Child Therapy in Thornhill-Markham
Not every child finds their feelings in words first. From toddlers through teenagers, we help children build emotional regulation, communication, and connection through music, play, and creative expression, paced to how your child grows. Our child therapy service offers more than one way for them to feel understood.
What We Treat
When Your Child Can Benefit From Therapy
You may know that something is weighing on your child, even when they cannot tell you what it is. Often, their behaviour tells part of the story. Families often seek child therapy at Healing Notes Therapy when these patterns begin affecting home, school, friendships, or daily routines.
Big Emotions and Emotional Regulation
Feelings seem to take over. Your child may throw tantrums, melt down, become angry, hit, punch, bite or shut down. Some children may experience low mood, depression and develop self-harm behaviours when emotions feel too painful. Therapy can support emotional regulation without shaming the emotion.
Anxiety, Separation and Transitions
Worries, perfectionism, separation, poor sleep, school avoidance, or changes in routine may feel harder than others realize.
Social Challenges and Anxiety
Your child may feel left out, misunderstood, worried around peers, or unsure how to begin and keep friendships.
ADHD, Autism, Learning Disabilities, Giftedness and Neurodiversity
Everyday life may take extra support because of sensory difference, unique ways of learning, executive-function needs, masking, or a different way of communication.
Low Confidence and Self-Esteem
You may hear harsh self-talk, see a fear of getting things wrong, or notice your child pulling back from new experiences.
Trauma, Grief and Family Changes
Loss, separation, divorce, relocation, conflict, or another painful experience may have changed how safe and settled life feels.
Building Growth and Resilience
What Therapy Can Help Your Child Build
Expression and Communication
Finding ways to express feelings, preferences, boundaries, and needs that feel natural to them.
Regulation and Behavioural Support
Understanding the root causes of challenging behaviours, and discovering supportive ways to recover from overwhelm.
Self-Esteem and Confidence
More accepting of themselves, and more willing to try and take risks.
Social Skills Development
Being more confident and feeling more secure in peer interactions, and relationships.
Your child is not a problem to be fixed. Behaviour is often a way of saying, "Something feels hard." Therapy begins with curiosity, care, and a wish to understand what your child may need.
Welcome to Healing Notes Therapy
Discover Expression. Find Community. Restore Harmony
Parents come to us for many reasons, and none of them need to be a crisis to be valid. Healing Notes Therapy was founded by Angie Lee, a registered psychotherapist and certified music therapist who specialized in children and youth mental health. Angie is currently the only therapist here, so your child works directly with a specialist, not a generalist practice that happens to see kids too.
Located at the intersection of Richmond Hill and Thornhill-Markham, with virtual sessions across Ontario, Healing Notes Therapy offers a warm, compassionate space for your child to land. Sessions blend music therapy, play therapy, and visual arts with other approaches like CBT and DBT. We meet your child in whatever expression feels most natural to them so they can feel understood and grow with a little more ease.
— Our Philosophy
How Child Therapy Works Beyond Words
No Pressure to Explain
Your child can explore before they are ready to name or describe what is happening.
Expression Becomes Part of Therapy
Play, sound, movement, images, and silence can all carry meaning in the room.
The Therapist Responds With Intention
The therapist may mirror, join, gently shift, or offer something new within the activity.
Growth Is Practised in the Moment
Your child can build up skills in cognitive flexibility, problem-solving, and social skills.
A younger child may communicate through a story with toys or movement. An older child may speak easily about their happy moments at school, yet still say "I don't know" when feelings become close. Long before children have the words, they communicate through behaviour, play, sound, and imagery, especially true for young, non-verbal, or neurodivergent children.
We do not rush past these moments or insist on an explanation. We slow down, notice, and meet your child in the forms of expression that already feel possible.
“Play is a child’s natural medium for self-expression.”
— Different Pathways Into a Child's World
Play Therapy, Music Therapy and Creative Expression
There is no single doorway into a child's world. We follow your child's interests and communication style, choosing approaches that help them feel comfortable enough to explore. No artistic or musical experience is needed.
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Play Therapy
A toy can hold a feeling. A story can reveal a worry. Through role playing, pretend play, and sandtray, children can show and work through experiences in a language that feels natural to them. The play activity, including board and card games is designed for a therapeutic reason, not simply as something to do while talking.
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Music Therapy and Music Psychotherapy
A rhythmic activity can help a child settle. A familiar song can create connection. Singing, rhythm, and instrumental playing offer ways to express what may not yet be ready for words.
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Creative Expression
Drawing, crafts, movement, and sensory materials can make an overwhelming experience feel more visible, manageable, and safe to explore.
