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Connections
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
Connections

Play therapy is having a moment

By Evan Dawson,
Elissa Orlando, Julie Williams
Published September 30, 2025 at 3:53 PM EDT
Three people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a woman at left has long brown hair and is wearing a short-sleeved light blue button-down shirt over an orange t-shirt; a woman at center has long blonde hair and is wearing a brown cardigan over a pink floral blouse; a man at right has short dark hair and is wearing a grey button-down shirt.
1 of 2  — Marcie Redding and Lindsey Macaluso with host Evan Dawson on "Connections"
Marcie Redding and Lindsey Macaluso with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Tuesday, September 30, 2025
David Griffin / WXXI News
A smiling woman has her brown hair swept up in a bun and is wearing a grey and white striped sweater.
2 of 2  — Lauren Stuart
Lauren Stuart
Provided
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
WXXI News

The pandemic left many parents desperate for some kind of help for their children: kids were isolated, struggling socially, and drifting academically.

Play therapy -- sometimes viewed as a fringe idea in the past -- is having a moment. That's because new research around play therapy brought it to the mainstream, and insurance companies are now more willing to cover it.

We'll discuss how it works with our experts.

Our guests:

Connections
Evan Dawson
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
See stories by Evan Dawson
Elissa Orlando
Elissa Orlando is a producer for “Connections with Evan Dawson.” She returns part-time to WXXI News after stepping back from a long career in public media and in translational science.
See stories by Elissa Orlando
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams