Child Trauma Therapy in Center City, Philadelphia

and online across PA & NJ

Developmentally Informed, Attachment-Focused Therapy for Children Living with the Impact of Trauma

Trauma in childhood isn’t just something a child remembers. It’s something their brain and body reorganize around.

It affects how they play. How they sleep. How they connect. It can show up in sudden outbursts, frozen stares, hyper-control, panic, or shutdown. It can look like defiance—but it’s usually protection.

At All of You Therapy, we specialize in working with children whose nervous systems have learned to live in survival mode. Some have experienced acute traumas. Others have spent years in environments where connection wasn’t safe or consistent.

We don’t treat this as a behavior issue. But that doesn’t mean we deny or avoid acknowledging how big and baffling their behaviors can really be.
We see it for what it is: a child doing exactly what their system learned to do in order to cope.

This isn’t just a nice idea—it’s how the brain actually works.

When a child is dysregulated—screaming, shutting down, lashing out—they’re not in a state where logic or language can reach them. Their nervous system is focused on survival, not conversation.

That’s why we don’t typically start with completing a “trauma narrative” or even with teaching coping skills. These may be a part of therapy, but in alignment with a neurosequential model of therapy, we start with helping your child feel physically and emotionally safe. That might mean sensory play, rhythm, structure, or quiet, predictable connection. We attune to what their body needs first.

Only once your child feels more regulated can they begin to engage in relationship. And only then can they begin to reflect, process, and try new ways of being.

This approach comes from the work of Dr. Bruce Perry—and it’s foundational to everything we do.

Regulate. Relate. Then Reason.

In That Order.

What “Bottom-Up” Actually Means, and Why It Matters

When children experience trauma, the brain doesn’t file it away as a story.
It lives in the body, the brainstem, the limbic system—in the parts of the brain responsible for detecting danger and keeping them alive.

That’s why we work “bottom-up.” It means we start with the body, not the intellect. We support the parts of the nervous system that hold the fear, the freeze, the urge to run or lash out.

This might look like:

  • Rhythmic or sensory play

  • Predictable structure

  • Symbolic repetition in sand tray or art

  • Shared regulation through movement or interaction

  • A steady adult who isn’t shaken by big feelings

Only when the nervous system begins to settle can the child start to try on different ways of being—without bracing for what might happen next.

This Isn’t Protocol-Driven Therapy.

It’s Individualized, Responsive, and Rooted in Relationship.

We don’t plug children into pre-set treatment plans.
We start with a deep assessment of what your child actually needs, developmentally and relationally.

We ask:

  • What does their behavior protect them from?

  • What overwhelms their system?

  • Where do they need more structure—or more freedom?

  • Are they ready to engage, or do they need space first?

  • What is their body communicating that their words cannot?

From there, we choose the most fitting therapeutic approach. Not the one-size-fits-all method. The one that meets your child, just as they are.

Modalities We Draw From

  • Theraplay is a play-based, attachment-centered model that helps rebuild safety and trust between a child and their caregiver. It's not about playing at a child—it’s about using specific types of interactions to support emotional development and nervous system regulation.

    We focus on four key domains:

    • Structure – Predictable, adult-guided activities that help the child feel safe enough to let go of control. Structure helps children who feel anxious when they don't know what's coming next.

    • Nurture – Gentle, soothing interactions that let the child experience being cared for in ways that may have been missed or disrupted. These moments help repair the sense that comfort is safe.

    • Engagement – Activities that bring shared joy and emotional connection—eye contact, mirroring, reciprocal games. These are vital for children who struggle to read or trust social cues.

    • Challenge – Supported opportunities to try something a little hard—and succeed. These experiences rebuild confidence and resilience, especially for children who feel stuck in shame or failure.

    Theraplay work can look simple on the outside, but it’s deeply structured and relationally powerful. It’s especially helpful for children with early attachment disruptions, medical trauma, adoption histories, or relational losses.

  • Trauma processing that respects developmental readiness—often involving movement, storytelling, art, or metaphor to help shift stored distress.

  • IFS stands for “Internal Family Systems,” a well known type of therapy used for healing from trauma. Children often express different "parts" of themselves through play—the scared part, the angry part, the bossy part, the helper. These parts can show up in stories, characters, or even shifting moods that don’t seem to make sense at first.

    Instead of labeling these parts as “bad” or trying to control them, we help your child get to know them with curiosity. We support them in understanding that all parts have a reason for being there—even the ones that cause trouble.

    Over time, children begin to feel more in charge on the inside. They can recognize when a part is taking over and learn how to respond differently, with less fear and more choice.

  • A developmentally appropriate, phase-based model that helps children process trauma narratives, reconnect with their bodies, and build capacity through symbolic play and structured activities.

  • For children who need space to lead, CCPT offers non-directive sessions where the therapist attunes to themes, pacing, and expression without imposing structure too early.

    Each of these modalities supports healing in a way that’s paced to the child—not to a checklist.

We Don’t Just Work With the Child. We Strengthen the Relationships That Hold Them.

Trauma doesn’t just impact what happened to your child—it changes how they experience relationships. It makes it harder to trust closeness, harder to let others lead, harder to feel safe with someone who’s trying to help.

That’s why we don’t just work with your child in isolation. We bring the relationship into the therapy process—especially the one between you and your child.

You’re not the problem. You’re part of the healing. And we’ll support you in showing up in ways that help your child feel safer with you.

We’ll help you:

  • Know what to do when your child pushes you away after you set a limit

  • Understand why praise or affection might make your child uncomfortable—and what to do instead

  • Learn how to repair after a meltdown or a fight, without guilt or power struggles

  • Recognize when your own nervous system is getting overwhelmed, and how to reset

  • Feel less alone, less confused, and more confident in what your child actually needs from you

We’re not here to tell you to stay calm no matter what. We’re here to help you understand what’s happening, respond in a way that builds trust, and recover when things go off track—which they will, and that’s okay.

What Trauma Therapy with Children Actually Looks Like

It might look like:

  • A child crashing toy cars into each other again and again—not randomly, but to make sense of something that felt out of control

  • A sand tray where everything is buried or blocked off—and then slowly, over time, starts to open

  • A child who used to scream at every transition now pausing, checking in, and reaching for support (even if it’s clumsy)

  • A parent learning to notice the moment before the meltdown—and respond in a way that calms instead of escalates

  • A kid laughing during a shared game for the first time in months—because the weight they’ve been carrying finally got a little lighter

You might not see instant results. But you will start to notice subtle shifts:

  • Your child starts sleeping more soundly

  • They let you hug them without stiffening

  • They can handle a "no" without falling apart every time

  • They recover from a hard moment faster

  • You feel less afraid, less alone, and more confident in how to show up

This work doesn’t promise quick fixes (you already know that, even know you wish it would). But it does lead to deep, real change—in your child, in your relationship, and in how your family moves through the hard stuff together.