For Immediate Release
September 15th, 2008

Contact: Michael Ruhs
Director, PHS Marketing & Sales
Office: 651-789-3259
Email: maruhs@pediatrichomeservice.com

(St. Paul, Minn.) —Living with a chronic or acute illness can be overwhelming for children as they deal with hospitalizations, surgeries, medication regimes, and just as devastating — seeing their friends and siblings doing things they may not be able to do.
Play therapy is a way for them to learn healthy, constructive coping mechanisms. And while play therapy is usually offered in a clinic or office setting, Pediatric Home Service provides the service to their patients in the patient’s home, where the child is more comfortable, and where complications that often arise when trying to transport a medically fragile child to an appointment are eliminated.

A structured, theoretically based approach to therapy that builds the normal communicative and learning processes of children (www.4pt.org), play therapy provides a way for children to express themselves through a natural, self-guided, self-healing process. It is different from regular play because the therapist is guiding a process that allows the child address and resolve problems —helping the child to communicate with others, modify behavior and develop problem solving skills — in a safe setting and with a healthy distance from painful experiences.

PHS offers the service to its patients who may be struggling to cope with their medical conditions for a variety of reasons: adjustment to limitations, resolution of medical trauma, management of anxiety, appropriate empowerment, or preparation for a specific medical procedure.

“Playing out feelings and experiences is a natural process that can provide a window to the child’s overwhelming experience,” said PHS medical social worker and play therapist, Anna Zimmerman, MSW, LICSW. “As the situation is played out the way the child chooses to symbolize it — sometimes repeatedly over several sessions — the child is able to reframe the experience and gain a renewed sense of empowerment.”

When a referral is made, either directly through the family, a physician, or another PHS clinician, the play therapist will conduct a health-focused assessment with the parent and child. If play therapy is deemed appropriate, the therapist will create a set of goals and expected outcomes. There is no predetermined length or number of sessions. Therapy continues until the goals have been met and/or the symptoms have been reduced.

Pediatric Home Service, based in St. Paul Minn., is an independent pediatric home health care company committed to taking care of the child by providing specialized health care services to technology-supported children in their home. In business since 1990, PHS has partnered with healthcare professionals and family caregivers to deliver care to children with special medical needs. For more information about PHS, visit www.pediatrichomeservice.com or call 651-789-3259.

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