The Center for Connection is the first facility of its kind in Southern Nevada—a cooperative of independent private practice mental health therapists who share a belief in the importance of attachment, relationship, and connection throughout the lifespan.
With specialties ranging from Play Therapy and expressive therapies to trauma-informed care, attachment-focused therapy, individual therapy, and family work, the therapists at The Center for Connection understand that healing rarely happens in isolation. Children, teens, parents, adults, couples, and families are all part of relationships and systems that shape how we experience ourselves and one another. This is why our guiding philosophy is simple: Therapy for the Whole Family.
For children, therapy may look different than traditional talk therapy. Play is the natural language of children, giving them a developmentally appropriate way to communicate experiences and emotions that may be difficult to put into words. Depending upon the therapist, sessions may incorporate play therapy, sand tray, expressive arts, movement, games, or other creative approaches that allow children to explore their experiences, strengthen emotional regulation, build confidence, and experience connection within a safe therapeutic relationship.
Teens need a place of their own as they navigate identity, relationships, school, family expectations, independence, and the complicated work of growing up. Our therapists strive to create spaces where adolescents can feel respected and understood while developing greater awareness of themselves, their emotions, their relationships, and the choices available to them.
We also recognize that when a child or teen is struggling, the entire family can be affected. Therapy may include parent support, family sessions, caregiver consultation, or individual work with adults, helping families better understand one another, strengthen relationships, and create healthier patterns of connection.
At The Center for Connection, each therapist has created a space where children can play, teens can be understood, adults can be heard, and families can find greater connection.
The Center for Connection is a cooperative office of independently owned and operated private practices. Each therapist is an independent mental health practitioner and is not an employee, agent, or representative of The Center for Connection or of the other therapists practicing within the center. Services, fees, insurance participation, scheduling, clinical policies, and treatment decisions are determined independently by each therapist.
“Play Therapy is defined by APT as “the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained Play Therapists to use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development.”
Play Therapy is an evidence-based, developmentally responsive mental health modality that requires specialized education, training, clinical skill, and supervision. While many therapists work with children or incorporate toys, games, and creative activities into sessions, this alone does not constitute Play Therapy.
Play Therapy should be provided by graduate-level mental health professionals with appropriate clinical education and licensure, and who have completed additional specialized training and supervision in Play Therapy.
The therapist’s training matters. Understanding child development, therapeutic play, attachment, trauma, nervous system responses, family systems, and the meaning communicated through a child’s play allows the therapist to respond intentionally rather than simply observe or participate in play.
The environment matters, too. A thoughtfully designed Play Therapy room looks very different from a typical therapist’s office. The toys and materials are intentionally selected and arranged to provide children with opportunities for expression, exploration, mastery, creativity, emotional regulation, and relationship.
For children, play is communication. Within the safety of the therapeutic relationship, children can use play to tell their stories, express experiences they may not yet have words for, explore difficult feelings, practice new ways of responding, and begin to make sense of their world—with a trained therapist present to witness, understand, and therapeutically respond.
At The Center for Connection, we believe children deserve more than a room filled with toys. They deserve therapists who understand how and why Play Therapy works—and who have invested in the specialized training necessary to use it responsibly and effectively.
The need for professionals who support the mental health and emotional well-being of Nevada’s children and teens remains significant. Nevada has consistently ranked among the lowest states in the nation for youth mental health, while also experiencing a substantial shortage of school-based mental health professionals.
Data reported by the Lincy Institute and Brookings Mountain West highlights the depth of this need. In 2022, Nevada had approximately one school psychologist for every 1,866 students, compared with the recommended ratio of 1:500, and just one school social worker for every 8,730 students, compared with the recommended ratio of 1:250.
The Center for Connection was created, in part, as a response to this need.
Through our cooperative of independent mental health professionals, we provide children, teens, parents, and families with access to therapists who understand the importance of development, attachment, relationships, trauma-informed care, and connection. For our youngest clients, this includes access to therapists trained in Play Therapy and other developmentally responsive approaches, recognizing that children often communicate their experiences through play long before they have the words to explain them.
We cannot fill Nevada’s mental health workforce gap alone, but we can create a place where children and families have access to thoughtful, specialized care—and where children can play, teens can be understood, adults can be heard, and families can find connection.
Therapy for the Whole Family.
We are here for you. Please visit our Therapists page and connect with one of our wonderful partners.