FRAN SIMMONS, MA, LMFTA

I have been counseling individuals and families at FCA since 2007. My master’s degree is from Indiana Wesleyan. Prior to completing my graduate work, I worked with families, adolescents, and children in a residential and foster care setting. I have been working with individuals, couples, adolescents, children and families for more than ten years, helping families to find solutions to their problems and increase communication and connection with one another. In addition to “talk based” individual and family therapy, I offer play therapy for both children and adolescents. The main modality of play therapy I use is based on Theraplay. Theraplay is a short term, attachment based therapy. It involves both children and caregivers and is derived from natural and playful parent-child interactions. Through play and other fun and engaging activities, caregivers are empowered to develop the structured and nurturing relationships necessary to help the children in their care and move towards stability and maturity. It can be used to address a variety of problems children and families face including, but not limited to: depression and withdrawal, fear and social anxiety, separation anxiety, acting out, non-compliance, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, attachment problems, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Complex Relational Trauma, Developmental Trauma, regulatory problems/ADHD, Austism Spectrum Disorders, and developmental delays.