Holly McDonald

When Your Child Is Struggling

Sometimes a child is going through something hard, and it is not clear where to begin. I work with children and their grown-ups to navigate those difficult times.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist. I have worked with children and their caregivers since 2010.

Areas of Focus

I work with children who have experienced trauma, grief and loss, abuse or neglect, and addiction in the family. I also work with parents to help them learn specialized strategies for parenting their children.

Through lived experience, I am also equipped to help parents of medically fragile children navigate life as a family.

Experience

Previously, I worked as a pediatric psychotherapist and served families experiencing terminal diagnosis, death, and grief. I managed children’s clinical services for a large nonprofit addiction recovery agency and trained with the Betty Ford Center to implement its children’s program in Houston. I also trained in a preschool for unhoused children and at an agency providing play therapy to children who experienced sexual abuse.

Training

• Child Centered Play Therapy
• Sand Tray Therapy
• Family Systems
• Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics
• Betty Ford Children’s Program

My Perspective

I became a child therapist before becoming a parent. More than 12 years of parenting, along with 25 years as an aunt to 16 nieces and nephews, continue to inform my work.