Child Play Therapy & Counseling in Austin, TX
Support for Sensitive, Anxious, and Overwhelmed Kids
The Rooted Rhythm Approach to Child Therapy
Children don’t always have the words to explain why they’re anxious, angry, overwhelmed, or struggling. That’s why we use play therapy as a cornerstone of our work with children.
Play gives children a developmentally natural way to communicate experiences that may be difficult to put into words. In child play therapy in Austin, your child has space to explore emotions, process stressful experiences, practice new ways of responding, and build confidence in an environment where they do not have to perform or get everything “right.”
For older children, our therapists may blend play-based work with more structured approaches such as cognitive behavioral techniques, depending on your child’s age and individual needs.
Just as importantly, we don’t look at your child’s behavior in isolation. A meltdown, shutdown, angry outburst, or refusal is often communicating something. Our Austin child play therapists work to understand the emotions, relationships, nervous-system responses, and developmental needs underneath what you are seeing.
And because children don’t grow in isolation, parents are part of the process too. We help caregivers better understand their child, recognize patterns, and find ways to create more connection and regulation at home.
Meet Our Austin Child Therapists
Finding a therapist with the right training matters. But for children especially, feeling safe, understood, and connected to the person across from them matters too.
Our therapists bring different strengths to their work with children and families, allowing us to help you find someone whose style and expertise align with what your child needs.
Sara Galaso
Sara is a strong fit for families who want a child play therapist in Austin who looks at the whole child rather than focusing only on behavior. She's trained in play therapy and brings a trauma-informed, family-centered, and culturally responsive perspective to her work. She especially supports children working through grief, transitions, overwhelming emotions, and experiences that may be difficult to explain directly.
Sara also provides services in both English and Spanish, which can be especially valuable for bilingual and Spanish-speaking families who want therapy to reflect the language and cultural context of their home.
Parents may choose Sara when they want someone who can gently help their child process difficult experiences while also paying attention to relationships, identity, family dynamics, and the larger environment surrounding them.
Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #111423
Specialty Areas: Grief and loss, divorce, major life transitions, family changes, emotional regulation, culturally responsive care
Availability: Virtual & in-person in Austin
Sophie Schauermann, MSW, LCSW
Sophie founded Rooted Rhythm around the belief that children need therapy designed around how children actually develop, communicate, and experience the world. She studied child development and clinical psychology at Tufts University before earning her Master of Social Work from the University of Denver. Her experience has included home-based intensive services as well as work with children and families in schools, outpatient settings, and community mental health programs.
Families may choose Sophie because her work combines a deep understanding of child development with Rooted Rhythm's attachment-centered, whole-family approach. She has spent more than a decade working with children and parents and has particular expertise in helping adults understand highly sensitive and emotionally intense children.
For Austin families working with Sophie virtually, the focus may include helping parents better understand what is driving their child's reactions and developing more connected, developmentally appropriate ways to respond.
Credentials: Licensed Clinical Social Worker #111829
Specialty Areas: Highly sensitive children, parent coaching, child development, play therapy, attachment, nervous-system regulation, family relationships
Availability: Virtual across Texas
Briyona Benjamin, MSW, LMSW
Briyona brings together play therapy, family work, behavior support, mindfulness, and body-based strategies. She has more than seven years of experience in mental health services, including intensive outpatient care, family and group work, and behavior intervention planning. That background makes her a strong option for children whose emotional or behavioral needs may feel more complex than something that can be addressed through conversation alone.
Briyona is also a Registered Yoga Teacher and incorporates mindfulness and somatic practices into her work. These tools can be especially helpful for sensitive children who feel anxiety, stress, or emotional overwhelm physically and may benefit from learning how to recognize and respond to what is happening in their bodies.
Families may choose Briyona when they want therapy that feels creative, developmentally appropriate, and grounded in both emotional and physical regulation.
Credentials: Licensed Master Social Worker #106376; Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200)
Specialty Areas: Highly sensitive children, anxiety, emotional regulation, family dynamics, behavior intervention, mindfulness, somatic practices
Availability: Virtual across Texas
What we can help with
Highly sensitive children
Some children notice everything. They may be deeply affected by changes in routine, other people's moods, loud environments, criticism, or emotions that seem to linger long after the moment has passed.
At Rooted Rhythm, our child play therapists in Austin understand the strengths and challenges that can come with high sensitivity. We help children make sense of what they’re feeling, build regulation skills, and feel more confident being themselves. We also support parents in learning how to respond in ways that help their child feel understood without reinforcing overwhelm.
If you’re wondering whether sensitivity may be part of what your child is experiencing, you can read our What Is a Highly Sensitive Child? article or try the Highly Sensitive Child test.
Gifted children
Gifted children can have advanced abilities while still needing support with the emotional and social parts of growing up. They may feel different from peers, become frustrated when others do not understand them, or place intense pressure on themselves to get things right.
Our therapists help gifted children understand that being different doesn’t mean something’s wrong. Child play therapy in Austin can give them space to explore their strengths, frustrations, expectations, and sense of identity while developing a healthier relationship with themselves.
Parents can also learn how to make room for their child's complicated feelings, especially when being gifted doesn’t always feel like an advantage.
