How I can help
Therapy for children
Many parents and carers often worry when a child has a problem that causes them to be sad, disruptive, rebellious, unable to cope or inattentive.
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You may be concerned about your child’s development. eating or sleeping patterns and how they are getting along with family, friends and at school.
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Every child is unique and special but sometimes they experience problems with feelings or behaviours the cause disruption to their lives and the lives of those around them.
What is Play Therapy?
Play Therapy helps children understand muddled feelings and upsetting events that they haven’t had the chance to sort out properly.
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Rather than having to explain what is troubling them, as adult therapy usually expects, children use play to communicate at their own level and at their own pace, without feeling interrogated or threatened.
Play Therapy generally happens every week at the same time and in the same room. It is important for developing the trusting relationship.
How can Play Therapy help my Child?
Play is vital to every child’s social, emotional, cognitive, physical, creative and language development. It helps make learning concrete for all children and young people including those for whom verbal communication may be difficult.
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Play therapy helps children in a variety of ways. Children receive emotional support and can learn to understand more about their own feelings and thoughts. Sometimes they may re-enact or play out traumatic or difficult life experiences in order to make sense of their past and cope better with their future. Children may also learn to manage relationships and conflicts in more appropriate ways.
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The outcomes of Play Therapy may be general e.g. a reduction in anxiety and raised self-esteem, or more specific such as a change in behaviour and improved relations with family and friends.
Is my child too young for Play Therapy?
Play therapy is ideally suited to children 3 years and older. If your child is younger than that play therapy is most likely not the right route for you at this stage.
Is my child too old for Play Therapy?
Generally speaking I work with children up to around 11 years old.
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However, in some cases young teenagers also benefit from play therapy and if your child is in that age bracket I will be more than happy to have an initial discussion to assess whether there would be merit in play therapy for your child.
Our church is hosting a 'Bring a hero to Chuch' event, and it made me think of you and all you meant for us as a family and how you are impacting our parenting. You are our hero.
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D. - Mother of two
D. - Mother of two
Personal Coaching for Parents
Get practical personalised advice on your family situation
Parents are often the experts about their own children, but even the most caring parent sometimes lacks the basic information on what a central role the brain plays in every aspect of a child’s life that we as parents care about: discipline, decision making, self-awareness, school, relationships, etc.
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Since the brain is shaped by the experiences we offer as parents, knowing about the way the brain changes in response to our parenting can help us to nurture a stronger, more resilient child.
My personal coaching approach is aimed at laying the theoretical foundation for the parent and then providing specific practical guidance on how to adjust your parenting style to help your child thrive in every area of development.
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I just wanted to thank you for the insightful sessions that we have had in the past few weeks. It made me realise that as a mom, I should not be so hard on myself to make sure that things are perfect. The most valuable lesson of all though is to appreciate J. for the person that he is, to connect with him and to help him grow. ...So thank you very much for your passion and opening up a whole new relationship for me and J.
N. - Adoptive mother
Short talks and presentations
Sometimes the parents or teachers I work with feel that it would benefit others they know or work with from learning more about the neuroscience of attachment.
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In many cases it is not feasible to involve this audience in the therapy process or for them to attend formal training events on the topic.
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As an alternative, I offer short informal talks and presentations to cover some of the main principles involved.
These events are scheduled on an ad-hoc basis and the content is catered towards the audience and the objective of the talk.
The duration is normally no longer than a couple of hours and often runs in the evenings.
How do I arrange a short talk for my audience?
Please complete the form on the Contact us page and I will respond to your request as soon as possible.
Can I request a specific topic?
Yes, you are welcome to request a topic of focus on a specific area of concern, as long as it still relates to the broader topic of attachment-based interventions.
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Thanks for the presentation you did at our Clamber Club event - feedback was great!
S. - Clamber Club Franchise Owner
Conferences and training events
I am available to present training events and speak at conferences on the topic of secure parent-child relationships as the foundation of healthy emotional and mental development in children.
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These events can vary in duration from half-day introductory sessions to extensive 3-day training events covering a combination of theory and practical techniques. My focus is empowering the audience to implement what they have learnt immediately after the course. My goal is to first provide a robust research-based theoretical foundation and then translate theory into practice through exercises and simulations in the classroom. Participants will leave the course equipped with new skills and a clear understanding of why the techniques will be effective.
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This course has changed my life! I have new hope for making a difference with the children I am working with.
Social Worker
Clinical supervision
I offer clinical supervision to other play therapists in South Africa and abroad.
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Clinical supervision is an essential part of working therapeutically with clients be they adults or children. The purpose of clinical supervision, as compared to line management supervision, is for the supervisor to help the supervisee become more effective in helping other persons ie the children in the case of play therapy.
The role of a Clinical Supervisor is to provide support and advice upon issues that arise during the therapist’s clinical work. These may be matters of therapeutic techniques, therapeutic relationships, difficult problems, ethical decisions or issues that impact personally upon the therapist caused by the therapeutic process.
What is Supervision?
Supervision has two main functions; it should be educative and supportive.
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Education – To provide a regular space for the supervisee to reflect upon the content and process of the work. To develop understanding and skills within the work. To help relate theory to practice. To enable the supervisee to apply their approach appropriately to children at different developmental stages. To have an opportunity to think and develop ideas. Back to Top
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Support – To be validated both as a person and a therapist. To plan and utilise the personal and professional resources of the supervisee To give constructive positive and critical feedback. To offer a space to reflect and clarify what is evoked by the work and explore our reactions to this experience. Ensure that the work is done in such a way that the supervisor can be accountable for the monitoring and quality of the work being done with the children. It is important to form a clear contract for every supervisory relationship, stating length of contract, responsibilities and fees.
Post Graduate Studies in Play Therapy
If you are interested in pursuing a career as a play therapist or want to broaden the scope of your current practice, you should consider attending an accredited PTI course.
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Play Therapy International are running their accredited Post Graduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills and Post Graduate Diploma in Play Therapy courses in South Africa.
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For detailed information about the PTI courses please visit www.playtherapytraining.co.za
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Alternatively, as I am one of the founding partners for PTI Training in South Africa, you are welcome contact me if you have any queries in this regard. Alternatively you can send an email to info@playtherapytraining.co.za
