Child Play Therapy in Denver & Lakewood, CO

Now accepting Colorado Medicaid clients!

“You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than a year of conversation”

- Plato

You may be feeling totally overwhelmed by your child’s emotional needs and like the behaviors they are showing you now will never shift, and we are here to help.

When it comes to kiddos, we specialize in working with emotional, sensitive and gifted children ages 2- 12 who are experiencing big feelings of anger, sadness, or anxiety. We often offer specific expertise in supporting children process traumatic events.

We also support sensitive teenagers struggling with issues of self esteem, identity development, and relationship to Self & Other.

If you’re ready to feel more connected to your child and bring your family closer together, schedule a consultation today.

“I believe that therapy allows a child’s inner light to shine so that they can dismantle walls of shame and fear in order to continue to connect more deeply with themselves and with the loving people around them.”

- Sophie Schauermann, LCSW | Founder Rooted Rhythm Therapy

Our approach to Child Therapy

As child therapists in the Denver area, we use play therapy methods that allow for a gentle healing process to unfold so that your child can communicate big feelings and challenges that are difficult to explain with words. We offer both directive and non directive evidence based techniques to support children in processing life events that they have experienced and understanding themselves more deeply.

It is our belief that when children have space to fully express what is happening in their inner world with the support of an attuned therapist, healing unfolds that creates more ease for the whole family.

It is also our belief that the most important attachment figures in a child’s life are their parents. For this reason, we support parents in their own learning throughout the process with check ins at every session.

We have also developed an incredible learning tool for parents to engage in self led growth, while their child is in the therapy process. Many parents of children working with us choose to enroll in the TUNED IN parenting course to learn how to best support the highly sensitive child.

Throughout the child therapy process, we communicate with parents frequently, and every child therapy session includes 10 minutes of parenting support. We will share themes with you that your child is showing in therapy and provide parenting tools for you to support your child at home. Learn more about our holistic approach to parent coaching here.

We understand that taking the step to find emotional support for your child is a big deal. We work closely with parents to help you understand your child’s needs more clearly and learn concrete tools to be more comfortable facing overwhelming emotions so that you can teach your child to do the same! Together, we will work towards a greater understanding of the large and small shifts that will provide effective support for emotional needs of your child and harmony for the entire family.  

THE ROOTED RHYTHM®CHILD THERAPY AND PARENT COACHING PROGRAM:

  1. Parent orientation:

    After establishing connection through a phone consultation with us, we will work together to schedule a 60 minute intake session. This is an opportunity for you (parents) to connect with your therapist, to share background on your child, and to get to know our therapy process. Some parents prefer to meet for their first sessions separately and in the case of divorce or separation, we do recommend each scheduling a 50 minute intake session. Your therapist will help with next steps for setting this up following your free consultation.

  2. Child therapy sessions:

    Over 3 months, your child will meet with their Rooted Rhythm® therapist weekly for twelve 50 minute in person sessions. The last 10 minutes of these sessions will include a parent update and support for you.

  3. Parenting support:

    Throughout your child’s therapeutic experience, you have the opportunity to engage in your own healing and growing as caregivers, if you choose to take the TUNED IN parenting course , you will have the opportunity to attend optional 20min parent connection calls with our lead parent coach, Sophie Schauermann LCSW. These calls give you an opportunity to ask questions and get support through your process in the program. If you need extra support, you can also set up parent coaching sessions as needed.

  4. Parent closing session:

    Your family’s process will close with a final 50 minute session with your therapist in which we will review your child’s process, come up with a sustainable plan for your family’s future and celebrate the growth that has occurred on both an individual level and for the entire family system.

  5. Ongoing support:

    Once you have joined the Rooted Rhythm family, we don’t forget your story. Although most families feel so very much at ease after the process and thus no longer in need of support, we often welcome kiddos and parents back for “tune up” therapy or parent coaching sessions…and you are welcome to continue to attend our weekly group parent coaching calls if that support feels good for you!

