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"Play therapy helps children understand and communicate their feelings in a language they know best – play."
Virginia Axline
play therapy
Humanistic Play Therapy
Nurturing Your Child's Emotional Well-being through Humanistic Play Therapy
We deeply understand the importance of supporting your child's emotional well-being through a holistic, child-centred approach. We believe that each child's unique experiences and emotions should be understood, and we are passionate about the non-directed humanistic approach to achieving this goal. This approach finds its foundations in the principles of humanistic psychology and draws inspiration from the pioneering work of the renowned therapist Virginia Axline. This approach offers a gentle, empathetic, and non-directive style, nurturing your child's emotional well-being holistically and compassionately.
Understanding Humanistic Play Therapy
Respect for Your Child
Humanistic Play Therapy respects your child's individuality. It's about honouring your child's feelings, thoughts, and experiences without judgment. Every child's emotional journey is a unique narrative deserving of recognition and respect.
Freedom for Your Child to Express
In Humanistic Play Therapy, we embrace the belief that children should have the freedom to express themselves without constraints. Your child is encouraged to communicate their inner world through creative outlets like play and art. This freedom of self-expression serves as a powerful form of communication, helping us understand your child's innermost thoughts and feelings more deeply.
Our Role as Facilitators
In this therapeutic journey, our role as therapists is that of facilitators, not directors. We aim to create a secure and accepting environment where your child can freely explore and make sense of their emotions. Your child takes the lead in their therapeutic journey, fostering empowerment and self-discovery.
Unconditional Positive Regard
At the heart of Humanistic Play Therapy is the concept of unconditional positive regard. We accept your child without any conditions or judgments. This unwavering acceptance establishes trust and openness in our therapeutic relationship, ensuring your child feels safe sharing their most intimate thoughts and emotions.
Benefits for Your Child
The advantages of Humanistic Play Therapy for your child are:
Emotional Exploration: This approach empowers your child to delve deep into their emotions, providing a secure space to navigate and understand their feelings.
Self-awareness and Confidence: Through freedom of expression and unconditional acceptance, your child can build a stronger sense of self-worth.
Effective Coping Strategies: Humanistic Play Therapy equips your child with the tools they need to cope with life's challenges more effectively, fostering emotional resilience.
Identifies Solutions: As your child takes the lead in their therapeutic journey, they discover their unique solutions to the issues they face.
Humanistic Play Therapy, from our perspective as therapists deeply invested in your child's emotional growth, is an approach that allows your child to be the creative director of their sessions. By valuing your child's unique capacity for self-expression and healing, this therapeutic method creates a safe and supportive space for them to thrive. It's a testament to the belief that, with the right environment and support, children can navigate their emotions and emerge stronger and more resilient. Together, we can embark on this meaningful journey towards your child's emotional well-being.
We deeply understand the importance of supporting your child's emotional well-being through a holistic, child-centred approach. We believe that each child's unique experiences and emotions should be understood, and we are passionate about the non-directed humanistic approach to achieving this goal. This approach finds its foundations in the principles of humanistic psychology and draws inspiration from the pioneering work of the renowned therapist Virginia Axline. This approach offers a gentle, empathetic, and non-directive style, nurturing your child's emotional well-being holistically and compassionately.
Understanding Humanistic Play Therapy
Respect for Your Child
Humanistic Play Therapy respects your child's individuality. It's about honouring your child's feelings, thoughts, and experiences without judgment. Every child's emotional journey is a unique narrative deserving of recognition and respect.
Freedom for Your Child to Express
In Humanistic Play Therapy, we embrace the belief that children should have the freedom to express themselves without constraints. Your child is encouraged to communicate their inner world through creative outlets like play and art. This freedom of self-expression serves as a powerful form of communication, helping us understand your child's innermost thoughts and feelings more deeply.
Our Role as Facilitators
In this therapeutic journey, our role as therapists is that of facilitators, not directors. We aim to create a secure and accepting environment where your child can freely explore and make sense of their emotions. Your child takes the lead in their therapeutic journey, fostering empowerment and self-discovery.
Unconditional Positive Regard
At the heart of Humanistic Play Therapy is the concept of unconditional positive regard. We accept your child without any conditions or judgments. This unwavering acceptance establishes trust and openness in our therapeutic relationship, ensuring your child feels safe sharing their most intimate thoughts and emotions.
Benefits for Your Child
The advantages of Humanistic Play Therapy for your child are:
Emotional Exploration: This approach empowers your child to delve deep into their emotions, providing a secure space to navigate and understand their feelings.
Self-awareness and Confidence: Through freedom of expression and unconditional acceptance, your child can build a stronger sense of self-worth.
Effective Coping Strategies: Humanistic Play Therapy equips your child with the tools they need to cope with life's challenges more effectively, fostering emotional resilience.
Identifies Solutions: As your child takes the lead in their therapeutic journey, they discover their unique solutions to the issues they face.
Humanistic Play Therapy, from our perspective as therapists deeply invested in your child's emotional growth, is an approach that allows your child to be the creative director of their sessions. By valuing your child's unique capacity for self-expression and healing, this therapeutic method creates a safe and supportive space for them to thrive. It's a testament to the belief that, with the right environment and support, children can navigate their emotions and emerge stronger and more resilient. Together, we can embark on this meaningful journey towards your child's emotional well-being.
Learn to Play
Supporting Your Child's Pretend Play Abilities through 'Learn to Play'
We understand the importance for children to be therapeutically supported in their development of specific skills. Children may encounter challenges related to social interaction, communication, or problem-solving, and 'Learn to Play' can enhance their abilities. It is a specialised directive and evidence-based approach aimed at facilitating children's exploration and refinement of vital social, communication, and problem-solving skills, all achieved through planned and structured play-based experiences.
Karen Stagnitti, a highly respected therapist, has played a pivotal role in the development of this approach, which has consistently demonstrated its effectiveness in fostering children's development and overall well-being.
Key Aspects:
Structured Play Activities: Within the "Learn to Play" therapy sessions, children actively engage in thoughtfully designed play activities that are skillfully structured to target specific developmental goals, all customised to suit the unique needs of each child.
Enhancing Social Skills: These therapy sessions provide a supportive and nurturing environment in which children can practice and refine their social skills, understand aspects of building friendships, interpret social cues, and effectively cooperate with others.
Communication Development: Through play, children are allowed to enhance their communication skills, encompassing both verbal and non-verbal cues, making it especially advantageous for children facing speech or language challenges.
Problem-Solving: "Learn to Play" therapy actively fosters the development of problem-solving abilities and resilience by encouraging children to explore a variety of solutions during play scenarios.
Benefits for Your Child:
It significantly contributes to boosting a child's sense of self, improving their relationships with others, and often translating into enhanced academic performance. This approach supports your child's overall emotional well-being and equips them with invaluable life skills that extend beyond the therapy setting.
Structured Play Activities: Within the "Learn to Play" therapy sessions, children actively engage in thoughtfully designed play activities that are skillfully structured to target specific developmental goals, all customised to suit the unique needs of each child.
Enhancing Social Skills: These therapy sessions provide a supportive and nurturing environment in which children can practice and refine their social skills, understand aspects of building friendships, interpret social cues, and effectively cooperate with others.
Communication Development: Through play, children are allowed to enhance their communication skills, encompassing both verbal and non-verbal cues, making it especially advantageous for children facing speech or language challenges.
Problem-Solving: "Learn to Play" therapy actively fosters the development of problem-solving abilities and resilience by encouraging children to explore a variety of solutions during play scenarios.
Benefits for Your Child:
It significantly contributes to boosting a child's sense of self, improving their relationships with others, and often translating into enhanced academic performance. This approach supports your child's overall emotional well-being and equips them with invaluable life skills that extend beyond the therapy setting.
Intergrative Play Therapy
Supporting the Unique Needs of Your Child in the Play Space
We understand that your child may require a range of modalities in their play therapy sessions. Integrative Play Therapy is a therapeutic approach that uses the Play Therapy Dimensions Model framework to process and evaluate around decision making examining the who, what when, why and how in play therapy. It combines various elements from different modalities to offer a holistic and personalised intervention for helping your child. This approach draws from a wide range of theoretical frameworks, techniques, and interventions within the field of play therapy.
Key Features
Multiple Theoretical Approaches: Integrative Play Therapy incorporates concepts from various therapeutic theories, including psychodynamic, child-centred, Learn to Play and humanistic, This allows our therapist to adapt their methods to best suit your child's unique needs and personality.
Individualised Treatment: We adapt therapy to the specific requirements, strengths, and developmental stage of your child. We use our extensive training and expertise to create a customised intervention that suits your child's unique situation.
Creative Expression: Similar to other play therapy approaches, Integrative Play Therapy harnesses the power of play and creative expression to help children communicate, process emotions, and explore their thoughts and experiences. Various forms of play, including art, sand, and movement, may be integrated into the therapy sessions.
Therapeutic Relationship: Establishing a strong therapeutic relationship is at the core of Integrative Play Therapy. We provide a safe, empathetic space where your child feels deeply understood, valued, and accepted.
Parental Involvement: Depending on your child's age and specific concerns, Integrative Play Therapy can involve parents or caregivers. This may include opportunities for parental education, guidance, and support to facilitate positive changes in your child's life.
Flexibility: Integrative Play Therapy offers flexibility in its approach. Our therapist can adapt their methods based on your child's progress and evolving needs. The therapy draws from a diverse toolbox of techniques to address a wide range of issues effectively.
Goal-Oriented: Despite its integrative nature, therapy remains goal-oriented. Clear objectives are set to track progress and measure outcomes, ensuring that therapy remains focused and purposeful.
Integrative Play Therapy is particularly valuable when we work with children who present complex or multifaceted issues. By combining elements from different therapeutic models, this approach aims to provide a comprehensive and effective means of supporting your child's emotional, social, and overall well-being.
Key Features
Multiple Theoretical Approaches: Integrative Play Therapy incorporates concepts from various therapeutic theories, including psychodynamic, child-centred, Learn to Play and humanistic, This allows our therapist to adapt their methods to best suit your child's unique needs and personality.
Individualised Treatment: We adapt therapy to the specific requirements, strengths, and developmental stage of your child. We use our extensive training and expertise to create a customised intervention that suits your child's unique situation.
Creative Expression: Similar to other play therapy approaches, Integrative Play Therapy harnesses the power of play and creative expression to help children communicate, process emotions, and explore their thoughts and experiences. Various forms of play, including art, sand, and movement, may be integrated into the therapy sessions.
Therapeutic Relationship: Establishing a strong therapeutic relationship is at the core of Integrative Play Therapy. We provide a safe, empathetic space where your child feels deeply understood, valued, and accepted.
Parental Involvement: Depending on your child's age and specific concerns, Integrative Play Therapy can involve parents or caregivers. This may include opportunities for parental education, guidance, and support to facilitate positive changes in your child's life.
Flexibility: Integrative Play Therapy offers flexibility in its approach. Our therapist can adapt their methods based on your child's progress and evolving needs. The therapy draws from a diverse toolbox of techniques to address a wide range of issues effectively.
Goal-Oriented: Despite its integrative nature, therapy remains goal-oriented. Clear objectives are set to track progress and measure outcomes, ensuring that therapy remains focused and purposeful.
Integrative Play Therapy is particularly valuable when we work with children who present complex or multifaceted issues. By combining elements from different therapeutic models, this approach aims to provide a comprehensive and effective means of supporting your child's emotional, social, and overall well-being.
Assessments
Understanding Your Child Through Their Lens
As a parent, you may be curious about the types of assessments that are used in play therapy to better understand your child's emotional and psychological well-being. Play therapy assessments are valuable tools that help us gain insights into your child's thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
Assessments commonly used in play therapy:
Observations: We observe your child's play and behaviour in the playroom. These observations provide valuable insights into their emotions, social interactions, and how they cope with different situations.
Standardised Assessments: We may use standardised assessment tools specifically designed for children. These assessments can help identify specific issues and guide the treatment plan accordingly. Parents are usually involved in providing information for these assessments.
Behaviour Rating Scales: These are questionnaires or checklists that parents, teachers, or caregivers may be asked to complete. They provide information about your child's behaviour in various settings, helping us understand their behaviour patterns and emotional well-being.
Projective Play Assessments: These assessments involve presenting your child with specific play activities or toys, allowing them to project their thoughts, feelings, and experiences onto these objects. The therapist carefully observes and interprets how your child engages with these materials.
Art and Expressive Assessments: Art, drawing, and other expressive activities can serve as a form of assessment. Your child's artwork can reveal their emotions, concerns, and inner world, which the therapist can use as a basis for discussion and exploration.
Narrative Play Assessments: These assessments involve storytelling and imaginative play. Your child may be asked to create stories or scenarios using dolls, figures, or puppets. Through these narratives, the therapist gains insight into your child's perceptions and understanding of their experiences.
Play-Based Assessments: Selected toys, games and structured play activities may be used to assess your child's cognitive and problem-solving abilities and their ability to interact with others.
It's essential to remember that play therapy assessments are not meant to diagnose your child but rather to provide valuable information to guide the therapeutic process. They are conducted in a child-friendly and non-threatening manner, with the primary goal of helping your child express themselves and work through their challenges.
Your active involvement as a parent is crucial in this process. You can share your observations, concerns, and goals for your child's therapy with the therapist, ensuring that the assessment and treatment plan are tailored to your child's specific needs and circumstances.
Observations: We observe your child's play and behaviour in the playroom. These observations provide valuable insights into their emotions, social interactions, and how they cope with different situations.
Standardised Assessments: We may use standardised assessment tools specifically designed for children. These assessments can help identify specific issues and guide the treatment plan accordingly. Parents are usually involved in providing information for these assessments.
Behaviour Rating Scales: These are questionnaires or checklists that parents, teachers, or caregivers may be asked to complete. They provide information about your child's behaviour in various settings, helping us understand their behaviour patterns and emotional well-being.
Projective Play Assessments: These assessments involve presenting your child with specific play activities or toys, allowing them to project their thoughts, feelings, and experiences onto these objects. The therapist carefully observes and interprets how your child engages with these materials.
Art and Expressive Assessments: Art, drawing, and other expressive activities can serve as a form of assessment. Your child's artwork can reveal their emotions, concerns, and inner world, which the therapist can use as a basis for discussion and exploration.
Narrative Play Assessments: These assessments involve storytelling and imaginative play. Your child may be asked to create stories or scenarios using dolls, figures, or puppets. Through these narratives, the therapist gains insight into your child's perceptions and understanding of their experiences.
Play-Based Assessments: Selected toys, games and structured play activities may be used to assess your child's cognitive and problem-solving abilities and their ability to interact with others.
It's essential to remember that play therapy assessments are not meant to diagnose your child but rather to provide valuable information to guide the therapeutic process. They are conducted in a child-friendly and non-threatening manner, with the primary goal of helping your child express themselves and work through their challenges.
Your active involvement as a parent is crucial in this process. You can share your observations, concerns, and goals for your child's therapy with the therapist, ensuring that the assessment and treatment plan are tailored to your child's specific needs and circumstances.