• Children and young people receive weekly sessions lasting between 35 and 50 minutes. Depending on age and session type, with breaks during half term, as needed.
• Sessions are held at the same time, in the same place each week, with breaks during half term, as needed. It’s important to think carefully about when sessions will take place to ensure that the schedule can be maintained throughout as consistency is vital to the process.
• Play and Creative Arts Therapy is best taken place at a neutral location, for example the child or young person’s school or privately in NW11.
• Sessions typically run for a minimum of 12 weeks. The duration can be extended based on the client’s needs, which will be assessed during the referral stage. Regular reviews to discuss progress and direction of the therapy will also be conducted termly.
• Client’s sessions are treated with the highest level of confidentiality.
• All precautions will be taken to protect information held about the families that are using the counselling service. You will receive a copy of my Record Keeping Policy before our Initial Meeting.

• • I require an Initial Meeting before sessions begin to discuss the child or young person being referred and to gain understanding of the family history.
  • Parental/Guardian permission is required for all children and young people to attend Play and Creative Arts Therapy. 
  • Play and Creative Art Therapy sessions involve the client and the therapist, so you will be unable to attend your child or young person’s sessions. I will make an allowance for the first session only with particularly anxious clients.
  • I will email you following my first session with your child to touch base on how we both feel the session went. For self-funded sessions, I will let you know by the third session if I and/or Play and Creative Arts Therapy is the right thing for your child or young person.
  • I will liaise with parents/guardians by email and then phone call if necessary. Communication should be separate from sessions.
  • Play and Creative Art Therapy sessions are a chance for children to explore their inner world in a safe space. This means we need to respect their space and privacy.
  • The child is free to share any information they want to about their session with whoever they would like to.
  • I will not share any information regarding the child’s sessions with parents, however I am happy to share overall progress.
  • Parents can feel free to contact me in between sessions, by email, if they have any questions or concerns.
  • You can schedule a check in phone call with me termly to discuss the sessions. Remember, I will only share overall progress during this check in
  • I am also able to provide an End of Play Therapy report upon request for an additional fee. A report is usually agreed before school funded sessions begin.

To consistently interact with the individual in an open, accepting, and respectful manner throughout our sessions to build a trusting relationship. It is important to set boundaries between myself and my client to determine how we use the space, their input in this process is highly valued.

In the early stages of therapy, I will remain non-directive, meaning the child or young person can freely choose what and how to play in the room. I will follow their lead and participate in their play and creativity when invited. I will provide observations and reflections to help the child or young person yo learn more about themselves and their world.

Once a trusting relationship has been established and the individual is open to a particular direction for their sessions, I may then start to implement more directive and structured play and creativity to help them work through the feelings and experiences they are bringing into the space.

• Clients are provided with a box or folder to contain their work during their therapy which will be held by the therapist until the work has come to an end.
• Clients will have a choice in bringing this box or folder home with them, please could parents be mindful of this and allow their child or young person to show them their work; if they want too; at their own pace.

• I have a data protection policy which can be seen on request. Data is kept securely and anonymised with a client code. Client session information is always confidential.

• Basic information such as what tools were used in a session are recorded on Play Therapy UK’s (PTUK) secure database, Fortuna. This is used to inform research into Play and Creative Arts Therapy. No client can be identified from it.

• For younger children explain that therapy is a safe place where they can play with or talk to a new friend to explore and learn about their big feelings. A therapist will help them to look at times when they have felt sad or angry, but also things that they like to do and are good at doing, as well as times when they feel happy or playful. If talking about feelings it too much for them, I have a picture that I will send you in preparation for their session with lots of different reasons as to why a child may attend sessions, you can then share with your child what feels manageable for them.
• For older children, start the conversation by asking them what they know about therapy already and what their expectations may be. Explain that the therapist’s job is to find out about them, to help them to figure out what they want and how to get there. As well as exploring and learning about their big feelings in a safe place.
• During our initial session, I will also explain my role to the child or young person as well as initiating “Getting to Know Each other’ activities or games. I am extremely open to letting children know me and am happy for my clients to ask questions they may have about me during this stage.

Unfortunately, Play and Creative Arts Therapy is not recognised by health insurance to be registered as a provider. However, if you wanted your chlild or young person to work with me, you can put a special request into your insurance and they may fund the work. You will be required to pay for sessions beforehand and then claim back from your insurer.

If you have any further questions please Contact us.