Crissy Himelstein

Bio

Your child has complex needs that go beyond what standard therapy can address—trauma, ADHD, anxiety, or learning differences that require specialized expertise. You’ve tried other approaches, but you need someone with deep experience who can see the whole picture and create lasting transformation for your entire family.

As a Licensed Professional Counselor with two decades of experience, I am the owner and founder of Sunshine Child and Family Counseling, to provide the specialized care that children, teens, and families truly need. As both a Certified Professional Counselor Supervisor and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, I not only work with families daily but also provide supervision and oversight to all therapists in the practice, ensuring the highest quality of care while training therapists in evidence-based approaches that create real change.

My Approach:

• Comprehensive understanding – Using multiple evidence-based methods including play therapy, EMDR, yogic breath and movement, and polyvagal theory to address your child’s unique needs
• Family-centered healing – Working with parents to build healthier connections and examine how your own experiences influence your parenting
• Specialized expertise – Drawing from community mental health, private practice, and hospital crisis intervention experience to handle complex cases
• Trauma-focused care – My primary emphasis is working with trauma across all ages, from children as young as 2-3 years old to adults, including complex trauma cases that require specialized intervention
• Parent consultations – Supporting parents in understanding trauma responses and developing effective parenting strategies

What Makes Me Different: As practice owner and both CPCS and RPT-S, I ensure every client receives exceptional care through my direct supervision of all therapists. My 20 years of experience across diverse settings has given me the depth and perspective to provide comprehensive care for even the most complex situations. Over a decade of leading Sunshine Child and Family Counseling has allowed me to refine my trauma-specialized approach and build a practice dedicated to healing at every stage of life.

Specialized Support For:

• Children with ADHD and attention challenges
• Complex trauma cases across all age groups, including very young children
• Children-Adults dealing with recent or complex trauma requiring EMDR therapy
• Children with anxiety, mood concerns, and learning differences
• Families navigating life transitions and adjustments
• Parents seeking support with their own parenting strategies

“Crissy gave me practical, effective parenting strategies that changed how I interact with my children. I started responding differently and very quickly began to see positive responses from them. Her guidance made such a difference in our home.” – Parent