Specialized Child Therapists for children ages 3-14 Call 813-421-5437 today!

Dr. Hicks is a true proven professional that takes every child she cares for to the highest personal level. Finally someone that truly cares about her patients! she worked with... read more our daughter for most of 2017 and has an unbelievable approach to treatment. She is the best there is hands down!

I had someone I knew very well that took their son to see Brenna. And the changes in her son were quite remarkable. She has a very logical concrete approach... read more and is able to see things that the untrained eye would never pick up on. Given our particular situation I had the opportunity to do training with her or to allow my son to have one on one sessions with her. Due to after school schedule demands I decided to do the parent training with her. It was the perfect route given our situation. The difference in our son is nothing short of remarkable. Not only do I feel like he was able to work through some of his behavior issues but I have become a better mom in communicating, understanding, and connecting with him in ways I have always wanted to but I didn’t seem able to before. The video taped play sessions allowed me to see where I was falling short and where I needed to make changes and also allowed me to celebrate the tremendous growth he and I had in our relationship. I have read a ton of books on counseling and gone to different sessions over the years but the approach she’s taking is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I have recommended her already to a number of my friends.

Brenna is amazing! We first met with her to discuss our concerns with our daughter. She listened intently , and then gave us feedback that was really helpful from the... read more get go. Over time , she met with our daughter and they developed a great relationship. Our daughter looked forward to meeting with her and always came back with positive things to say. We noticed a change in her mood and behavior almost immediately after meeting with Brenna for the first few times. Brenna is professional and is easy to communicate with. She really cares about the kids she works with as well as the parents. We are so so glad we found her. It has changed things for our family in the best way!

Over the summer I made the decision to take Dr. Brenna's online CPRT (Child Parent Relationship Therapy) online training. This is most certainly one of the best decisions I have... read more made. Before enrolling in the course I have read up a lot on parenting and child behavior, I had watched and followed some really great therapists on YouTube and learned quite a bit. What I gained from this training far exceeds what I have been able to do on my own. The content of the training and the mindset shift that you go through as you start to digest the material is remarkable. Along with the quality content and the skills training, the real magic for me came with the consistency, accountability and follow up that is built into the training. Being a parent of school-aged children it has been a blessing to have such a valuable resource at my fingertips via the online portal. I was able to log in at my own convenience to watch the training. I honestly don't think I would ever have completed the course any other way. After watching the weekly video training I met with Dr. Brenna for our scheduled check-in to review course content and talk about our progress or lack thereof, and review session videos once those come into play. The 100% undivided attention that Dr. Brenna offers during our sessions is such a testament to her passion for this program. She lives and breathes CPRT and has talked me through so many scenarios and shown me progress where I often felt defeat. This experience has been and still is a real journey. As Dr. Brenna has reminded me many times, learning CPRT skills is like learning a new language. It will feel very unnatural at first, but the more you exercise your new skills the more organically they will start to become a part of how you interact with your children. To me it is still a new language, I am still working on organically incorporating the new skills into my everyday interactions, but it is worth every bit of effort. I have looked back on many interactions with my children since starting CPRT, comparing how I would have reacted pre-CPRT with the outcome with using CPRT skills and have been able to see the fruits of my labor. I cannot thank Dr. Brenna enough for the hope she has given me through CPRT and the unwavering and sincere support she has offered along the way.

Immediately after our son turned 4 years old his behavior at home and preschool took a nose-dive. He was aggressive, disrespectful, self-injuring, not listening and antagonistic. After looking into different... read more behavioral therapy options we decided on play therapy with Dr. Brenna. What better way for a kid to work out his/her issues than through what they do best; play? It was great. Our son went once a week for an hour and just had fun. He had no idea we had an agenda. Which to us was important. We didn't want him to think he was "bad" or "defective" but we wanted to get him the help he needed so we could nip whatever issues he was having in the bud and hopefully avoid more problems when he is a teenager and more difficult to manage. Dr. Brenna was wonderful. She was very kind and caring, supportive and professional. Our son clicked with her quickly and would be very excited to go see her and play every week. We noticed an immediate improvement in behavior after only one or two sessions. He was regulating his emotions better. Less angry outbursts and hitting himself. Being more cooperative and calm. Even at preschool his behavior improved. He went from getting a bad report every day to getting a good one. After only 15 sessions we can honestly say our son has grown tremendously in his attitude and behavior. He is more considerate of others, he thinks before he acts now and considers the consequences of his actions, he is helpful and thoughtful and much less explosive. Dr. Brenna offered a parenting training seminar that we also found very helpful. It teaches parents to use the same methods of interaction that she uses in play therapy. It has really helped us a lot at home in correcting behavior in a kind, loving, respectful and effective manner. He really responds well to this system of reflecting feeling, choice giving, limit setting and enforcing consequences if the limit is vioated. And he doesn't argue when we have to enforce a negative consequence, because he knew his choices ahead of time and he made the choice fully aware of the consequence. It is empowering for him and lifts the burden of us being "the bad guys" all the time. We really can't recommend Dr. Brenna enough. My son had a great experience and we are very pleased with the results.

Definitely worth the time to help your child grow. Don’t expect to see results right away, but over time the play therapy does help you better understand how your child... read more processes information and he/she will learn how to better understand themselves. Brenna will take the time to explain your child’s behaviors and help you identify triggers and strategies to help you and your child learn to control behaviors. My daughter struggled with self control, anxiety, and confidence prior to her visits. Today she still has some moments, but she is better equipped to handle those situations with better self regulation. She is more confident and out going in public and has less “meltdowns”. Just keep in mind you as the parent are part of the equation too and Brenna definitely helped my wife and I understand that, and now we are all able to work together.

