Psychiatrists in San Mateo County, CA

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, PMHNP, MSN, RN

Verified Verified

Atherton, CA 94027 (Online Only)

I have a passion for working with motivated individuals and routinely incorporate both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to health in my treatment plans. I care for patients ages 16 to 65 years old.

(650) 718-8067 View (650) 718-8067

Online Psychiatrists

Mali Mann MD

Psychiatrist, MD, FIPA

Verified Verified

Los Altos, CA 94024

Waitlist for new clients

I work with children in play therapy to help their capacity for emotional development and their relatedness to their love object and social environment.

Mali Mann, MD is adult, adolescent and child psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in Palo Alto and San Francisco California. After finishing her medical school, she finished her residency and child fellowship at University Rochester and Kanas. She finished adolescent Medicine fellowship at Stanford university Psychiatry Department. She completed her adult and child psychoanalytic training at San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. She is a faculty member and Training and supervising psychoanalyst, adult and child at SFCP. She is also an adjunct Clinical Professor at Stanford University, School of Medicine. She published "Psychoanalytic Aspect of Assisted reproductive Technology" and collection of her poetry.

I work with children in play therapy to help their capacity for emotional development and their relatedness to their love object and social environment.

(650) 867-7461 View (650) 867-7461

Sarah Blue

Psychiatrist, MD

Verified Verified

San Francisco, CA 94109 (Online Only)

Are you struggling to balance your physical and mental health? Are things becoming unmanageable? Is your time limited? Then welcome to WellPsyche! WellPsyche Medical Group provides experts in the field of Adult and Child/Adolescent Psychiatry. Our practice offers the latest in psychiatry including Telemedicine! Now you can visit with your psychiatrist from the privacy and convenience of your home or work. Our providers take a Conservative and Effective approach to medication management and can help you balance your life.

(415) 855-7718 View (415) 855-7718

Britney Shipman

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, PHMNP, MSN, RN

Verified Verified

San Francisco, CA 94105 (Online Only)

(415) 481-3499 View (415) 481-3499

Sarah Blue

Psychiatrist, MD

Verified Verified

San Jose, CA 95119 (Online Only)

(669) 800-4522 View (669) 800-4522

Sarah Blue

Psychiatrist, MD

Verified Verified

Sacramento, CA 95814 (Online Only)

(916) 587-8067 View (916) 587-8067

Nwankaego Nwandei

Physician Assistant, PA

Verified Verified

Brentwood, CA 94513 (Online Only)

Is life becoming unmanageable? Looking for real answers? Seeking the best group of clinicians who accept your insurance? Welcome to WellPsyche Medical Group! WellPsyche providers are experts in Wellness and Mental Health. Our providers take a Thoughtful, Practical, and Caring approach to therapy and can help you balance your life. WellPsyche is also a leader in Telemedicine. Now you can visit with your provider from the privacy and convenience of your home or work.

(310) 526-3404 View (310) 526-3404

See more therapy options for San Mateo County

Play Therapy Psychiatrists

Who is play therapy for?

Play therapy is generally targeted to children between the ages of 3 and 11 who have social, emotional, or behavioral difficulties. Play therapy has also been found helpful for children who have experienced physical or emotional abuse or witnessed atrocities. Play therapy is also often recommended for children who are undergoing major medical procedures or who are suffering from chronic illness; many children’s hospitals are equipped to offer play therapy on-site. Play therapy is also sometimes used for adults; creative writing, music, and art are expressive forms that can all be adapted for therapeutic purposes.

Why do people need play therapy?

Children often do not have the language skills or words to know or to express what is troubling them. Yet they often spontaneously draw or use playthings to depict scenarios that reflect problems in their everyday life. Play therapy provides children with an array of objects and play situations to act out their feelings or experiences so that therapists can get a clear picture of what children might be struggling with and help them find solutions. In addition, play therapists are skilled at helping children understand their inner experience and find words for them, necessary steps toward helping children learn to control their own behavior and come up with solutions to problems they encounter.

What happens in play therapy?

A child enters a comfortable playroom where they are free to choose the objects they want to play with. The play therapist will typically observe how they play with the toys—whether a sandbox, puppets, dolls and action figures, trucks, costumes, drawing and painting materials, or more—because such play provides clues to a child’s family and social relationships, difficulties they are encountering in the world, and what going on inside themselves. Sometimes the therapist may ask the child to use the play objects to tell a story about their family. Using the same instruments of play, therapists can help children discover more advantageous ways of thinking and behaving.

What kinds of problems do play therapists treat?

Play therapy can help children who display destructive or self-destructive impulses; children who seem angry, sad, or fearful; children who experience frequent social, emotional, family, or school difficulty. Play therapy is often of value to children who have experienced a loss or distressing family experience, who are regularly exposed to family conflict, or who have been physically or emotionally abused. Play therapy can help children who are perpetrators of bullying as well as those who are targets of bullying. It helps children learn to identify their feelings, to express them in constructive ways, and to regulate them so they can get on with the business of development.

How long does play therapy last?

Play therapy sessions may last for 30 to 45 minutes, and they usually occur weekly for about 20 sessions. Each session is tailored to the individual child and the kinds of problems they are struggling with. Play that is highly repetitive often indicates a problem requiring further exploration. Therapists typically measure progress through session-to-session changes in play behavior.