What can I expect – as a parent/ carer?

If you are considering Play Therapy for your child, a first step would be to schedule an initial consultation appointment (without your child) that will look at your concerns, your child's history, what might benefit your child at home and how Play Therapy might help your child specifically. 

Play Therapy sessions are held in a designated room, a space that allows freedom of expression within safe boundaries and uninterrupted time. Sessions are usually once a week at a regular time and day. This is important for developing a trusting relationship. Unplanned interruptions or missed sessions may disrupt the process.

Sessions usually last between 40 and 50 minutes depending on the age and developmental capacity of the child. You are required to remain in the provided waiting area for the duration.

To honour your child’s trust I will keep confidential his/her confidences unless s/he authorises me to share them, I have concerns about his/her or others’ safety or am required to disclose confidences by law.

How many sessions will it take?

This will depend on the child and is decided with help of an initial assessment and on-going reviews. These may include other significant persons in the child’s life. Some children respond well to short-term interventions of 14 to 16 weeks. However, the more complex or long-term the child’s needs are, the longer therapy will necessarily take.

Importantly, sessions will develop at the child’s pace. Regular review meetings will look at how things are going and when to conclude therapy.

The child leads the way, the therapist follows.

Early intervention works best.

Because emotional and challenging behaviours are not yet ingrained and are therefore more open to change, early intervention works best. Intensely distressing events can be more easily managed and lived through with support, enacted and resolved in play rather than real life. As such, it is recommended to consider Play Therapy months, rather than years into challenging behaviours. However, long-standing difficulties will also respond well to Play Therapy but tend to take more time.  

What can you do as a parent/ carer?

Many children cope just fine with adverse events and experiences, showing only temporary sadness/ anger/ etc.  In such cases, allow plenty of child-directed play time, accepting free (but safe) expression of all feelings (including anger/ hate/ disgust/ fears/ etc.). If you are worried about your child in any way with regard to on-going emotional, social or behavioural difficulties, it  might help to consider Play Therapy. Importantly, it is the child’s full history that needs to be taken into account when considering whether they need or would benefit from Play Therapy and this would be done in an initial consultation with you (without your child).