Child & Adolescent Counselling

General Information
Some clients prefer non-talking therapy.  They may be very young for example or simply don’t feel ready to talk about their experiences.  Often their distress has shown itself in their outward behaviour.

By offering a variety of play and creative art materials in a safe therapeutic environment in which the child is “contained”, the therapist is able to help the child/young person to connect with their emotional experiences that they struggle with.
 
Creative mediums including sand and water, clay, arts and crafts, small figures and animals, puppets, therapeutic story and books, musical instruments, drama, dance and movement are available to help the client explore their feelings, thoughts or behaviours.
  
Play Therapy:
Play Therapy has been clinically shown to benefit children suffering from a range of distress and emotional disturbance.    

Young children like to be active and play therapy is better suited to their needs than a sedentary counselling conversation. Children make connections into their world through play which they struggle to make verbally because play is their natural language of communication.   

Play Therapy is particularly suitable for children with learning, physical and sensory impairments and may also be appropriate with those whom English is not their first language.
                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Child & Adolescent Counselling:
Young people often struggle to talk about their feelings which are impacting upon their daily lives.  Offering creative mediums and talking therapies allows the young person to choose how to express their behaviours and feelings.  Through exploration, the young person can develop an understanding of themselves, thus enabling them to change and move forward.  

Group Play Therapy:
Group therapy is different from individual play therapy and for some children and families group play therapy can be very beneficial.  The Therapist will encourage group members to communicate and learn from each other within a safe environment.  Groups may include siblings, peers, parents and children, with a range of techniques and creative mediums being offered by the therapist to help to support expression and for them to learn about themselves and others.