Play Therapy

Sometimes kids just don't want to talk. That doesn't mean they can't engage in therapy. In fact, play is a language and arguably the one most children find most comfortable to talk to us in. ​Play therapy offers children an opportunity to safely express their inner world in a confidential, consistent and predictable space. Play Therapy is a structured, theoretically based approach to therapy that builds on the normal communicative and learning processes of children. It is essentially a way to communicate with children, usually (but not limited to) between the ages of 3 to 12.​ Play allows children to act out difficult or confusing life experiences in a safe way.

​Play is the child's natural way of expressing themselves and is essential for emotional and social development.

Every child, every adult has a drive to reach their full potential. Unfortunately, sometimes this drive to mature positively is inhibited. Infants and children may experience problems, trauma and difficulties, either real or perceived, that create a variety of internal (e.g self esteem issues) and/or external symptoms ( e.g behavioural issues).

Children often don't have words to fully process the complexity of these experiences. Child-Centred Play therapy is an opportunity for the child to 'play out' their thoughts, feelings and problems. It is an opportunity to communicate what could not as easily be put into words. Counselling is to adults as play therapy is to children.

​Through this powerful and skilled therapeutic process, children learn to master their difficulties. Through the utilisation of empathy, acceptance, safety, the setting of limits, the offering of choice, responses that are sensitive to the child, unwavering patience and an unbending faith, the child understands and finds the path to healing.