Play and Creative Arts Therapy

Robyn Stuart – Play Therapist.

The purpose of Play & Creative Arts Therapy in schools is to help children and young people improve in their ability to learn by alleviating their emotional, behavioural and mental health problems.

What is Play & Creative Arts Therapy?

• A method of helping children with emotional, social and behavioural problems to help themselves.

• It’s a way of individuals processing and expressing thoughts, feelings and experiences when words fail them.

• Play is the child’s natural medium of self-expression – it’s essential for development.

• An opportunity to ‘play out’ and express their feelings and problems within a therapeutic setting, with a therapeutic aim, using their natural medium of self-expression – Play.

• Play & Creative Arts Therapy is about enabling potential.

A play Therapist is integrative. The approach encompasses expressive therapies which is essential for development and uses such therapeutic media as: sand, art, clay, movement, drama, music and puppets.

The therapist provides a free and protected space for the person to express themselves physically and verbally through play & expressive arts.

Therapeutic Counselling

Clair Brewer – Therapeutic Counsellor and Family Support Worker. 

Therapeutic Counselling is a holistic intervention and focuses on the whole child and therefore the counsellor uses child/person-centred approaches. Therapeutic Counselling is child-led and non-directive allowing the pace of the work to be determined by that of the child.

In all sessions, the counsellor provides a free and protected space for a child to express themselves fully both physically and verbally. In Therapeutic Counselling the child does this through talking and the use of other therapeutic tools. The counsellor supports the work by building a trusting rapport with the child so that when the child feels comfortable therapeutic work can be carried out.

Speech and Language Therapy (SALT)

Kathryn Murrel – Speech and Language practitioner.

Emma Ingham – SEMH Specialist practitioner.

What is speech and language therapy?

Speech and language therapists/practitioners work with children and young people with speech, language and/or communications difficulties. They do this by assessing an individual’s needs and devising an intervention plan which facilitates the gaining and development of skills.

We can provide assistance with general and specialist areas of speech and language therapy such as:

• attention and listening

• understanding what others say

• using first words and putting sentences together

• remembering which words to use and what they mean

• knowing how to use communication in social situations