Play & Children's Therapy in
Orange County & Riverside, CA
Children and teenagers experience real struggles — anxiety, trauma, behavioral challenges, school difficulties, family change. But they don't always have the words to express what they're going through. Heidi Francine is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who works with children, teens, and their families across Orange County and Riverside County using developmentally appropriate, trauma-informed approaches that meet young people where they are.
Children Need Support Too — And They Deserve It
Children and teenagers are not mini-adults. They experience stress, anxiety, grief, trauma, and emotional overwhelm just as acutely as adults — often more so, because they have fewer tools, less life experience, and less control over their circumstances. And they frequently lack the language to tell us what's wrong.
Children's therapy meets young people where they are — using developmentally appropriate approaches that allow them to express and process their inner world in ways that feel natural and safe. For younger children, this often means working through play, creativity, and expressive activities. For older children and teenagers, it looks more like conversation, skill-building, and structured therapeutic work.
Heidi works with children and teens on a wide range of concerns — and she works with their parents too, because healing a child often means supporting the whole family system that surrounds them.
Book a ConsultationEarly Support Makes a Lasting Difference
Research consistently shows that early therapeutic intervention for children and teens leads to better long-term outcomes. Children who receive support during formative years are more likely to develop healthy emotional regulation, secure attachment patterns, and resilient coping skills that serve them throughout their lives. Getting your child help now is one of the most important investments you can make in their future.
Parents Are Part of the Process
Heidi involves parents in a meaningful way throughout children's therapy. This includes regular check-ins to share progress and insights, parent coaching to help you support your child at home, and guidance on how to respond to your child's emotional and behavioral needs in ways that promote healing and secure attachment.
Therapy for Every Stage of Childhood
Heidi works with children and teens of all ages, adapting her approach to be developmentally appropriate for each stage.
Young Children
For younger children, therapy uses play-based, expressive, and creative approaches — allowing them to communicate and process emotions through the language they know best. Parents are closely involved in supporting progress at home.
School-Age Children
School-age children benefit from a blend of structured activities, skill-building, and conversation. Heidi helps children develop emotional vocabulary, coping strategies, and the tools to navigate friendships, school, and family challenges.
Teenagers & Adolescents
Teen therapy is more conversational and insight-focused. Heidi builds a trusting, confidential relationship with adolescents — giving them a space to be honest about what they're experiencing, develop self-awareness, and build the skills to manage the unique pressures of adolescence.
Signs Your Child or Teen May Benefit from Therapy
You don't need to wait for a crisis. If something feels off — if your child seems to be struggling in ways that aren't resolving on their own — reaching out is always the right call.
Anxiety, excessive worry, panic attacks, or persistent fears
Persistent sadness, withdrawal, or loss of interest in things they used to enjoy
Behavioral outbursts, aggression, or difficulty managing anger
School refusal, academic struggles, or social difficulties at school
Impact of divorce, separation, or major family change
Sleep problems — nightmares, difficulty falling asleep, or bedwetting
Trauma — witnessing or experiencing frightening events, abuse, or neglect
Social difficulties — trouble making or keeping friends, bullying, isolation
Physical complaints — stomachaches, headaches with no medical cause
Regression — returning to younger behaviors like thumb-sucking or clinginess
Teen-specific struggles — identity, self-esteem, social media pressure, relationships
Self-harm, talk of hopelessness, or any indication of suicidal thoughts
Trauma-Informed, Child-Centered Therapy
All of Heidi's work with children and teens is trauma-informed and developmentally sensitive — designed to create genuine safety, build trust, and help young people develop the skills and resilience they need to thrive.
🌿 Trauma-Informed Care
Children who have experienced trauma — abuse, neglect, witnessing violence, loss, or medical trauma — need a therapist who understands how trauma affects the developing nervous system. Heidi's trauma-informed approach ensures every session is safe, paced appropriately, and never re-traumatizing. She has extensive experience working with childhood trauma and its long-term effects.