For Parents of Teenagers

Our process for working with teens is different due to the very different developmental stage they are experiencing. Some key differences include:

Less parent involvement in therapy process

When working with teens, we meet for a single session with parents at the beginning of treatment, then prioritize trusting our teens to primarily guide their therapeutic process. It is both therapeutic and beneficial to communicate to teens that we trust them, by giving them space to be in their process with their therapist.

With that said, we often encourage teens to communicate their emotional needs more clearly to their parents and even invite parents into therapy when the time is right…but we give space for our teens to initiate parent involvement when they are ready. Our goal is to connect with parents for a 10 min check in at least every other week, with the permission of their teen.

Although it can be scary to unhook from our young teens, it is developmentally appropriate for teens to be creating some boundaries with their parents in this way, so they can form their unique sense of identity and belonging. A strong bond with a therapist during this time can insure that a safe adult is available to support this process.

A consensual agreement

We specialize in supporting highly sensitive teens who often need support with self esteem, identity development, sexuality, peer relationships, and healthy connection to their family. We do require the teens who work with us are choosing to engage in therapy themselves

Parenting support

Parents of teens also benefit greatly from diving into the TUNED IN course to support their own therapeutic work while their pre-teen or teen is working with our therapists. Additionally we are happy to offer 1 on 1 parent coaching or individual adult therapy to support parents as they navigate the challenging yet rewarding tasks of raising a teenager. 

Varying lengths of time in therapy

Length of treatment also varies for our teenage clients. We recommend starting with weekly therapy for at least 8 weeks for your teen to build a connection with their therapist. Many teens benefit from longer term care following this initial connection period which would could look like weekly, biweekly, or eventually monthly therapy.

  • “Rooted Rhythm was a game changer for us! We needed someone to help us navigate parenting our oldest son, who is 5 years old, who we learned is highly sensitive. We started sessions with Sophie and instantly felt a connection and her support for us and our son! We honestly noticed such a positive difference after working with Sophie to think about our son’s behaviors differently and learn how to support him as a highly sensitive child!

    We would 100% recommend Rooted Rhythm to anybody looking for support parenting highly sensitive children!”

    - Parents of 3 Boys


  • “The therapeutic work this team does for sensitive children and their parents is rooted and true. I didn’t know much about play therapy prior to learning about Rooted Rhythm, but I now understand the incredible power of this modality for children to process their feelings. What sets this practice apart from others is their focus on supporting parents just as much as their kids on the learning and healing journey....which ensures a big step towards more wellness for the whole family. I absolutely trust and recommend this team to any family looking for emotional support.”

    — Mother of a 10 year old


  • “Our 6 year old son was getting in trouble at school, melting down all the time and struggling very much with life’s challenges.  We realized that he had very big feelings, a lot of anxiety and self-doubt, and our inability to help him was creating a stressful home. 

    We met with Rooted Rhythm for a consultation and knew they would be able to help us.

    Their methods of parent coaching via the online course and live meetings are rooted in research and education, and the play therapy is effective and personal to each child.  Rooted Rhythm changed the trajectory of our family and has given us the skills to continue to build a stronger family.”

    — Mother of a 6 year old boy


  • "Rooted Rhythm changed everything for our family. We went from daily meltdowns and power struggles to feeling connected and in sync. The tools were simple but so powerful—and the support was unwavering."

    - Parent of a 4 year old

  • "As a parent of a neurodivergent child, I often felt lost. Rooted Rhythm gave me a language of connection and a framework that honors who my child is—and who I am as a parent."

    - Dad of a 7-year-old


  • “Our 4-year-old was having trouble working through his really big feelings, and my husband and I felt confused about how to help him. Rooted Rhythm therapy helped us identify his challenges and how we could support him. Our son has gained self-confidence and we have gained clarity and confidence as parents. Sophie is an absolutely wonderful person and held space for our family to find our rhythm. So grateful!”

    - Mother of a 4 year old boy


  • “Rooted Rhythm therapy has helped our family a lot. When we had an orientation, she told my wife and me that the therapy would be limited to 12 sessions. I appreciated that very much. It made me feel like there was a process vs. just going in open-ended. We tried it, and the end result is a better relationship with our kids and each other. If she thinks that she can help your family, I'm sure that she can. Highly recommend!”

