Nursery World - Positive Relationships: Play Therapy

Families can find ways to resolve problems in their relationships with the help of a professional play therapist, as Cath Hunter explains.

I am a play therapist working in a primary school in a deprived area of Manchester. I work with children and families across all the key stages, including the foundation stage. An essential part of my work involves helping parents to develop their understanding of their child's behaviour.

Play therapy provides children with the opportunity to explore feelings, express themselves and make sense of their life experiences. Play is the natural way that children learn, communicate and explore their world, and working with a play therapist provides them with a safe and trusting environment in which to think about difficult experiences. Rather than having to explain what is troubling them, as adult therapy usually expects, children are able to use play, such as arts and crafts, puppets and dolls, or small-world play, to communicate at their own level and at their own pace, without feeling interrogated or threatened.

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