Programmes of Therapy
Given that one out of every ten children in Wales will experience a mental health difficulty, and that more than half of all mental health problems in the UK begin by the age of 14 (National Assembly of Wales, Children, Young People and Education Committee, 2018, updated 2023), we are so pleased to be able to offer effective and robust models of therapeutic support for children, young people and their families in Mid and West Wales. The detrimental impact of Covid 19 and lockdown on child development, the ongoing cost of living crisis and the effects of poverty, alongside the stress of the climate crisis on child mental health, compound the challenges facing children and families in these times. Timely and enduring interventions from qualified professionals are needed when these influences begin to undermine wellbeing and mental health.
Play Therapy is a proven and effective modality supporting clients of all ages facing a vast array of challenges and adversity. These may include experiences of abuse, trauma, bereavement and loss, domestic violence and family breakdown.
The successful outcomes of Play Therapy are due to the combined effects of the communicative and healing powers of play and the acceptance and containment embedded in the client’s relationship with the Play Therapist. The child leads the play and the Play Therapist follows, providing safety and containment, regulating and supporting the child’s self-expression and self understanding through the symbols and metaphors of play.
Children express their feelings and communicate their experiences through play. They can work through trauma and try out different ideas and solutions for their dilemmas and gain mastery and confidence through the play process. Children can do this naturally as part of their developmental journey, but when circumstances overwhelm the child’s resources, making them feel anxious and unsafe, they struggle to ‘play it out’ without the support and skills of an empathetic and skilled Play Therapist who understands the developmental, emotional and mental health needs of the child. The in-depth therapeutic relationship promotes positive change in the child by supporting them to understand their emotions and reactions themselves whilst expanding their capacity and resilience to manage triggers and responses.
Dyadic Play Therapy. Dyadic Play Therapy employs the same ethos and practice as non-directive Play Therapy in sessions held with both a qualified Play Therapist and the parent or carer present and engaged in play with the child. The parent or carer is prepared and supported to respond therapeutically to the child in the playroom, with the Play Therapist holding the process and assisting when needed. There are separate sessions between the Play Therapist and parent or carer before and then alongside those with the child. Engaging both the child and caregiver within the process of therapy will often achieve a swift and more enduring progress.
Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy provides support for children and young people who are struggling. Many of the children we work with have experienced early relational trauma and multiple adverse childhood experiences, including chaotic and frightening environments; inconsistent or neglectful parenting; abuse that can be emotional, physical, sexual; and for some, many sudden moves to different households. The impact of these traumatic experiences affect the child’s ability to make sense of their world. We provide longer term programmes of psychotherapy through the developmentally sensitive medium of play and creative and expressive arts including sandtray and nature-based play therapy. We work closely with the key adults around the child and we can deliver trauma informed training to family and professionals to support better understanding of a child’s presenting behaviours.
We have developed a bespoke approach to working therapeutically with a child’s life story we call The Pebble Trail Programme. The programme includes time for the therapist to research and develop the story with key adults in the child’s world. The child’s story, told in a developmentally appropriate and child friendly format, is then shared with the child in the company of their parent/carer during the early stage of the child’s therapeutic journey. The therapist monitors the child’s response to the story and may provide emotion regulation if the child becomes dysregulated: the story is often told in brief episodes over several sessions. When the child’s story is told in the context of ongoing therapy, we provide the safety and containment of an established therapeutic relationship and regular weekly sessions for the child to process and integrate their story through the medium of play and expressive arts.