The assessment session provides an important opportunity for us to explore your concerns and begin to understand your child’s needs. As parents or carers, you will be warmly welcomed and supported throughout this conversation. Together, we will discuss the challenges your child is facing, any relevant background history, and what you hope for from therapy.

For the child or young person, the assessment is designed to feel safe and engaging. Toys, art materials and creative resources will be available to help them feel at ease and give them different ways to express themselves. We will also begin to explore their own hopes, preferences and goals, ensuring their voice is heard and respected from the very beginning.

Following the assessment, I will provide a professional recommendation about whether Play Therapy is an appropriate approach or whether an alternative form of support may be better suited to your child’s needs.

Once informed consent has been given by the child or young person’s parent or legal guardian, and the child or young person has given their assent, the therapeutic work can begin.

Parents or carers are invited to attend the initial assessment or introductory session alongside their child. Following this, individual sessions will usually take place with the child or young person alone. This supports the development of a safe and confidential therapeutic space where they can freely explore their thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Some children or young people may choose to invite a parent or carer into their final session, but the therapy space will typically become their own. To maintain a child/person-centred approach, it is important to allow them to decide whether they wish to share aspects of their sessions.

Respecting their autonomy in this way helps to build trust and emotional safety within the therapeutic relationship.

Parents and carers are an important part of the therapeutic journey. Supporting your child by ensuring they attend sessions consistently and on time helps to establish a sense of routine and continuity around their therapy.

While sessions are held one-to-one with your child to maintain a safe and confidential therapeutic space, your involvement remains important throughout the process.

I work collaboratively with parents and carers through regular review meetings, where we can discuss progress, any challenges and ways of supporting your child outside the therapy room. This “one team” approach allows us to work together in support of your child’s wellbeing.

Therapy is most commonly delivered within your child’s school, offering a familiar and accessible environment.

In some circumstances, sessions may be more appropriately held within the home, depending on the child’s individual needs. Alternatively, a private room at a local community centre may be arranged, subject to availability and an additional fee.

The most appropriate location for therapy will be discussed with you during the assessment, ensuring that the chosen setting provides a safe and suitable space for the therapeutic work.

Therapy takes place in a confidential space that provides privacy for the sessions. Wherever possible, sessions take place on the same day and at the same time each week, helping to create consistency and continuity for your child. Each session lasts approximately 45 minutes.

Carefully selected toys, role-play materials, sand, musical instruments and art materials are available during sessions, providing different ways for your child to explore and express their experiences in ways that are meaningful to them.

Toys become a child’s words and play their language.

Boundaries are also discussed with your child to ensure that safety is maintained within the therapy room.

My role centres on developing a trusting therapeutic relationship with the child or young person by providing a warm, empathic, accepting and safe space.

Going at the child’s pace and allowing them to lead within the room is an important part of my approach. Rather than placing expectations on how they should use their sessions, they have the freedom to choose which toys or materials they use and how they wish to use them.

During Play Therapy sessions, I reflect and respond to what I observe within the child’s play, helping them to explore and develop an understanding of themselves and the world around them. Their feelings and experiences are met with acceptance and validation within the therapeutic relationship.

Short-term therapeutic work will usually involve a minimum of 12 sessions. Review meetings take place during the therapeutic process to consider how the work is progressing and whether further or longer-term support may be appropriate for the child or young person.

The overall length of therapy will depend upon the individual child or young person and their needs.

Review meetings usually take place around the 6th–8th session and provide an opportunity to discuss how the therapeutic work is progressing, any challenges, and strategies or ideas that may be helpful at home or school.

This supports the “one team” approach, allowing us to work together to support the needs of your child while maintaining the confidentiality of their individual therapy sessions.

Your child’s individual sessions are confidential. This means that I would not routinely share the details of what they have played with, created or talked about during their sessions.

Confidentiality is an important part of creating a therapeutic space in which a child or young person can feel safe to express themselves freely.

During review meetings, however, I can discuss broader themes emerging from the therapeutic work and how the intervention is progressing, while respecting your child’s privacy and the confidentiality of their sessions.

If I become concerned about something your child has communicated, either through their play or verbally, that indicates there may be a risk to their safety or the safety of someone else, I have a professional responsibility to share this information with the appropriate person or safeguarding authority.

Where possible and appropriate, I will let the child or young person know that information needs to be shared and will discuss this with their parent or carer.

Yes. A written report can be provided at the end of Play Therapy for an additional fee.