Big emotions like anger, sadness, and frustration
For some children, emotions arrive quickly and intensely. Anger may turn into yelling or hitting. Sadness can feel impossible to move through. Even a seemingly small disappointment may become a much bigger emotional experience.
We help children recognize what's happening in their bodies and emotions before they become completely overwhelmed. Play therapy and regulation tools can help them develop more ways to express what they need and recover after difficult moments.
Parents learn alongside them, too. Practices such as Rooted Rhythm's butterfly body scan can help both children and caregivers slow down, notice what is happening internally, and respond with greater awareness.
Anxiety, trauma, and other mental health concerns
Children can experience anxiety, trauma, grief, and other mental health challenges even when they don't yet have the language to describe what's happening.
An anxious child may ask for constant reassurance, avoid certain situations, struggle at bedtime, or become upset when plans change. After a stressful or traumatic experience, you may notice changes in mood, behavior, sleep, or your child's sense of safety.
Our Austin child therapists create a developmentally appropriate space where children can process difficult experiences at their own pace. We also help parents understand what their child may be communicating through their behavior and find ways to strengthen connection and security during challenging periods.
Teens navigating self-esteem, identity, and relationships
Rooted Rhythm primarily works with younger children, but our therapists also support adolescents and teens dealing with concerns such as self-esteem, identity development, friendships, family relationships, and emotional overwhelm.
Therapy looks different as children get older. Teens typically have more privacy and independence within the therapeutic relationship, and their participation and consent are an important part of the process.
Parents can still play a supportive role without being involved in every detail. Rooted Rhythm also offers the TUNED IN Parenting Teens course for caregivers who want additional tools for understanding and connecting with their teenager.
Understanding Our Therapy Process
1. Parent Orientation
After your complimentary consultation, the process begins with a 90-minute parent orientation. This first meeting gives you space to share what's been happening at home, what you've already tried, and what you hope your child will gain from therapy. It also gives you time to get to know your child's therapist, ask questions, and make sure you feel comfortable with the plan moving forward.
2. Child therapy sessions
Following orientation, your child begins weekly therapy. Child therapy typically takes place over an initial three-month period, with twelve 50-minute sessions. Depending on your child's age and needs, sessions may include play therapy, emotional regulation work, creative activities, and other developmentally appropriate approaches.
The final ten minutes of each appointment are set aside for parent coaching. This gives you an opportunity to stay connected to the process, better understand what your child may be communicating, and learn ways to support the work at home.
3. Parenting support
Your child isn’t the only person growing through this process. Parents who want additional support can participate in the TUNED IN parenting course and join optional ROOTED RISING parent connection calls with lead parent coach Sophie Schauermann, LCSW.
These weekly calls, held Wednesdays at 12 p.m. MT, offer a place to ask questions, learn alongside other parents, and receive support as you practice new ways of responding to your child.
Individual parent coaching is also available when you need more personalized guidance. Families who work with Rooted Rhythm receive lifetime access to the Tuned In Institute education portal, including courses, resources, and Remi, the Institute’s personal AI concierge.
4. Parent closing session
After your child completes the initial twelve sessions, your family comes together for a 50-minute closing appointment. This session is a chance to look back at what has changed, recognize your child's progress, talk about what you have learned as a family, and decide what kind of support, if any, would be useful next.
5. Ongoing support
For many families, the initial therapy period provides enough momentum to continue practicing what they've learned independently. Families can continue participating in parent connection calls, schedule individual coaching, or return for occasional therapy "tune-up" sessions when new challenges or transitions arise.
For Parents of Teenagers
Therapy with teens looks different from therapy with younger children. Adolescence is a time when young people are developing greater independence, exploring who they are, and beginning to create more separation from their parents. Our process respects that developmental shift while still keeping caregivers connected in appropriate ways.
FAQs About Child Play Therapy in Austin
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Play therapy uses a child's natural way of communicating (play) to help them explore emotions, experiences, relationships, and challenges. Rather than relying only on direct conversation, a child may communicate through toys, imaginative play, games, art, storytelling, or other developmentally appropriate activities. Rooted Rhythm uses evidence-based play therapy methods with children and may incorporate more directive techniques with older children.
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There's no single sign that automatically means a child needs therapy. It may be worth reaching out if anxiety, anger, sadness, withdrawal, behavioral changes, perfectionism, sensory overwhelm, family conflict, grief, or other difficulties are interfering with your child's daily life or relationships. You can also seek therapy simply because something feels different and you want help understanding what your child may be experiencing.
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Play therapy is most commonly used with younger children because play is one of their primary ways of communicating and making sense of experiences. As children get older, therapists can gradually incorporate more conversation and structured strategies.
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Yes, Rooted Rhythm considers parents an important part of the child therapy process. Therapists work with caregivers to help them better understand what their child may be communicating and how they can support emotional growth outside of sessions.
Help Your Child Feel More Understood
Your child doesn't need to become less emotional, less sensitive, or less themselves in order to thrive. Sometimes they simply need a space where someone understands how they communicate, takes their feelings seriously, and helps them build new ways to move through difficult moments. And sometimes parents need that same kind of support.
Rooted Rhythm provides child play therapy and counseling for Austin families who want to understand the child beneath the behavior and build more regulation, confidence, and connection along the way.