As a Certified Play Therapist, I provide an environment of care and acceptance for children ​where transformation and healing can begin. 

I support children struggling with:
​
Anxiety
Grief and Loss
Anger Issues
Trauma
​Sexual Abuse
Coping with Parental Divorce/Separation
Autism
Aggression
ADHD
​Immigration/Refugees

Play Therapy is growing in Nova Scotia!

In partnership with MaritimePlay Therapy Centre, I am able to offer referrals to therapists in Bedford and Dartmouth. All therapists are receving specialized Play Therapy training approved by the Canadian Association for Play Therapy. 

​Contact me to learn more. 

What is Play Therapy?

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Play is children's natural language. 

Play Therapy is an approach to mental health counselling that uses play as the method of communication and relationship between the child and the therapist. Play Therapy is not the same as Play-Based Learning, which is an educational method used in schools. Play Therapy is different from the kind of play that children naturally engage in. 

"Research supports the effectiveness of play therapy with children experiencing a wide variety of social, emotional, behavioral, and learning problems, including: children whose problems are related to life stressors, such as divorce, death, relocation, hospitalization, chronic illness, assimilate stressful experiences, physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, and natural disasters (Bratton, Ray, Rhine, & Jones, 2005; LeBlanc & Ritchie, 2001; Lin & Bratton, 2015; Ray, Armstrong, Balkin, & Jayne, 2015; Reddy, Files-Hall, & Schaefer, 2005)."

​Play therapy helps children:
  • Become more responsible for behaviors and develop more successful strategies.
  • Develop new and creative solutions to problems.
  • Develop respect and acceptance of self and others.
  • Learn to experience and express emotion.
  • Cultivate empathy and respect for thoughts and feelings of others.
  • Learn new social skills and relational skills with family.
  • Develop self-efficacy and thus a better assuredness about their abilities.
Meta-analytic reviews of over 100 play therapy outcome studies (Bratton, Ray, Rhine, & Jones, 2005; LeBlanc & Ritchie, 2001; Lin & Bratton, 2015; Ray, Armstrong, Balkin, & Jayne, 2015). have found that the over-all treatment effect of play therapy ranges from moderate to high positive effects. Play Therapy has proven equally effective across age, gender, and presenting problem. Additionally, positive treatment effects were found to be greatest when there was a parent actively involved in the child's treatment."
From APA Website:
https://www.a4pt.org/page/PTMakesADifference/Play-Therapy-Makes-a-Difference.htm

Who I Am

Cynthia Manley
MA, RCT, CCC, CPT
Hi! My name is Cynthia Manley. I am a Certified Play Therapist with the Canadian Association for Play Therapy and a Certified Synergetic Play Therapist. I am a Certified Counsellor with the Canadian Counselling and Psychological Association and a Registered Counselling Therapist with the Nova Scotia College of Counselling Therapists. Before I became a therapist, I was a Special Education teacher for 20 years.

My work is regulated by the Canadian Counselling and Psychological Association's Code of Ethics. Click here to learn more:  https://www.ccpa-accp.ca/2020-code-of-ethics/

I love working with children and their caregivers, and I believe strongly that each child has their own unique story. Children are brilliant at finding their own path to healing when they have an environment that includes warmth, acceptance, and safety. To meet the individual needs of each child, I integrate different approaches to counselling into the playroom. 

I have foundational training in Theraplay and EMDR.
I completed the EMDR Child Specialist Training through the Agate Institute.
I am certified in Autplay. 

I worked as a Special Education teacher for 20 years in the US states of California and Oregon and in British Columbia. I hold a teaching license in Nova Scotia. 
 
I believe that caregivers are crucial in helping me create the right conditions for children's healing. Caregivers are full of wisdom and expertise when it comes to their children, and I work with them to create a treatment plan that meets the needs of everyone in the life of a child. 

I am a parent of a son who is 22 years old and two step children who are 18 and 21 years old. I love to travel and I love to explore places here in the HRM. I enjoy reading, cooking and yoga.

​I acknowledge that my office is located in Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kmaq People. This territory is covered by the "Treaties of Peace and Friendship" which Mi'kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) people first signed with the British Crown in 1725.

“We are like islands in the sea; separate on the surface but connected on the deep.”
                                                                           -William James

 
 


Services

I am a registered provider with Blue Cross.
I am an approved provider  for the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services. 
​I am an approved provider for NIHB and IFHP

Intake

​Ages 3-99
90 Minutes
$225  (Plus HST)
​Fees are on a sliding scale.

Caregiver Consultation


50 Minutes
$155  ​(Plus HST)
​Fees are on a sliding scale.

Clinical Supervision 
Canadian Association for Play Therapy
​Approved Supervisor Yorkville University
Online/In-person
$155.00 ​(Plus HST)

Play Therapy

​Ages 3-99
50 minutes
$155  (Plus HST)
Fees are on a sliding scale.

Contact Me

I look forward to hearing from you.
My office is located at
1600 Bedford Highway Suite 416
Bedford, Nova Scotia
​
Cynthia Manley, MA, RCT, CCC,CPT
(902) 759-5761
cmanley@shiftingtidesplaytherapy.com
​NIHB Provider # MH0314583