Expressive Arts And Play Therapy in Portland, ME

Expressive Arts and Play Therapy Studio in Portland, Maine is a service helping children, adults and families who struggle with behavioral, emotional, relational or situational difficulties. My specialty areas are divorce, parenting, anxiety management, psycho-education of children or others affected by a family member's addiction, PTSD, LGBTQ, supervision, and all human problems.
By taking a detailed history and by observation, I am able to help with diagnosis and make recommendations for other treatment or testing.

Child, Adult & Family Services

Divorce

I have had many referrals from Kids First , since c hildren and their parents need help in adjusting to the new family configuration. In addition to grief, often ongoing or recurring parental conflicts cause children to experience pain and confusion from torn loyalties. Play therapy allows children to use their natural language to express their feelings and learn the words they need. I work with the whole family to find the best ways to ease the transition.

Parenting

Because a child a part of a family, I include parents to the degree that is useful in each case. I believe that a child's behavior is a form of communication, driven by emotions he has no words for. It is necessary to understand and translate this and, with the child, create more appropriate language while facilitating interaction with parents.

Anxiety, Stress, & Anger Management

Expressive Arts and Play Therapy helps to identify the emotions behind the stress and to devise strategies that minimize distress.

Psycho-Education of Children and Others Affected By A Family Member's Addiction

Living with (or without) a family member with addiction brings very specific problems that are more easily dealt with once understood. Children as young as 6 can benefit from airing their own feelings and understanding the distortions caused by misuse of alcohol or drugs.

Mentoring & Consulting

I have been in practice since 1991, as an Expressive Arts Therapist trained at Lesley College (now Lesley University). My training was Intermodel, flowing from visual art, to movement, to sand tray, to writing, whatever modality seems useful to elicit or clarify or enhance self-understanding. I am qualified to supervise any student or practitioner using these modalities.


For professionals who want to understand or are using the Expressive Arts in practice, Suzanne offers mentoring and consulting. 

  •  A one-time consultation 
  • A specified number or ongoing sessions 
  • Mentoring or consultation about a specific modality (sand-tray, puppets, masks, etc) 
  • Or on a specific topic, (including parents, issues around divorce, etc) 
To learn more about how Expressive Arts Therapy can help, call my office today. (207) 653-5810