Hi!
If you're new to the world of therapy, welcome! You may be nervous about beginning the journey or curious about how I can help your little ones. I hope that this page answers some of your questions. My name is Sofia Calderon, and I am a bilingual, pre-licensed professional counselor and play base therapist passionate about working alongside young children and their families to support and promote healthy, adaptive, and positive growth and development!
Although I have been trained to work with individuals across the lifespan, in my current practice, my specialization is working with children ages 3 to 10, utilizing Child-Centered Play Therapy. This therapeutic style is appropriate for diagnoses such as ADHD, ASD, and other developmental concerns and trauma history.
Over the past year, I have gained diverse experience, including working with the Spanish-speaking community in the Middle Tennessee area, victims of crime, and individuals with trauma histories. In addition to providing a safe space for my clients, my mission as a counselor is to facilitate appropriate developmental growth, change, and healing.
A fun fact about me is that I'm the oldest in my family, with a 12-year age gap between my youngest brother and me! I was also the only one of my siblings born in our country of origin (Puerto Rico!).
License
As a pre-licensed counselor, I am working towards achieving full licensure as an LPC-MHSP. Over the next couple of years, I will be working under a fully licensed LPC-MHSP and LMFT supervision. Being under supervision is required for the counseling licensing process. It allows me to receive guidance from well-trained clinicians in the field of counseling and play therapy.
Why Play Therapy?
"Play is a child's natural medium for self-expression" — Virginia Axline.
Play therapy is an evidence-based, developmentally appropriate way of "doing therapy" with young children. As the quote featured above, written by one of the founders of play therapy, explains, play is how children naturally communicate and express themselves. In Child-Centered Play Therapy, the child leads our time together. During their time in the playroom, through using toys and creativity, children are presented with the opportunity to experience autonomy and limit setting, practice self-efficacy and emotional regulation, and increase their self-esteem and interpersonal skills.
"Toys are children's words, and play is their language" — Gary L. Landreth.
Linked below is a helpful video from Dr. Dee C. Ray explaining the therapeutic powers of play:
Specializations:
Anxiety
ADHD
ASD
Behavioral Issues
Child-Centered Play Therapy
Children ages 3-10
Depression
Life Transitions
Parenting
Self Esteem
Trauma/PTSD