Humanistic Play Therapy
These are 1:1 play therapy sessions to support children with their emotional wellbeing, working on trauma, anxiety, relationships, emotional regulation, self-esteem etc. Through this style of play therapy children learn new strategies that can be used to cope in everyday life
This intervention ranges from 12 to 24 weekly (or fortnightly) play therapy session, with parent session taking place every 4-6 weeks. During these sessions therapist provides feedback to the family on the progress. These parent sessions also include upskilling and education on how they can support their children outside the playroom. For families who have support/case management services involved practitioners will also be offered the opportunity to attend progress sessions (with client consent) as part of our values around systemic work and continuity of care.
How Does it Work?
Humanistic play therapy will generally take play once a week in a playroom filled with a range of toys that allow for self-expression and meet the needs of the individual. These toys are grouped into the following categories:
- Family/nurturance toys - dolls, tea sets, doll house, puppets etc
- Construction and transport toys – duplo, building blocks etc
- Aggression toys – swards, guns, hand cuffs etc.
- Creative expression toys – dress ups, masks, arts and craft etc
- Multiuse toys such as sad trays and miniatures.
Through the use of these toys the therapist will identify themes in the play which will help tell a story of what the child may be experiencing. These are then connected to therapeutic powers of play and other theoretic frameworks that allows the therapist to make sese of the play and further support the child in their journey. The sessions go for approximately 50 minutes without the parent in the room. Therapy can be emotionally exhausting with some sessions being easier than others. Because of this it’s important to not overwhelm the child with questions after the session, but
more so provide a simple reminder on the morning of and a warm check in after the session. “I hope the session went ok today I’m here if you need anything”. Given play therapy is a free space for your child to express themselves in any way they see fit, ensure they are in comfortable clothing that is ok to get messy in. Play therapy is a journey, one in which the child leads, and the adults follow. Therefore, we want to make this a positive experience as working through our internal work is hard enough.
We value that as a parent or caregiver you will want to know how the sessions are progressing. Therefore, the therapist will maintain in regular communication between session as well as hold formal review sessions every 4 to 6 weeks. For short term interventions the therapist will conduct 12 to 24 sessions and up to 36 sessions (possibly more) for those who have experienced more complex trauma or facing ongoing challenges.
During the intake process the therapist will discuss the intervention in grater detail in terms of timeframes and preparing the child for therapy.