About Play Therapy
Enter into Children's Play and you will find the place where their minds, hearts and souls meet.
~ Virginia Axline ~
"Play Therapy is to children what Counselling is to adults."
What is Play Therapy?
Play Therapy is to children what counselling is to adults. It's a child-led therapeutic approach used by specially trained Play Therapists to help children who are struggling emotionally in some way.
Children don't usually have the words or understanding to articulate how they are feeling verbally and so during play therapy children have the opportunity to explore their feelings, express themselves creatively and make sense of the confusing and sometimes traumatic events in their lives all through play and creative arts.
How can it help?
Play Therapy can help to alleviate emotional distress because it gives children the opportunity to "play out" their muddled feelings the same way as adults we "talk out" our feelings.
When children process their individual feelings and experiences repeatedly in this way they can begin to understand themselves, their feelings and their experiences and then supported by their play therapist they can begin to develop new coping strategies to help them to heal and move forwards.
When to ask for Help?
When children are struggling, we see it as adults most often through their behaviours. Play Therapy is for children who may be struggling to cope with things such as;
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Bereavement
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Loss
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Anxiety
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Low Self-esteem
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Attachment Difficulties
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Overwhelming Feelings (Sadness, Anger, Fear)
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Being Withdrawn/Low Mood
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Sleeping Difficulties
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Significant change/disruption to Home life
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Domestic Violence, Substance Misuse or Alcohol abuse at Home.
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Experience of Physical, Emotional, Sexual Abuse or Neglect
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Witnessing or being involved in an accident E.g. Car crash or Fire etc
Please note there are many other reasons why a child may need Play Therapy. Please do get in touch and one of our lovely therapists will be happy to guide you through your options for support.
Other FAQ's
How do I make a referral?
Get in touch with us via our Contact Page, we will either email or post out a referral form to you.
How many sessions will my child recieve?
We typically recommend a minimum of 12-15 sessions, this will reviewed on a regular basis with you.
How long does each session last?
1:1 sessions last 45 minutes.
Group sessions last 1 hour.
Is there a cost?
We have both funded and privately funded support packages available. Our project work is fully funded and our private support packages start from £45 per session for individual families.
We also offer discounted support packages for schools
(full or half day) which can be found by clicking below;
Alternatively we can support schools with one off interventions for £45 per session.
Where do sessions take place?
Sessions will be held in our lovely new therapy space in Northumberland or can be held within your child's school depending on the location.