Dr. Hicks is wonderful with my son, and with me. She has brought a new dynamic to our home that is working and is based out of mutual respect,... read more love, and guidance. Our kids have a lot going on, things have changed and it's not simple anymore. They have more to process and for some it's very difficult to do without learning how to regulate themselves. My son has learned self regulation, do we still have days that are hard? Of course we do, but there are FAR fewer days when he doesn't catch himself. It's amazing the work he's done with Dr. Hicks, and I promise you will love her too.

We loved having Mrs. Brenna work with our 5 year old daughter. From the moment we met with her at our consultation we felt that Brenna knew our daughter. Brenna... read more was describing her and the dynamics of our family and other siblings to a T having not even met her. We knew in that moment that what felt like a hopeless situation now had hope and we felt confident that Mrs. Brenna knew what our daughter needed and had a plan to get her there. We were so impressed with Brenna and how she communicates with children and parents. Brenna never makes kids or parents feel defeated or judged. She is generous in her time and efforts to provide parents with free resources through her blog and YouTube channel. Last year our family of 6 was unable to do normal family outings, or even go to a store or have family routines without a meltdown, power struggle or harsh words. Brenna helped us understand how to reflect our daughter’s feelings and how to validate her and give her choices that helped minimize our power struggles. In paying attention to all that Brenna does so intentionally, intricately, and yet gracefully, we as parents were able to reflect on ourselves, our habits, and role in our daughter’s behavior. She taught us to reflect on how our parents parented us and how that’s affecting us now, and learned strategies that have even been helpful with our other children and healing our entire family dynamic. After less than 6 months we are now able to enjoy our daughter, can go out and about and do things we used to enjoy. We are seeing the gifts come out in our daughter that she has always had that were buried in bad behaviors. She is happier, calmer, more in control, and most importantly, more self-regulated. I’d love to keep my daughter with Brenna forever but that’s not a reality. Thankfully we leave confidently knowing that we have the skills and knowledge to do the hard work that continues daily, and Brenna has helped us understand our role in helping our daughter feel her emotional best. We are so thankful to have found Brenna and love that she believes in the inherent goodness in children, despite seeing them often at their worst. Brenna believes in her methods using play therapy and knows that she can use play therapy to modify behaviors using a holistic approach. She allows kids to play like kids and bring about changes to their issues at their pace and through their own direction. Brenna never once tried to diagnose or label our daughter with something that could have shifted her identity or affected her with lasting implications in the future. Brenna showed us that she understood our daughter’s behavior was not who she is, and she helped me and my husband see it too. Brenna is gifted in her work with families and we know we can always visit her again if we need it.

We have 9 yr old boy/girl twins and recently had a few major changes that was causing anxiety and sometimes panic for both kids. We tried the usual therapy talk... read more sessions with someone else, but wanted to try something more for them. We are extremely impressed with the results from play therapy. We did both individual and group (my 2 kids together) sessions. We were amazed at what all Brenna could see in each of our kids through play. We gradually saw improvement each week and now have the skills and tools needed to cope if anything were to arise thanks to her!! My kids loved going each week!! You will not be disappointed. Best investment you will make to help your child for sure!!

Brenna has helped my girls and family SO much!!! I HIGHLY recommend her!! Excellent professional, great listener and superb communication! We ALL enjoyed our time with her!

I am so grateful to Dr. Hicks and the CPRT course. I am a homeschool mother of an only child (8yo) who was ready to say I'm over it... read more and put him in public school. I initially found Dr. Hick's practice with the intent that I would schedule appointments for her to "fix" my son Through my sessions with Dr. Hicks and the CPRT program, I learned that I was saying the same things she was teaching but I wasn't using the right words to "get through to him". I learned the secret language to be able dissolve conflicts or deescalate situations. More importantly I learned that it wasn't necessarily my son that needed to be "fixed" but our relationship and the methods that we communicate. I completed the CPRT course during pandemic , meeting with Dr. Hicks virtually - I felt like she gave me every second plus some of her attention and really helped me learn the skills of play therapy. If I had a question she was prompt in responding and detailed to address my concerns. Even when I was harder on myself to see the progress or appreciate the growth, she was always quick to point those moments out and celebrate them. I can honestly say that I feel like every penny was well invested in the CPRT course and my relationship with my son. Our home is a more peaceful place to be because of Dr. Hicks and the CPRT course.

Let me start by saying that we feel like we have our boy back!! After years of searching for answers by reading every child behavioral book, and getting evaluated by... read more another therapist only to get labels and no real solutions and help, we finally found the answer we were looking for with Dr. Brenna’s play therapy. Our son was exhibiting a lot of aggression, towards us and his siblings and extremely defiant behavior and outbursts. There was a lot of power struggles and was very strong willed. After meeting with Brenna for the initial consult she explained everything so well to us and helped us to understand how NOT broken our child was and helped us to see the why behind the behavior. When we started the sessions things got worse before they got better. We started to really see amazing shifts in his behavior and his ability to self regulate about weeks 10-12. At our 5 week follow up meetings, Dr. Hicks was so detailed with what she saw in play therapy and the why behind what she saw. She helped us by role playing how we would respond to him and gave us incredible tools to help going forward. She was truly amazing in every aspect in the process. Honestly, we miss her. Our son worked so hard in therapy and has tools for life now. He can self regulate and is such a joy to be around. You know your child has made great changes when other people say stuff to you that they’ve noticed how different he is. We are so incredibly grateful to Dr. Brenna and her work. We HIGHLY recommend her! We have our boy back! Best investment we ever made!