🧠 EMDR for Children & Teens
EMDR therapy can be adapted for children and teenagers and is highly effective for childhood trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and phobias in young people. Heidi uses age-appropriate EMDR protocols that feel engaging and manageable for younger clients, helping them process difficult experiences without extensive verbal retelling.
👨👩👧 Family Systems Perspective
As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Heidi understands that a child's struggles rarely exist in isolation — they are part of a family system. Working with the whole family system, not just the identified child, often leads to faster and more lasting change. Heidi involves parents in an ongoing, collaborative way throughout treatment.
🛡️ Building Resilience & Coping Skills
Beyond addressing immediate struggles, Heidi helps children and teens build the emotional skills they need for life — how to identify and express their feelings, how to self-regulate when overwhelmed, how to navigate relationships, and how to bounce back from difficulty. These are foundational skills that serve them well into adulthood.
Meet Heidi Francine, LMFT
Heidi Francine is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with experience working with children, adolescents, and families across Orange County and Riverside County. Her warm, patient, and child-centered approach creates the safety young people need to open up and begin healing.
EMDR trained and trauma-informed, Heidi understands how childhood experiences shape developing nervous systems — and how early, skilled intervention can change the trajectory of a young person's life. She works collaboratively with parents throughout the process, keeping families informed and empowered to support their child's growth.
As one parent shared: "My granddaughter and I have been going to Heidi since September 2025. To be able to relate to both myself and a 14 year old is a great skill."
Families Transformed
My granddaughter and I have been going to Heidi since September 2025. I've had many therapists in my life and I can honestly say she is one of the best. To be able to relate to both myself and a 14 year old is a great skill.
I've been seeing Heidi for over a year now. I've seen such an improvement in my daily life and my relationships with my family. She's truly gifted at what she does.
Heidi has been nothing short of a guiding light in my life. Her personalized techniques have helped me process emotions and rebuild my life in a way I never thought possible.
Children's Therapy — Frequently Asked Questions
Heidi works with children of all ages — from young children through teenagers. Therapy approaches are adapted to be developmentally appropriate for each age group. Younger children may engage more through play-based and expressive activities, while older children and teens tend to engage more through conversation and structured therapeutic techniques.
Yes — parental involvement is an important part of children's therapy. Heidi works with parents to understand what's happening at home, share insights from sessions (in age-appropriate ways), and give parents tools to support their child between sessions. The level of parental involvement is tailored to the child's age, needs, and what is therapeutically appropriate.
Signs that your child may benefit from therapy include persistent changes in mood or behavior, school struggles, withdrawal from friends or activities, recurring physical complaints like stomachaches or headaches with no medical cause, difficulty managing emotions, significant anxiety or fears, behavioral outbursts, or any indication that they are struggling with something they can't express or work through on their own.
Yes — school anxiety, test anxiety, social difficulties, and school refusal are very common reasons children and teens come to therapy. Heidi helps children develop coping strategies, build confidence, and address the underlying anxiety or social fears that are making school feel overwhelming.
Therapy for teenagers looks much more like adult therapy — conversational, reflective, and focused on building insight and coping skills. Confidentiality is especially important with teens, and Heidi works to build a trusting therapeutic relationship where adolescents feel safe to share what they're experiencing. Parent involvement is balanced with the teen's need for privacy and autonomy.
$180 per session. A sliding scale is available based on income and consistent attendance. Super Bills are accepted for PPO Insurance holders for potential out-of-network reimbursement.
Children's Therapy — Four Ways to Connect
In-person children's and adolescent therapy in Riverside, Huntington Beach, and Costa Mesa — plus secure Zoom sessions throughout California.
Huntington Beach Office
16052 Beach Blvd Suite 214Huntington Beach, CA 92647
Costa Mesa Office
2900 Bristol St Suite G-101Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Online & Zoom Sessions
Available statewideCalifornia residents only