Play therapy for children and young people in Penticton & the South Okanagan, with parent support and online sessions across BC.
Children rarely have the words for what’s hardest, and play is where they already do their thinking.
I’m Kristina. For more than twenty years I’ve sat with children while they work through some of the hardest feelings of their young lives, and with the parents who love them and want to help.
Kristina Dixon, MC, RCC, RCC-ACS, BCRPT, Certified Synergetic Play Therapy Supervisor. Registered Clinical Counsellor (BCACC #14861) and BC Registered Play Therapist with the BCPTA.
Does any of this sound familiar?
- Worries, stomach aches, and not wanting to leave your side.
- Meltdowns that don’t seem to match what set them off.
- A child who feels everything, in a world that’s too loud.
- Friendships or school that have become hard to face.
- A loss, a move, or something frightening that happened.
- Sleep that has quietly fallen apart.
You’re in the right place. Most parents arrive worried they’ve done something wrong — you’re not alone in that, and asking for help isn’t a sign that you’ve failed.
Why play, and why it works
Long before a child can explain a feeling, they can show it: in a story, in a sand tray, in a game replayed over and over until it comes out differently.
I follow your child’s lead rather than steering, because a child who is trusted to lead the way is a child whose body finally settles enough to work. That’s a deliberate and trained choice rather than an absence of a plan. My registration as a play therapist and my advanced work in Synergetic Play Therapy are, in large part, the study of how to stay calm and present next to a child while they move through something big.
Therapy shaped around your child and family
There’s no single way therapy has to unfold. I take time to understand what’s been happening, give children ways to communicate that feel natural to them, and keep you involved as the work develops.
Hi, I’m Kristina
Children have been my focus since the very beginning of my career: a degree in Child & Youth Care, a Master of Counselling in attachment and family systems, and more than twenty years alongside kids and their parents.
What that means for you is someone experienced enough to have sat with almost any worry you might bring, and specialized enough to work only with children and the families around them.
What happens when you reach out
We’ll meet or talk before any work with your child starts, usually a first session with just us, so I can understand what’s been happening. When your child does begin in the playroom, I follow their lead through play, art, and conversation, depending on their age and how they communicate.
Regular parent check-ins cover what’s emerging, what helps at home, and whether continuing still makes sense.
Fees, and funding you may already have
$150 / 50 min, child or individual
$175 / 50 min, family or parents
Most extended-health plans cover counselling with an RCC. Autism Funding can be used here too: up to $22,000 a year for children under 6, and up to $6,000 a year for ages 6 to 18. I’m registered with CVAP.
In person in Penticton, or securely online anywhere in BC. Parent-only sessions are welcome, and you don’t have to bring your child along to begin.
You don’t have to know what to say
Most people write two lines, which is plenty, and we can work the rest out together. If you’d rather talk first, we can set up a free 15-minute call with no obligation and no paperwork.