Evidence-Based Psychotherapy
Other Approaches Used in Child Therapy at Healing Notes Therapy
Play, music, and creative expression may be at the heart of a session. When helpful, we also draw from other evidence-based psychotherapy approaches and adapt them to the child’s developmental stage, communication style, and sensory needs.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Helps children notice connections among thoughts, feelings, body signals, and actions in ways they can understand.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
Builds practical ways to notice emotions, tolerate difficult moments, communicate needs, and return to regulation.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Helps children make room for difficult thoughts and feelings while choosing actions guided by what matters to them.
Emotionally Focused Family Therapy
Helps family members understand relationship patterns and create safer, more connected ways of reaching one another.
— Seeing the Whole Child
A Holistic, Developmentally Informed Approach
Your child is more than their age, diagnosis, or a list of milestones. Children can be growing at different speeds in different areas. We look at where your child stands across each area of development, including their sensory profile and learning needs. With your permission, we can include insights from your child's occupational therapist, speech and language pathologist, psychologist, doctor, or school team.
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Thinking and Learning
A child may understand complex ideas and still need help with impulsivity, flexibility, friendships, or coping with failure. Every intervention is designed to meet your child’s learning needs and pace.
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Sensory Needs and Regulation
Each child has their unique sensory needs and sensitivity towards sound, movement, clothing, taste, etc. We tailor every intervention to fit with your child’s sensory profile.
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Development and Communication
Children with developmental delays or non-verbal autistic children may need help across several areas to support their development and communication. We tailor our treatment to meet the child’s communication needs.
— Family-Centred Care
How Parents & Caregivers are Included
No one knows your child quite like you do.
Parents and caregivers are key stakeholders in your child's therapy, not bystanders waiting at drop-off. Your observations, questions, and insights about your child help us understand the fuller picture. We high value your involvement in therapy while also building the trust with your child in therapy.
At the beginning
Beginning With Your Family’s Story
Tell us what has been hard for the family, what brings out your child’s strengths, and what you hope will feel different for your family.
Along the way
Caregiver Coaching & Psychotherapy
Parenting has its own ups and downs. We offer coaching and psychotherapy for parents and caregivers to process it all especially burnout.
When helpful
Family Therapy Sessions
When helpful, you will join sessions to learn the same language your child speak in therapy sessions, equip the same strategies with your child, practice communication and co-regulation.
— Other Age-Specific Services
Looking for Support for a Younger Child or Teen?
This page focuses on school-aged children. We also offer dedicated support for toddlers, preschoolers, and teens.
Toddlers, preschoolers and young children
Early Childhood Therapy (2 - 6 years)
Play, music, sensory experiences and caregivers' participation can support connection and co-regulation of big emotions. Starting early can make a meaningful difference during these formative years
Explore Early Childhood Therapy in ThornhillTeenagers and Transitional Aged Youth
Teen Therapy (12 - 17 years)
Puberty often brings new emotional and identity changes. Many parents find this is exactly when their teenager could use extra support. Teen therapy offers a supportive space to cope with overwhelming emotions, relationship challenges, identity questions, school pressure, and growing independence and accountability.
Explore Youth Therapy in Thornhill— Getting Started
How Child Therapy Begins
Before booking
Free 15-minute Consultation
No forms. No commitment.
Tell us what has been on your mind, ask your questions, and get a sense of whether Healing Notes Therapy may be a comfortable fit.
Phone or secure video call · Weekday evenings and Saturdays available
Your first appointment
Choose Your Starting Point
Both pathways begin with a conversation.
Clinical Assessment Session
Getting to Know Your Child and the Family
The therapist gets to know how your child connects, communicates, plays, and expresses. Caregivers may join as needed in order for the therapist to observe the dynamic in parent-child relationship.
Together, we discuss therapeutic goals, session format, caregiver involvement, and approaches that feel fitting and realistic.
Personalized Treatment
A Plan that Fits Your Child
We share a plan and begin sessions using a holistic and developmentally informed approach.
Parenting support and family session are available to fit the needs of your family, along with tools you can use at home between appointments.
The plan can adapt as we learn more about your child.
Convenient In-Person Sessions in Thornhill
Located inside Times Square at the intersection of Richmond Hill and Thornhill-Markham, our cozy clinic space is easily reachable for individuals and busy families from surrounding areas including Markham, North York, Scarborough, Vaughan, Aurora and Stouffville. To fit the family’s busy schedules, we also provide secure virtual video sessions for clients located anywhere across Ontario.
Learn more about the location and directions of Healing Notes Therapy →
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or reach out anytime.
Learn more about our FAQ page to answer any of your further questions.
