About Play Therapy
What is Play Therapy?
Children often express their inner world through play rather than words. Play therapy allows them to explore feelings, experiences, and worries in a safe and creative way.
Through drawing, storytelling, sand tray, movement, and imaginative play, children can:
-
Express emotions safely
-
Develop emotional regulation
-
Build confidence and resilience
-
Improve relationships at home and school
-
Feel more comfortable in their own body and experiences
Play therapy is gentle, child-led, and paced to support each child’s unique needs.
Play therapy helps children
By supporting the whole child, emotionally, physically, and relationally, they may begin to:
Feel calmer and more emotionally regulated
Express feelings more clearly
Build confidence and self-esteem
Improve behaviour at home or school
Strengthen relationships and social skills
Feel safer in their body (including with chronic pain)
The goal isn’t to "fix" your child, it’s to help them feel more like themselves again.
Support for emotional and physical challenges
Play therapy may help children experiencing:
-
Anxiety or emotional overwhelm
-
Behavioural or school difficulties
-
Emotional outbursts or withdrawal
-
Low self-esteem or confidence
-
Difficulty expressing feelings
-
Life changes such as separation, loss, or trauma
-
Emotional regulation challenges
- Chronic or "unexplained" pain
The goal is to help children feel safe, capable, and supported in their everyday lives.
Understanding Chronic Pain
Chronic pain in children is now understood as something the brain and body create together. Sometimes the nervous system becomes overly sensitive, continuing to send pain signals even when the body is safe.
Play therapy can support children in:
-
Rebuilding confidence in their body
-
Processing emotions connected to pain
-
Reducing stress that can heighten pain signals
-
Returning to everyday activities with greater ease
I work to support:
-
Chronic headaches or migraines
-
Abdominal pain or IBS
-
Musculoskeletal pain (“growing pains”)
-
Neuropathic or nerve pain
-
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
-
Functional neurological symptoms or neural circuit dizziness
-
Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS)
Before therapy begins, children should first be assessed by medical professionals to rule out structural causes.
Begin your child's support journey
If your child is struggling emotionally, behaviourally, or physically, gentle support is available. Play therapy can help children feel safer, more confident, and better able to navigate their world.