What is important to us?
We value relationship and working together. Young people don’t exist in isolation which is why it’s important to take a holistic approach with the people we work with, which as Allied Health Professionals more particularly Social Workers we are trained in family systems and the systems around you. We work with parents/carers, but also extend that to support other people in the young persons life, which generally includes daycare and schools. A multi disciplinary team approach is what we like to achieve.
You will quickly learn that we are a relaxed, family focused space, we enjoy loud and messy and love it when our parents take a nap in the waiting room!
Types of Therapy we offer!
We pride ourselves on being creative and flexible. We understand that each child or human being learns and processes differently. We do know that playful, engaging therapy is the modality for young people (even adults) Children are motivated by what interests them and this is the resource and strength that we focus on for building safe relationships, rapport, creating plans, processing trauma, grief and loss, emotional release, relationship breakdown or working towards identified goals.
As Social Workers or trained counsellors we have expertise in a wide range of therapies or modalities (ways of working) with working with children, teens, adults and families. Some are listed below for you 🙂
Play based Therapies?
Play therapy is a structured, theoretically based approach to therapy that builds on the normal communicative and learning processes of children. Play Therapy utilizes this natural ability of children and uses developmentally appropriate techniques to expand self-expression, self-knowledge, self-actualization and self-efficacy. Play relieves feelings of stress and boredom, connects us to people in a positive way, stimulates creative thinking and exploration, regulates our emotions, and boosts our ego. In addition, play allows us to practice skills and roles needed for survival. Researchers now have evidence that learning and development are best fostered through play.
Art Therapy:
Art Therapy, facilitated by a professional art therapist, effectively supports personal and relational treatment goals. Art therapy is used to improve cognitive and sensorimotor functions, foster self esteem and self awareness, emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress.
You don’t have to be an artist or even “artsy” to make art. Everyone is creative – and we all remember making art as children.
In art therapy sessions, your art therapist may encourage you to try different art media such as color pencils, paints, clay, and collage. Sometimes non–traditional art materials (e.g. tree branches and leaves) are intentionally introduced to you in order to expand your creative expression. You may also explore different styles of expression, using doodling, abstract designs, and contour drawing. Art therapists are trained to facilitate a type of art making for your specific needs
Sandplay Therapy (3 to 103!)
Sandplay Therapy is a powerful therapeutic technique that facilitates the psyche natural capacity for healing, it externalises the internal world ‘provides a way for material from the unconscious to become visible, healed, and integrated into the consciousness’
*Neuro science research supports the fact that emotional memories and traumatic experiences are stored in the limbic system and right hemisphere of the brain, along with non-verbal, sensory experiences such as images, body sensations and emotions. Non Verbal therapies like Sandplay are the most effective ways to access and release the ‘unconscious’ feelings and experiences so they can be healed.
Sandplay Therapy for Children
Children don’t have the words to unpack traumatic experiences or maybe sometimes they struggle to discuss their sadness/anxieties about school, whatever the presenting issue may be, the non verbal nature of Sandplay Therapy and the familiar sensory input from the sand can help children achieve feelings of comfort and security. This method of therapy is a valuable and powerful outlet for children and is an incredibly insightful method of gaining access to emotional experiences.
Sandplay Therapy for adolescents and adults!
Although Sandplay Therapy may look like child’s play, it is a highly therapeutic and multidimensional form of therapy that can provide emotional release and realisation for a person in therapy. Adolescents and adults who show limited response to other types of therapy may respond well to Sandplay Therapy. Using the miniatures and sand to create their inner world into a 3D dimensional, externalised picture provides a narrative of the unconscious which can give a person the courage and ability to recognise the capacity for personal growth.