Child Life Therapy Program
At OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, our Child Life Program team can help you and your child feel more comfortable in the hospital. We aim to ease your family’s stress by giving you the support, tools and information you need to help your child heal — and even have a little fun while you’re here.
We offer:
- Certified child life specialists in every area of the hospital.
- Art, music, playrooms, toys, costumes and games.
- Therapeutic, medical and developmental play.
- Animal-assisted therapy with Casey and Davis, our facility dogs.
What is child life therapy?
Child life therapy helps you and your child cope with being in the hospital through play, education and creative activities. Our child life specialists are members of your child’s care team. They focus on the emotional, social and developmental needs of all the children in your family.
Helping your child and family
Our specialists will work with your family to find strategies that fit your child’s age and development.
Activities: Our Child Life team understands that sick and injured children still need to have fun and play in the hospital. We provide a range of activities to encourage kids to be kids. This includes special visitors, weekly video bingo games, a costume closet, music and animal-assisted therapy.
Lowering anxiety: If your child is anxious about a medical procedure or surgery, we can model ways to cope, such as deep breathing and storytelling. We can help you explain what’s happening and answer questions in a simple, honest way that your child can understand. Play is a big part of our approach because it allows children to express their feelings in a comfortable way.
Our services
Developmentally supported play: We support your child’s healthy development and growth with play in your room or in one of our four well-equipped playrooms.
Medical play: Your child can learn what to expect during a test or procedure by:
- Playing with real medical equipment.
- Pretending to treat dolls and stuffed animals.
- Doing art projects with supplies such as bandages, gauze and tape.
Therapeutic play: Timid or anxious children may benefit from creative activities such as journals, scrapbooks, music, photography and art. This gives them an outlet for fears they can’t say out loud.
Facility dogs: Our two facility dogs, Casey and Davis, and our animal-assisted therapy teams visit children and families by request to help them feel happier and more relaxed. Casey, a Labrador-golden retriever mix, and Davis, a golden retriever, are specially trained to snuggle with patients and offer other comfort.
How to prepare and support your child
Our providers
Our child life specialists hold bachelor’s or master’s degrees in child development or related fields. They are also certified by the Association of Child Life Professionals.
Program manager: Rebekah Coles, B.S., CCLS
Child Life specialists:
- Peggy Adams, M.Ed., CCLS
- Jessica Calvert, M.A., CCLS
- Jan Crider, registered art therapist, B.S., ATR, CCLS
- Analise Gammariello, M.S., CCLS
- Sara Garcia, M.A., CCLS
- Julie Haynes, M.S., CCLS
- Kim Kuenhert, M.A., CCLS
- Allison Laurenza, B.S., CCLS
- Kyli Mosher, M.S., CCLS
- Hannah Ono, M.A., CCLS
- Susan Sherwood, M.A., CCLS
- Stephanie Shih, B.S., CCLS
Support the Child Life Program
Help the Child Life Program bring hope to Doernbecher kids.
For families
Call 503-418-5388 for more information.
Refer a patient
- Refer your patient to OHSU Doernbecher.
- Call 503-346-0644 to seek provider-to-provider advice.
Stay informed
News: Read about research breakthroughs, patient care and many other topics on the OHSU News site.