Meet Our New Play-Based Therapist in St. Louis: A Warm, Creative Space for Kids & Teens
When your child is struggling, finding the right therapist can feel a little like searching for the perfect puzzle piece. You want someone who truly understands not only kids but your kid. Someone who sees the behavior and understands there are bigger feelings underneath it. You want a therapist your child can actually connect with.
Bud to Bloom’s new play-based therapist, Rachel, might be just the therapist you’re looking for.
Her approach is warm, playful, creative, and deeply rooted in connection. Whether your child is navigating anxiety, trauma, emotional regulation challenges, or simply having a hard time being a kid in a big world, she’s ready to walk alongside your family with care and curiosity.
If you’re new to our practice, you can learn more about our play therapy services and how we support children and families across St. Louis.
Why Did She Choose Children’s Mental Health?
Rachel was first drawn to working with kids in her early life. As a child, she experienced anxiety herself and remembers what it felt like to have big emotions without the words or tools to explain them. Her care for children now comes from a place of empathy, understanding, and lived experience.
She began babysitting in middle school and quickly noticed something familiar in the children she cared for. Many of them were carrying big feelings, too. Over the years, working with children in schools, caregiving roles, and preschool settings, she’s deepened her passion for helping kids feel understood, supported, and safer.
That heart for children and families fits beautifully with who we are at Bud to Bloom. We specialize exclusively in kids,teens, and families because children deserve therapists who truly understand their world.
Meet the rest of our team here!
What Makes Play Therapy So Powerful for Kids?
For children, play isn’t meaningless fun. It’s communication. It is processing, problem solving, and expression. Sometimes, play is even healing wrapped inside a pretend tea party or dinosaur battle.
Our new therapist has seen the power of play throughout every stage of her work with children. While working in preschool settings, she watched kids build social skills, confidence, and emotional regulation through play-based interactions.
She describes play therapy as:
“A curious, nurturing modality that allows kids to communicate and behave in the ways that come most naturally to them.”
In the playroom, children are given space to explore safely and make decisions freely. Instead of adults constantly directing the experience, the child leads the play while the therapist follows with curiosity, connection, and care.
That freedom matters. Read more about how child-centered play therapy helps children here.
Kids are often processing experiences through movement, imagination, storytelling, creativity, and sensory exploration long before they can fully explain things with words.
Research from theAssociation for Play Therapyalso highlights how play therapy can support emotional regulation, social skills, trauma recovery, and attachment development in children.
How does her Approach Help Children Feel Safe?
Every therapist brings their own personality into the playroom, and Rachel’s is filled with silliness, creativity, warmth, and genuine curiosity.
She believes children are the experts of their lives. That belief shapes everything she does in session!
Rather than focusing on stopping behaviors, she works to understand what those behaviors might be communicating.
Sometimes a meltdown is about overwhelm. Sometimes avoidance is anxiety. Sometimes a child simply needs a space where they don’t feel pressure to “get it right.”
Rachel’s goal is to help children feel emotionally safe enough to explore, express, and grow.
Families often come to therapy carrying guilt or exhaustion. Parents wonder if they’re doing enough. Kids worry if they’re “bad” or “too much.”
At Bud to Bloom Play Therapy in St. Louis, we don’t believe children (or their families) are problems to fix. We believe kids and caregivers deserve support, understanding, and practical tools that actually fit their lives.
If your child struggles with emotional regulation, transitions, anxiety, trauma, or social challenges, our child therapy services may help.
What is She Most Excited to Support Families Through?
Rachel is especially excited to support children and caregivers navigating:
Anxiety and big emotions
Difficulty with transitions
Emotional regulation struggles
She also understands that therapy is not only supporting the child. Caregivers need support, too.
When your child is struggling, parenting can feel overwhelming, confusing, and even lonely. Many parents arrive in therapy feeling overwhelmed, unsure what to try next, and worried they are failing their child.
You’re not expected to figure it all out alone.
One thing that makes Bud to Bloom different is that we stay connected with families through the hard moments, not just the easy ones. We collaborate closely with caregivers, schools, and communities across St. Louis because healing rarely happens in isolation.
For more support and education, you may also enjoy these related blogs:
Who is Rachel Outside the Playroom?
Outside of therapy, creativity still plays a huge role in Rachel’s life.
She loves drawing, painting, collaging, making jewelry, and divining into all kinds of arts and crafts projects. She also recently adopted a cat, Jasmine, after moving to St. Louis just a few years back.
When she’s not creating or spending time with Jasmine, you can often find her exploring coffee shops, connecting with friends, or playing games around the city. One of her favorite local spots is Pieces Board Game Bar & Restaurant (which is overall a staff favorite!)
Looking for a Play Therapist in St. Louis?
Finding the right therapist matters deeply in therapy, especially for kids!
If you’re looking for a compassionate, playful therapist who understands kids and values collaboration with families we would love to help you connect with Rachel.
You can read more about Rachel West, our new play therapist here. If you’re ready to get started with Bud to Bloom’s play therapy services or want to learn more before getting scheduled, use this link to schedule a free consultation call with our team.
Rachel has immediate openings, and we’re excited for St. Louis families to meet her.
Other Services We Offer
At Bud to Bloom, we support children, teens, and families through a variety of specialized services including:
