Sliding scale $175 – $120 per 1 hour session. Debriefs are charged at your chosen hourly rate by the minute, and are paid for at the following session. See below for the structure of the work.
Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express are accepted.
Call me for a free initial telephone conversation.
PLEASE NOTE: A 24-hour notice is required to cancel or change an appointment, otherwise the full fee is charged.
This special play environment is designed to support children and families to come into alignment, resolve early events and traumas, increase secure attachment, and integrate experiences from pre-conception through infancy. The pre and perinatal period provides us with our foundations for life, and can be eventful.
Children need to tell their story in their own way, and be heard, and they can do this during supportive play, with deep listening. During play we can create new internal resources for your child as past challenging experiences are explored. We empathically attune as they tell us about what happened, and how it felt. Early trauma can be healed; children don’t have to hold unresolved hurts inside.
Some common ways that children show us they need help are through: tactile sensitivity, sleep issues, separation anxiety, struggling with transitions, insecure attachment, power struggles, anger/rage, grief and sadness, insecurity, not listening to authority and boundaries, inconsolable crying or long periods of crying, and an inability to settle down and rest. Children may seem overemotional, hyper-vigilant, ungrounded, disconnected, or have become alpha kids (they are in charge).
Children appreciate having the time to process pent up stuck issues that are held in their body-system, and to tell their story in their own way, through play.
At a young age my son experienced bouts of deep sadness, withdrawal, and intense rage. In the first session with Karen Melton - to our astonishment - our son reenacted his entire birth without words, right there in front of our eyes. It was as if he knew just what he needed to do. This is because of Karen's presence, and approach. She always provided a space in which my son felt held, safe, and seen, which was a rare experience for him. Karen worked closely with our whole family to improve dynamics and create healthy attachments; she was a great support for me as a mother, and to my son in helping him feel safe enough to reach out and form deeper connections with others.
Alissa Coenen, Teacher, Sonoma County
My son, now 5 years old, was born at 25 weeks and was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for 3½ months where I met him as a NICU nurse. I cared for him, bonded with him, came to love him, and eventually adopted him. In the safe play environment provided by Karen he was able to process a lot of the trauma he had experienced in the hospital, and in the womb. I learned new parenting skills as Karen supported my parenting and strengthened our attachment. I am forever grateful!! Thank you Karen!
NICU RN, Sacramento, CA
Early support for your child means that they won’t have to grow up around unresolved, and unheard, pain and trauma.
Karen was an invaluable resource for my daughter and I after I had an emergency c-section. Her skill and compassion created a safe space for my four-year-old daughter to work through her birth experience. I gained clarity about how it affected our attachment, and my parenting, and learned how to be more available for my daughter during difficulty. Karen's work is subtle and powerful. She creates an environment in which children can engage in exploration of their birth experience with play and movement. My daughter naturally revisited and recreated her birth experience, without any explicit prompting her play unfolded organically, and bought me to tears more than once. I’m immensely grateful for the time we spent with Karen, it was a gift. I highly recommend her to anyone interested in understanding, and changing, deeper patterns that interfere with connection and positive attachment.
Sasha Benedetti, Elementary School Teacher, Sonoma County