New Child Life Private Practice in Savannah, Georgia
Dose of Play
Taking a child to the doctor, dentist or hospital can be scary and stressful for both your child and you. There are unfamiliar faces, equipment, sounds, and even smells that you will encounter during this visit that can increase anxiety about the unknown and impact your experience.
Enter – Certified Child Life Specialists: We help make these challenging situations more manageable for families.
What is a Certified Child Life Specialist?
Certified Child Life Specialists provide medical education, preparation and therapeutic play to help reduce fear, anxiety and pain for children and youth (Association of Child Life Professionals [ACLP], 2018). In one day a child life specialist might prepare a child for surgery, support a child during a procedure through executing an individualized coping plan, work with the medical team to reach a child’s treatment goals, reduce pain prior to, during or after a medical procedure, and help a family deliver a difficult conversation to siblings about a child’s traumatic injury or even death.
Graphic courtesy of Megan Cederholm, CCLS of @shadesofplay_ccls
These are just a few scenarios of how a child life specialist works with the medical and supportive services team to support children and families. We also advocate for children and families for evidence-based best practices in patient care to reduce stress and foster positive coping and cooperation with treatment.
About Dose of Play Child Life Private Practice
I am a Certified Child Life Specialist with extensive experience providing child life services in the hospital setting to children and families with a wide range of medical needs. I am also a proud mother of 3 children. I think many of my peers would agree that one of the best parts of the work we do is helping a child get through a challenging experience they didn’t think they could. It’s simply, priceless.
With this passion for helping children cope as best they can, I want to use my skills outside of hospital walls to help lessen fear before even stepping foot in the doctor’s office, dentist or hospital. I launched Dose of Play child life private practice in Savannah, Georgia to carry out my mission within my community.
In-Home Child Life Services
I will provide hourly medical education, preparation and therapeutic play sessions with the child (and siblings) where they feel most comfortable and safe, which is often their home.
Educating and preparing children when they are not feeling under high stress in the heat of that moment will allow children to practice coping strategies and better understand what to expect before it comes time for that medical visit. Providing consistent care for a child and family throughout a child’s hospitalization, in my experience, has led to an increase in trust and understanding of what to expect during their stay.
So many times, I’ve heard direct child and/or parent reports of a better experience due to receiving child life services as compared to what they feared would happen or even past negative experiences. For those reasons, I believe providing child life services privately with children and families in the community for at least two consecutive sessions will improve the overall health care experience for the child and family. This is not the only way for a child in Savannah to receive child life services within the community, I also provide programs for group settings!
Group Programming
Another opportunity for children to learn about their bodies, medical visits, and coping strategies is through a group “Teddy Bear Clinic.” This program gives children the opportunity to pretend to be “Doctor for a Day” using their own beloved plush from home and participate in hands-on therapeutic play alongside their peers. Through my Dose of Play child life private practice, I am offering this program to schools, community centers or in partnership with pediatric medical offices in Savannah. Individualized group programming may be offered based upon unique needs of a child and community (e.g. a child is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness).
Remote Child Life Support
Finally, for those parents and caregivers unable to schedule the in-home services or for those outside of Savannah, I provide hourly consultation sessions by phone or video call. I will aim to empower and equip you with the information and tools to best support your loved ones with challenges that relate to the checkups, procedures, surgery, and more. Contact me if you are interested in Dose of Play child life services.
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