Children's Services

Before coming to the Wendt Center, I really didn’t care about school or anything — I was like, "Forget it, I’m not doing the work" — and then my whole attitude changed. I started to care about myself, about school, and about other people.

— Wendt Center Teen Client

Wendt Center teams of therapists, interns and volunteers provide play therapy at our offices, and training or consultation to local schools, community centers, and other social service agencies throughout the metro area to facilitate onsite support for children. We also provide on-going supervision services to school staff interested in providing group grief counseling services to students.

Why We Play

Children express themselves through play. Toys, games and drawing offer children a way to explore feelings and life situations. Fantasy is a very safe place where youngsters can look at all kinds of issues.

Talking is often not the most complete way for children to communicate their feelings. They are not mature enough to express the complex way emotions affect their lives; nor have they learned the vocabulary. For instance, what is the difference between "mad," "angry," "frustrated," "scared," "guilty," "ashamed," and "anxious?" Very few children could explain the subtle differences among these terms or understand how the feelings influence their thoughts and behavior. Yet almost any child could play out the experience of the feelings with puppets, dolls, paints or games of imagination. Thus, in the presence of a trained therapist, play becomes the doorway to understanding, even when the experience is not discussed in concrete terms.

That's why play therapy is almost always an important part of our work with children, either in groups or individually. Sometimes it gets quite active, sometimes it's silent. Sessions last about 50 minutes and therapy takes several months or longer. It may be a continuous or intermittent process because it always responds to each child's needs.

It is also important to realize that the child will probably not return from a session able or willing to talk about what he or she learned. How many times have you asked your child "What did you do in school today?" only to be told, "Nothing?" Yet, when report cards come out, it's clear they were doing something. Play therapy is like that. Parents frequently wonder what throwing a ball or acting out "Beauty and the Beast" could possibly have to do with grief. But for a child, either could have important meaning.

We must also remember that confidentiality is as essential to children as it is to adults. Our conversations with the family always respect the child's privacy (unless, of course, there is a question of safety to the child or someone else).

Working with families to serve children in the most gentle and appropriate way is our primary concern. Please feel free to talk with our staff if you have any questions.

For more information, contact us at (202) 624-0010.