Nana's Objectives: To provide innovative school-based mental health services to homeless and impoverished children as part of a holistic approach to their well-being.

To provide internship opportunities to postgraduate psychology students and develop future play therapists.

To collect data and conduct research necessary to evaluate the Nana's Children Model, and to correlate mental health to social and academic improvement. To improve and enrich the lives of Arizona's at-risk, homeless children and their families through innovative school-based mental health programs, advanced professional training, and groundbreaking research.

Why Play Therapy!

• Children today are encountering highly stressful events, such as abuse, domestic violence, accidents, natural disasters, and school and community violence.
• When children are exposed to these traumas, their lives change forever. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), maladjustment at home and/or school, troubled family relationships, withdrawal, anxiety, depression, violence and other mental health difficulties often follow.
• While the treatment of adults usually requires the client's verbal expression of problems and feelings, children cannot be treated the same way. Children lack the verbal insight capabilities and emotional insight to express what is troubling them. Yet, a child always communicates through play.
• The activity of play is therapeutic in and of itself. It is fairly simple to engage children in play.
• In a world full of rules and regulations, play therapy provides an outlet where children can express their feelings and frustrations without fear of repercussions.
• Educators and mental health professionals are aware of the need to incorporate play therapy programs within the school environment. Its effectiveness in helping children has been solidly demonstrated by Nana's Children MHF, Inc.
• Play therapy involves the systematic use of play to help children cope with life situations, develop more adaptive behavior patterns, and learn effective problem solving and social skills. Because play is universal among children and multicultural, it is a valuable intervention.