Frequently Asked Questions

Play therapy is ideal for children dealing with anxiety, trauma, behavioural issues, or big changes like divorce or loss. Children use play to express emotions they cannot easily talk about. The therapist observes and guides the play to understand the child’s feelings.

Play therapy helps children express, heal and grow through play.

If you'd like to read a longer article, please follow this link to my Writings Page - What Is Play Therapy?.

I find that a combination of non-directive and more structured and directive play can be facilitative and often more supportive for the child at different points in their play therapy process.

I combine a solid foundation of child development with personal qualities of unconditional positive regard, warmth and integrity, and the ability to be fundamentally child-centred.

I would be looking for:

• A natural resolution of the themes played out in the play therapy sessions;
• Improvements in the child’s feelings and behaviours;
• An increase in positive feelings beginning to show as the child develops an age-appropriate relationship with the play therapist;
• The stages of change are not always gone through in this order and stages are often revisited, and are usually different to previous stages.

We will look at what has prompted you to feel that play therapy may be helpful to your child. I can assess whether my therapeutic approach and professional experience would be helpful to your child and family. If you decide that we would like to work together we will plan a play therapy session with your child, agreeing what goals we could be working towards and what would support the play therapy. It may be that I also work closely with your child’s school or other agencies that may be involved with your child’s care.

The assessment is a helpful space where the family, the child and I can explore the holistic needs of the child in a safe, open, honest and supportive relationship.

Some sessions we may talk more than other times, but there is no obligation to talk, and I am not there to initiate investigations but rather to listen and respond to the non-verbal and unconscious processes of the child. If your child is very anxious or dysregulated, we may breathe together or go outside into the garden space. In the last ten or fifteen minutes of the session we would usually come together and sit on the play mat and reflect a little on what has happened during the session. The beauty of play therapy is that each session and each child is different and will follow their unique pathway.

Play therapists do need to set limits that will help children feel safe and learn to develop behaviours that will allow expression of self in appropriate ways. Therefore, there are a few limits that appear to be close to universal and the best way to present these limits are to consider how they will build and strengthen the therapeutic relationship. For example:

• I am not for hurting;
• you are not for hurting;
• toys are not for breaking;
• clothes are not for taking off;
• hair/clothes are not for cutting.

I will not share your child’s information with anyone else except in the following circumstances:

1. With my clinical supervisor who is bound by the same code of ethics as myself;
2. If I believe your child is a risk to themselves/or to others, I reserve the right to break confidentiality to an appropriate agency or organisation (for example, GP, police or social services) in order to prevent harm. However, I would always try and discuss with you before taking any action.
3. If I am required by a court of law to give evidence.

It may be in working with older children we “talk more” but in the play space young people and adolescents often enjoy the safe and confidential space that the therapy space allows them to be younger than their years and to regress and play again. This does not mean they ‘regress’ outside the playroom but allows the young person to get in touch with their joy and passions in a freer and less inhibited way that may not be possible with peers.

Although I will not be sharing content of your child’s play therapy sessions, I will feedback themes that have been highlighted in our play therapy sessions together. We can discuss what your child may be communicating and how things have been at home and at school. This is a time to discuss changes you may like to share. After 6 sessions the beginnings of a positive therapeutic relationship will be emerging.

Length and duration of play therapy sessions is variable depending on reasons why a child may be accessing play therapy in the first place. Sometimes, the child’s difficulties are a one-off situation and sometimes more long-standing. There are many other factors that can influence and guide mindful endings.

I have an undergraduate honours degree in English Literature and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). I have been an early years teacher in Brighton for 13 years. It was this training plus my passion for writing and creative expression that provided a strong foundation from my training as a play therapist. I have a Master's degree in Play Therapy from the University of Roehampton. I qualified in 2021 with a distinction. My primary reason for leaving education was my belief that many children were not thriving within mainstream education and neurodivergent children were being missed, overlooked and labelled and their needs were not being met within traditional settings.

Often children with a diagnosis such as autism, ADHD, learning disorders, sensory integration needs, and developmental disabilities fall under a neurodivergent category. Play therapy approaches are neurodiversity affirming—valuing the child, giving the child a voice, and affirming the identity of the child. Research has also demonstrated the benefits of implementing play therapy to address a variety of mental health concerns that may be present with a neurodivergent child.

Play therapy helps autistic and neurodivergent children and young people to understand social navigation, improve emotional expression and regulation ability. It can be very effective in improving sensorimotor play, constructive play, pretend play, functional play and reducing problem behaviours, and improving self-esteem.