Wholesome Healing

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Severna Park, MD
Wholesome Healing

Wholesome Healing specializes in offering play therapy services to children and in working with parents through family consultation / parental support.

We are dedicated to helping children and families feel connected and to helping children thrive.

01/27/2026

⛄️We are back open today! We can’t wait to see you.

01/26/2026

We are closed due to snow today! We are hoping to be back tomorrow. Stay safe today and enjoy time together!

01/25/2026

We hope everyone is enjoying the snow!

Check your emails for information regarding this week's sessions. Your child's therapist will reach out to let you know if they will be on as scheduled or not.

🌨️❄️☃️

01/24/2026

Here at Wholesome Healing we have been busy incorporating all we have learned in our 2025 trainings and recent research into our daily clinical practice. One way we have been doing this is by bringing parents into the playroom to teach them the skills of play therapy! Parents learning the skills of play therapy and having playtimes with their own child is an evidenced based modality for ages 3-10 called Filial Therapy. Research has shown that Filial Therapy sessions (or special play times) strengthens parent-child relationships, decreases child symptoms, and improve parent confidence. This provides an amazing opportunity where children can create a situation where the child can become aware of feelings they have not allowed themselves to recognize yet. The parent’s acceptance of these emotions is essential and helps the child better understand how to cope. These play sessions also build the child’s trust and confidence in the parent, which will increase your child’s likelihood to communicate more openly with you about their feelings leading to more mature ways of expression. The play sessions also provide a unique opportunity for your child to trust themselves more, reduce fear of making mistakes, and improve self-responsibility.

We prepare parents with a phased based skill model shown above that then help them to be the agent of change in the playroom. Both parents and kids have enjoyed this and found it to be a useful tool to have when life throws them curve balls. Many of our families will start special play times up again after a life change or transition only to find that the symptoms the child was showing reduce quickly.

01/20/2026

2016 was a BIG year.
It was the year Wholesome Healing opened its doors.
I signed my first lease in the first floor of the Ritchie Court building (where the Annapolis Pediatrics Severna Park location is).
I built out my first office and designed and furnished my first therapeutic playroom.

I had a 4 year old and a 1 year old... And found out I was pregnant with my third baby right as the build out was complete and I was ready to open the doors.

It feels like a lifetime ago, and also, I can still feel all those feelings as if it were yesterday. Every decision felt so important and I wanted everything to be just right... because right from the beginning, and ever since, I knew my clients deserved nothing but the absolute best.

It was a giant leap, but also the easiest decision because I knew I was meant to do this work. I had had the vision for Wholesome Healing since 2013, when I started the LLC and I never stopped learning, growing, and stretching - to create a practice where children and their families could feel welcomed and cared for, no matter what their challenges. To create a space where children and families could heal, grow, and connect in ways that changed their lives, from the inside out.

I’m so proud of this practice, of our team, and of the integrity that has stayed true from the start. We are and have always been client-centered and deeply rooted in evidence-based, high quality pediatric mental health care.

01/17/2026

We cannot thank Christalene enough for supporting our therapists today!

What an amazing morning full of self-exploration, intention setting... And most of all, fun!

Did you know we as a team take dedicated time each month for self-care, growth, and connection?

We make sure we are at our best so we can give your kids and family the best... Each and every day!

01/16/2026

If you’re interested in these trainings check out more on our website!

🔗https://www.wholesomehealingforall.com/upcomingtrainingandevents

01/12/2026

Welcome to Keri and Isabel!
This is a big step.
It's a big deal.
And you are so ready!
We cannot wait to watch you grow into clinicians this year!

01/10/2026

We decided to end the year with a fun game about who in our staff is most likely to do what. There were SO many good ones - but these were our favorites...

Vanessa - Most likely to be stress cleaning with a coffee

Brooke - Most likely to know something about anything

Leah - Most likely to start laughing uncontrollably at 2am while texting the group chat

Bethany - Most likely to sage the office

Mary Beth - Most likely to stay calm during a crisis

Sidney - Most likely to look so chic and say “It’s thrifted.”

Julia - Most likely to have a large glam drink

Christiana - Most likely to have a snack

01/06/2026

Here’s number 7… Healing is gradual and organic.
There is no shortcut to feeling safe.
Our job isn’t to push progress—
it’s to create safety and consistency so the trust can grow.
Trust grows when the child chooses what to share
and when to share it.
Healing moves at the child’s pace and they can show us exactly what they are ready for. It’s one of the gifts of CCPT we get to see things unfold and lasting change happens because the child feels safe to expand.

Recapping all 8:
✅ Develop a Warm, Friendly Relationship: The therapist must build a strong, trusting, and authentic connection with the child as the foundation for change.

✅Accept the Child as They Are: Unconditional positive regard means accepting the child’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and identity without judgment.

✅ Establish Permissiveness: Create an environment where the child feels safe and free to express their full range of emotions and experiences through play.

✅ Recognize & Reflect Feelings: Actively listen and reflect the child’s emotions back to them (e.g., “You seem angry right now”) to help them gain insight.

✅ Respect the Child’s Problem-Solving Ability: Trust the child’s innate capacity to solve their own problems, with the therapist supporting their choices.

✅Do Not Direct Play: The child leads the session; the therapist follows their lead, rather than telling them what to do or say.

✅Do Not Hurry Therapy: Recognize that healing and growth take time and proceed at the child’s pace, understanding it’s a gradual process.

✅ Establish Necessary Limits: Set boundaries only when needed to ensure safety (for the child, therapist, or room) and to help the child understand responsibility in the real world.

01/03/2026

When we avoid directing we...

💪Build Confidence: Allow children to trust their own judgments and problem-solving.

🧘Foster Self-Regulation: Help them learn to manage their own behaviors and emotions.

🎨Encourage Creativity: Gives space for original ideas and communication.

❤️Respect Individuality: Acknowledge their unique perspectives and growth.

12/30/2025

We realized that in all the end of the year festivities, we forgot #6 & #7 of the child centered play therapy principles and thought that this was just too good not to share!

Address

Severna Park, MD
21146

Website

http://www.wholesomehealingforall.com/

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