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You do not have to wait for a crisis to reach out. Here are some signs it may be time to seek support:
More moody, irritable, or emotionally reactive than usual
Frequent tantrums or meltdowns that are hard to soothe
Needing significantly more energy to get through daily routines
Increased clinginess or difficulty with transitions
Loss of interest in play, hobbies, or activities they used to enjoy
Changes in appetite, sleep, or energy levels
Withdrawing from friends, family, or social situations
If several of these feel familiar, it may be worth reaching out. Early support can make a meaningful difference.
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Fees vary depending on the type of service and session duration. For more information, please visit our fees and payment policy.
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Yes, we offer a limited number of sliding scale spots for individuals and families who are experiencing financial hardship. Availability is assessed on a case-by-case basis, and proof of income may be required.
For more information about our standard fees, please visit our fees and payment policy. If you would like to inquire about sliding scale availability, we invite you to leave your information through our contact form, and our team will follow up with you.
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Yes, in-home sessions are available on a very limited basis. Please note the following conditions apply:
Available within a limited geographic radius of our Richmond Hill office
Latest session start time is 2:00 PM
Not available on weekends
Subject to clinician availability
A virtual or in-person office meeting is required prior to any in-home session. This initial meeting allows us to get to know your family, understand your needs, and ensure that in-home support is the right fit before we visit your home.
If you are interested in in-home support, please reach out through our contact form to confirm whether your location and scheduling needs are a match before booking.
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Music Therapy
Music therapy uses music to help your child grow, communicate, and feel better. Your child do not need to be "good at music" or know how to play an instrument to benefit from it. Instead of just sitting and talking, we use simple musical experiences, like listening to a favourite song, writing down thoughts as lyrics, or playing with rhythms and melodies, to help manage stress, express heavy feelings, and build new skills. It is a proven, research-backed practice tailored entirely to what feels comfortable for you.
Music Psychotherapy
Music psychotherapy takes those same creative music tools and brings them directly into a mental health therapy framework. Simply put, it is the intentional use of music therapy activities inside a psychotherapy treatment. When talking about tough experiences or big emotions feels overwhelming, exhausting, or impossible, we blend music and talk therapy together. This helps your child safely explore their inner world, process deep challenges, and heal in a way that words alone cannot always reach.
For more information about music therapy, please visit the website of Canadian Association of Music Therapists.
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Yes, the music therapy service within the scope of psychotherapy will be eligible for reimbursement of OAP Funding. It will be under the category of Mental Health Service. The music therapist at Healing Notes Therapy is also a registered psychotherapist in good standing.
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No, many children we work with demonstrate a spectrum of their language ability, from non-verbal, still developing spoken language to fully verbally. No diagnosis is required.
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No, a referral is not required. You are welcome to book directly through our online booking system or contact us through our contact form or email at info@healingnotes.ca without a referral from your family doctor or any other healthcare provider.
However, if you feel it would be beneficial for another member of your child's care team (e.g. family doctor, pediatrician, psychologist, speech and language pathologist or occupational therapist) to initiate or coordinate the referral process, they are welcome to complete our referral form and submit it directly to info@healingnotes.ca.
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It depends on your family's decision-making arrangements, and it is something we take seriously. Decision-making responsibility (formerly known as custody) determines who can legally consent to a child's healthcare, including therapy. We cannot accept a parent's self-claim of sole decision-making responsibility. Documentation such as a separation/divorce agreement or court order is required during intake.
Every family's situation is different, and if your child is 12 years old or older, their own consent to participate is also taken into consideration.
If you have questions before booking, feel free to leave a message on our contact form. You can also reach out at info@healingnotes.ca or call (647)779-5216.
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First Session (including the parent intake session and the “trial session”): 60 Minutes
Individual session / Caregiver Coaching & Psychotherapy session*: 50 minutes
Children aged 6 and under for any types of session: 30 minutes, unless your child shows a need for longer session
Sessions with 2 or more attendees (Caregiver Coaching & Psychotherapy, or Family Therapy): 60–90 minutes recommended
*Longer individual sessions are available based on the needs. Please discuss with the clinician if you feel a longer session would be beneficial.
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It varies by the child, depending on the pace the child build trust with the therapist. Some families notice small shifts after the child attending few treatment sessions. Other changes take longer.
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We offer weekday evening and Saturday appointments to accommodate the busy schedules of families and individuals.
For the most up-to-date availability, please visit our online booking system directly at healingnotes.janeapp.com. If you do not see a time that works for your schedule, please contact us through our contact form or email us at info@healingnotes.ca and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
Begin with a Conversation
Book a Free Consultation
A free consultation is a simple first step when you are considering child therapy at Healing Notes Therapy. You do not need to know exactly what kind of therapy your child needs. Tell us what you have been noticing, and we will brainstorm it through with you. There is no pressure and no commitment.