Tupelo counselor uses play therapy to communicate with kids
Jan. 6—TUPELO — Liria Peshkepia is a licensed professional counselor who is trained to help people of all ages.
But right now, 80% of the clients she serves are ages 3 to 12.
"There are always kids who need help," said Peshkepia, who practices at Pax House Counseling & Play Therapy in Tupelo, where she is a registered play therapist. "I see kids who might have a small thing, like anxiety about starting a new school. A lot of times, I get referrals from doctors — they have a child who is hurting, but for no physical reason. We also get referrals for children of abuse."
At Pax House, Peshkepia specializes in play therapy.
"It's hard for kids to approach the problems they bring to therapy," she said. "Play therapists use play and toys to help children understand what's happening to them. In play therapy, we say play is a child's language, and toys are their words. They show us their world."
Peshkepia has two rooms for children to explore in her counseling center. One, geared toward very young children, is filled with dolls and puppets, dress-up clothes, costumes, plastic swords and Hulk hands, an art easel, a miniature kitchen and a small curtained area.
"Children like tight spaces, like the curtained area," she said. "It's secure. Sometimes, they go in there to say things they won't say in open spaces."
The kitchen is part of children's natural play, with a nurturing theme; items like toy swords are there because play is sometimes aggressive; and the easel and paints allow children to go over feelings they have a difficult time expressing.
"I want people to understand, it's not just play," Peshkepia said. "It's therapeutic intervention by licensed mental health professionals. We use play because we're meeting kids at their developmental level."
The second room in the counseling center is geared more toward older children. Its walls are lined with shelves filled with items such as miniature action figures, dolls, animals, toy furniture and medical kit supplies.
A sand tray filled with soft, silky white sand sits in the center of the room. In the corner, there's another sand tray, filled with dark, gritty sand.
"The white sand is fine, pleasant to touch," she said. "The dark sand has lots of anger. It has a different sensation, a different purpose. We can go in that room, and I say, 'Show me your family. Show me what happened — the bad thing.' And they pick things off the shelves and put them in the sand."
With the sand trays, one thing Peshkepia is watching for is post-traumatic play.
"That's repetitive play," she said. "They'll repeat the trauma over and over again. We help them work through these difficulties by giving them tools."
There are all manner of reasons why parents might consider therapy for a child, Peshkepia said. Reasons like divorce, death, a new home, a new school, a chronic illness or a natural disaster come quickly to mind.
"Those are things certainly that create stress," she said. "But children also pick up on any stress their parents are experiencing as well. We use play to help children work through and process their experiences. Developmentally, they don't always have the cognitive ability to express their feelings."
Parents might notice a change in a child's behavior at home — sudden tantrums or bed-wetting — or a teacher at school might signal that the child is being disruptive in class.
Some parents, because they're so close to a child, might simply have lost their perspective and need a second opinion.
"It's helpful to seek out therapists," she said. "One session can really help get some things cleared up. With average play therapy, you meet once a week for 20 weeks. But some things don't need 20 weeks. It depends on what the issue is."
Peshkepia said play therapy, which is an evidence-based method of therapy, is designed to ultimately give a child a sense of safety.
"At play therapy, we work toward helping create a safe space for children, and as therapists, we are not alone," she said. "We consult with other therapists. If we come up against something that's very difficult, we use consultation with another therapist who is more practiced."
Peshkepia said she's seen some things in her practice that were hard to digest. But she'd rather know, and try to help the kids through it, than not know.
"Children are resilient," she said. "Given the right circumstances, they can overcome a lot of adversity and a lot of challenges. They are amazing. Most of the time, they're looking for safety and a connection to their parents and to themselves. As play therapists, we provide the tools and environment to do that."
