Services
Play Therapy
Play Therapy is a specialised area of practice that provides children with an opportunity to “play out” their thoughts, feelings and difficulties in a safe environment with a professional therapist.
Why use play based therapy?
‘Play permits the child to resolve in symbolic form unsolved problems of the past and to cope directly or symbolically with present concerns. It is also his most significant tool for preparing himself for the future and its tasks.’ Bruno Bettelheim, Child Psychologist.
Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Play is the natural language of children that enables complex thoughts and feelings, ideas and perceptions to be brought into focus. Using play in therapy children can work through traumatic or difficult life’s experiences. Children may also learn to manage relationships and conflicts in more appropriate ways.
SandStory Therapy®
SandStory Therapy® is a gentle, creative therapy which embraces the power of sand, symbols and storytelling.
"Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain" - Carl Jung.
LEGO®-Based Therapy
LEGO®-based therapy is a structured, group intervention designed to help children explore and practise social skills. LEGO®-Based Therapy is a collaborative, play-based social skills intervention originally designed for children with autism and related conditions. However, Lego-based therapy is enjoyed by all children even if they do not have a diagnosis. Each child takes a turn at fulfilling a specific role of an ‘engineer’, a ‘supplier’ or a ‘builder’ and together they follow instructions to build a model.
The programme is based on the highly structured, systematic and predictable nature of building play which makes it appealing to children with social communication difficulties who are particularly attracted to systems.
Parent and Carer Consultations
‘The parent-child connection is the most powerful mental health intervention known to mankind’. Bessel Van Der Kolk.
These 1-1½ hour sessions are designed to:
• Empower parents/caregivers
• Strengthen the parent-child relationship
• Prevent problems from developing in the future
• Enhance parents/caregivers’ awareness of the issues from an attachment and child development perspective
• Provide parents/caregivers with practical information and suggestions to support their child
Consultation for professionals
Organisational, group, and team consultation sessions are available for a range of social care, educational, health, legal, and early year’s professionals. These consultation sessions are aided by psychoeducation, theoretical bases, practical direct working tools, and evidence-based models. They offer a reflective, warm and friendly space, as well as where appropriate, suggested practical real-world tools and strategies.
The ABCs Approach
Caroline has developed an approach called the ABCs. The ABCs approach is inspired by her years of practice and experience that allows her to support and guide others who share her passion in being with children.
ABCs was designed to enable a more compassionate understanding of a child’s lived experience, how it impacts their overall development and using the relationship as a catalyst to foster nurturance and transformation.
ABCs supports adults to build safe, trusting and meaningful relationships with children and young people.
ABCs stand for A- Attachment
B- Behaviours
C- Connection and communication
This is a child centered, attachment and relationship-based approach understanding that the importance of the child-adult relationship is key for supporting children to thrive in any setting. The ABCs model can help create relationships were the child can feel safe, seen, soothed and secure.
The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child at Harvard identifies…the critical impact of a child’s “environment of relationships” on developing brain architecture during the first months and years of life’ (p1) and cites evidence that these relationships literally shape brain circuits and lay the foundation for later academic performance, mental health and inter-personal skill.
An organisation of space can either help with or hinder a child’s feelings of security and wellbeing, and will significantly influence behaviour.
‘High quality environments, experiences and relationships in early childhood are they key forces in building emotional security, resilience and mental health and they directly impact brain development and human potential’. Centre on the Developing Child, Harvard.