfulness over small things
Aggression toward siblings or parents
Emotional swings that feel unpredictable
High sensitivity and easy overstimulation
How Play Therapy Helps:
Play therapy helps children build nervous system regulation, not just behavioral control. Through attuned, relationship-based play, children learn how to notice rising emotions, release stored stress, and return to calm more easily. Over time, big reactions soften because the body feels safer.
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This might look like:
Trouble with peers or making friends
Behavioral concerns at school
Defiance or power struggles at home
Difficulty following directions
Frequent feedback from teachers
How Play Therapy Helps:
Rather than focusing on compliance, play therapy strengthens self-regulation, impulse control, and relational skills. As children feel more regulated and understood, behavior improves. They will have the internal capacity to respond differently.
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This might look like:
Separation anxiety or clinginess
Excessive worrying or “what if” thinking
School refusal or body aches before school
Trouble sleeping or frequent nightmares
Needing constant reassurance
How Play Therapy Helps:
Play therapy works from the bottom up, helping the body process fear before asking the mind to reason. Children learn safety through play, rhythm, and connection, which reduces anxiety at its source. As their nervous system settles, worry decreases and confidence grows.
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This might look like:
Divorce or family transitions
Grief or loss
Moving or changing schools
Adjusting to a new sibling
Trauma: abuse, medical stress or other events
How Play Therapy Helps:
Trauma-informed play therapy allows children to process experiences at their developmental level, without re-exposure or overwhelm. Through safe, guided play, children integrate what happened, release stored stress, and regain a sense of safety and stability.
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This might look like:
Withdrawal or isolation
Irritability without clear cause
Difficulty expressing feelings
Loss of interest in activities
Seeming distant, flat, or disconnected
How Play Therapy Helps:
Child-centered and synergetic play therapy gently re-establish emotional safety and connection. Without pressure to talk, children begin expressing themselves through therapist engagement. This opens pathways for emotional expression and restores a sense of connection and vitality.
What Happens in Play Therapy Sessions:
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A Safe, Predictable Space
Your child enters a thoughtfully designed playroom with specific therapeutic toys and materials — each selected to support emotional expression, regulation, and processing.
Consistency matters. Sessions follow a predictable rhythm so your child’s nervous system can begin to relax.
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Relationship First
The relationship between therapist and child is the foundation.
Your child is not pressured to “perform,” explain themselves, or talk before they are ready. Instead, the therapist tracks emotions, sets boundaries, and co-regulates in real time.
We are building emotional safety, trust, internal regulation skills, and confidence
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Emotional Expression Through Play
Children use play the way adults use words.
Through sand tray, art, imaginative play, movement, storytelling, and symbolic themes, children express worries, anger, confusion, grief, fear, response to big changes or trauma.
The therapist helps them process these experiences in ways that feel manageable — not overwhelming.
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Regulation and Skill Building
Our approach integrates trauma-informed and child-centered methods, which means we actively support skills & regulation during sessions. Children will practice:
Recognizing emotions
Tolerating frustration
Repairing mistakes
Managing impulses
Returning to calm
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Ongoing Parent Collaboration
Play therapy includes regular parent check-ins. You’ll receive insight into themes, progress, and strategies to support regulation at home.
You are not left out of the process — you are an essential part of it.
How Parents Best Participate and Support Play Therapy
Play therapy is most effective when parents are involved in a steady, supportive way.
Trust the Process:
Healing through play is not always linear or immediately visible. Some weeks may feel calm; others may bring big emotions forward. Often, progress is happening beneath the surface before you see clear changes at home.
Consistency creates the safety that allows regulation and resilience to grow.
Attend Meetings:
Parent meetings are super important! These meetings allow us to discuss themes, monitor progress, and strengthen strategies that support you and your child.
We may explore relationships, boundaries, and behaviors that influence progress. Aligning home and therapy accelerates growth and encourages commitment to practices that are challenging.
Support Regulation at Home:
Children develop regulation in relationship. Slowing down during big emotions, naming feelings without shame, and holding calm, steady boundaries reinforce the work happening in sessions. We guide you in approaches that feel realistic and sustainable so change carries into daily life.
Protect Therapy Space:
Children engage more fully when they feel ownership over their sessions. Rather than asking for detailed reports, simple reassurance such as, “I’m glad you have a place that’s just for you,” helps preserve emotional safety and trust.
Stay Curious & Communicative:
If behaviors shift or feel confusing, we want to know. Open communication helps us respond thoughtfully and adjust as needed. When parents and therapists work as a steady team, children experience deeper and more lasting change.
Our Bozeman Play Therapists
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Ellie Jorgensen, LCPC
I work with adults and children to navigate life’s twists and turns. I specialize in synergetic play therapy, CBT, and ERP, focusing on challenges like childhood behavioral concerns, attachment, postpartum depression, trauma, anxiety, and OCD.
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Logan Shrader, LCSW
I work with children ages 6 to 16 to build skills and strategies for thriving in school and family. I specialize in play therapy, CBT, and attachment, as well as supporting neurodivergence. I also work with men who are new to the “dad” role.
Our therapists are “Neurodiverse Informed”, which is to say that we all have training and skills to work with a range of folks on the neurodiverse spectrum from ADD/ADHD, gifted, and high functioning autism. We fully celebrate the Neuro-Spicey and the Bright and Quirky!
“Positively impacted…”
“Illuminate Counseling has positively impacted my life in more ways than I can count.”
— ILLUMINATE CLIENT
Ready to take the next step?
Whether you’re seeking clarity, healing, or growth, our team is here to support you in finding what you need.