    - J.M., Father of two


  • “I found Rooted Rhythm one day in a frantic google search for a therapist for my 8 year old son. He is smart, funny and has the biggest emotions of anyone I know. He was getting in trouble at school, testing boundaries at home and experienced his feelings in outburst that sometimes would last over an hour. Our other biggest struggle was connecting on parenting.

    Sophie was the perfect fit for our family during our time of soul searching. Not only did it give our son a safe place to not only talk and express himself but to just... be. The bonus was the parenting course. It has given us as parents a base to start with; common ground to build on instead of one of ‘always being right.’ We gained so many tools for the future not just for our highly sensitive son but our sassy independent daughter as well.”

    - Mother of an 8 year old boy


  • “The Rooted Rhythm child therapy and parent coaching method for sensitive children and their parents is innovative, highly effective, and deeply healing. The founder, Sophie, has put years of research and experience into developing a unique model (with in person child therapy sessions and virtual parent education) that tangibly shifts families from the inside out.

    As another therapist, the Rooted Rhythm team is absolutely my number one referral for anyone seeking support to become a better parent to emotional children. It’s so exciting to know the Dallas community will now have access to this method of child therapy and parent coaching care.”

    - Julie Goldberg LPC, Third Nature Therapy


  • “As a therapist and colleague, I regularly refer clients to Rooted Rhythm for both parent coaching and play therapy. I trust them completely. They are trauma-informed, highly skilled, and compassionate therapists who create real change in their clients’ lives.”

    - Kirsten Hartz LPC, Somatic Therapist

  • “The model of child counseling paired with parent coaching was excellent for us. We are in a happier, healthier, more regulated state of mind thanks to Rooted Rhythm.”

    -Happy client

Child Therapy FAQs

  • Play is a child's most natural medium of self-expression and learning from the time they are born (think about a game of peek-a-boo as a child learns about object impermanence). So when a child shows us that they are struggling with an emotional difficulty, it only makes matters feel more overwhelming to pressure them to "use their words" to process what is going on under the surface.  A trained play therapist can gently yet effectively support a child in exploring difficult emotions and address unresolved trauma. Play therapy allows a child to express themselves in their most natural means of communication...play! Ultimately, quality play therapy will help a child develop a stronger connection to him or herself and be able to both regulate and verbalize big emotions more effectively. Learn more on the Association for Play Therapy's website or set up a free consultation to ask how play therapy techniques might be personalized to support your unique child.

  • Parents are a crucial part of the child therapy process for kiddos age 2-12. You know your child better than anyone, and your child’s relationship with you is the most important one. We will work with you for 10-15 minutes at the end of each session to understand themes that your child is showing in play therapy and how to apply this information to supporting your child in daily life. 

    All families that work with us are also encouraged to take the TUNED IN parenting course to engage in a parallel healing process while their kiddo is going through therapy.

    Sometimes your child may also want you to be involved in sessions which can be an opportunity to work on parent-child attachment patterns in real time. We will support you in this process and help you feel comfortable participating in sessions. 

  • In addition to the parenting support that you will receive at the end of every child therapy session and the optional weekly group parent learning call available if you are enrolled in the TUNED course,, some parents choose to set up additional 1-1 parent support sessions. Parent support sessions include helpful information on child development and attachment behaviors relevant to the patterns that your child is showing. They also provide tools to be more comfortable facing overwhelming emotions so that you can teach your child to do the same! 

    Parenting has a beautiful way of showing you absolutely all of your blindspots! We are passionate about helping parents more deeply understand their parenting patterns and clear any blocks that prevent them from feeling confident to support their children with full consciousness and love.

  • Head on over to our team page to read the bios of our Denver and Lakewood expert child play therapists!

Office Locations

1777 South Harrison Street, Suite 1200 | Denver, CO 80210

12157 W Cedar Drive, Suite 200 | Lakewood, CO 80228

Get help from our Expert Child Therapists in Denver & Lakewood, CO

Your child deserves to enjoy their life...and you deserve to enjoy parenting your child! We are here to help you create more space for loving connection between you and your child.  Reach out for a free child therapy consultation so that we can get started.