Derek Bassey

Maybe your little one is wrestling with big feelings they don't have words for yet. Maybe you're an adult quietly white-knuckling your way through anxiety, stress, or something heavier you've carried for a while. Either way, you're in a good spot. I'm a counselor and registered play therapist who works with kids as young as three, along with teens and adults. Showing up for counseling takes real courage, and I don't take that lightly. I feel genuinely privileged to walk alongside people on their way to feeling whole again, and most of my clients say it feels less like "going to therapy" and more like talking with someone who actually gets it.

With young kids, I lean on play therapy and parent-child interaction therapy, because play is how children make sense of their world, and because parents are part of the work, not bystanders to it. With teens and adults, I use EMDR to reach the things talking alone can't, paired with a warm, down-to-earth style. Nobody gets a one-size-fits-all plan. What inspires me most is the effort my clients bring week after week, and my job is to make that effort count

First sessions can feel a little awkward, and that's completely normal. Nobody walks in knowing exactly what to say. With younger kids, we often ease in through play while we get to know each other. With adults, we'll talk through what's going on and what you're hoping for, with no pressure to lay it all out on day one. And if we trade movie recommendations along the way, I won't complain. We go at your pace.