Flourish Play Therapy

About Me

My name is Sarah Day.

I have worked with individual children and groups experiencing attachment difficulties, trauma,anxiety and social and emotional behaviour difficulties.

As an experienced primary teacher, and mum to three children, I have supported children with autism spectrum disorders and additional learning needs.

I am committed to enabling the child or young person to explore and express their difficult feelings and to help them achieve a more positive view of themselves. It is possible for me to work with children in their school setting or home environment. I have a dedicated therapeutic playroom in Bishop's Stortford.

I have trained with Play Therapy UK and I am a Certified Play and Creative Arts Therapist working to the PTUK ethical standards and clinical governance. I hold a current DBS check and am fully insured. My commitment to continuous professional development ensures my skills and knowledge are kept current.

All my clinical work is fully supervised by a qualified and experienced Clinical Supervisor on a regular basis.

I am on the Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists that has been accredited by the Professional Standards Authority. My registration number for PTUK is 201500814

What is Play Therapy?

Play Therapy

Sometimes it’s difficult to put our feelings into words, even as adults. This is the same for children, only sometimes they do not have the vocabulary to talk about what is going on for them. This is where play comes in. For children, play is one of the most powerful ways of communicating and working things out. Play therapy enables the child or young person to explore their difficulties and understand them, often allowing them to alter their perspective, so that they are less likely to blame themselves for any of the difficulties they are facing.

Who can benefit from Play Therapy ?

Play Therapy is appropriate for children and young people but is most often used with children between 3 and 11 years.

It is recommended for children who have experienced:

Bed wetting and sleep disturbances
Separation anxiety and school refusal
Emotional or behavioural difficulties
Loss through bereavement, family breakdown or relocation
Illness, hospitalisation, and disability
Being a witness to violence or substance abuse
Cutting and self-harm
Abuse or neglect
Trauma due to single incident or prolonged trauma
Bullying and bullying others

What is a Play Therapist?

PTUK registered Play Therapists are graduates with experience of working with children e.g. teaching, social work, psychology. To be registered as a Certified Play Therapist they must have met the following criteria:

completion of a PTUK Post Graduate Diploma in Play Therapy and 200 hours of clinical experience
on-going clinical supervision of their Play Therapy practice plus regular CPD
commitment to the PTUK Ethical basis for Good practice in Play Therapy
DBS enhanced disclosure

Play Therapists draw on an extensive repertoire of neuroscience, attachment (bonding) and child led, non-directive techniques to more focused interventions to enable the child to reach the targets and goals set for the intervention.

The Play Therapy Tool-kit

Play Therapy uses a variety of methods to encourage a child to explore their inner world and feelings.

Puppets, masks and drama enhances social relationships and self-care enabling the safe release of fears, aggression and frustrations.

The creative arts and clay promote self-expression and provide methods to safely explore stressful or traumatic experiences.

Music, dance and movement enhances communication, improves social skills, and reduces stress.

Sand tray play gives expression to non-verbalised emotional issues and provides a positive sensory experience.

Creative Visualisation helps to create new, positive beliefs, attitudes and behaviours.

Storytelling encourages creativity and allows the story within to find its voice.

SandStory Skills®Training

SandStory Skills®

SandStory Skills® equips professionals working with children and young people with essential, safe, ‘soft skills’ to support the emotional well-being and personal development of those in their care.

The training is tailored for those who are Senco’s, ELSA’s and others who wish to expand and develop their existing skills in a uniquely creative way.

SandStory Skills® is not a therapy, but a safe and creative way of working within a clear session framework. The child or young person is supported as they naturally begin to express, explore and experiment in telling their ‘story in the sand’ as they play.

You, the skilled practitioner, are at the heart of this approach. You will learn the essential 5 skills to be able to confidently support your storyteller as their story emerges through the gentle mediums of sand, small world play and games.

SandStory Skills® training is available as a flexible 14-hour online training or a 2-day face to face training.

This exciting new training offers a comprehensive package of support for participants delivered through both theoretical and experiential training modules;

- Assessment and certification as SandStory Skills® Practitioner

-Creative Coaching support sessions (3 included)

- A personalised logo

- Resources and planning tools

Your investment for this comprehensive training and support package is £300

Parent and ChilD Attachment Play

PCAP

Parents and carers are often concerned about their children’s behaviour and that by adopting a playful attachment approach they will somehow lose control over their family life.

In fact, the opposite is true. When the parent-child relationship is working, helpful child behaviour generally follows and family life becomes more manageable.

This 10 step programme is based on the latest attachment research which shows that supporting the parent-child attachment relationship sets the scene for the best outcomes for children right into adulthood.

Working with the parent in a creative and fun way we explore three skills to greatly improve communication which in turn leads to a greater understanding of your child's needs.

We start with expanding the parent's existing skills and through a truly personalised bespoke package of face to face and online support the parent is supported to be the agent of change within their family.

Working closely together we also explore any specific worries and concerns about a child and find fun,creative and effective solutions to use at home.

A great strength of this 10 step programme is that the parent is empowered to expand the skills they learn to support their other children.

Your investment for the 10 step PCAP Programme is £350

Creative Coaching

Creative coaching support for people caring for children

Are you responsible for the emotional well-being and personal development of children and young people in your care?

Perhaps you are a parent facing the challenges of juggling everything! Maybe you are a TA in a busy school who needs to come up for breath every now and then, but is missing that listening ear that could help?

Creative coaching by a Certified Play Therapist, experienced Primary teacher, and mum of three could be the answer.

I am not a qualified Supervisor but can confidently and safely support you through a series of creative mindfulness and self-care activities to help you gain greater personal insight and understanding of the challenges of your probably many caring roles.

My flexible approach allows you to set the agenda and the frequency we meet.

Your investment in your self-care is £40 per hour

Rates & Location

Rates

Please contact me regarding my current Play Therapy hourly and daily rates.

Most children need a minimum of 12 sessions of Play Therapy but this does depend on their needs.

PCAP is a ten week programme £350

SandStory Skills® is offered as a flexible on-line or face to face 2 day training £300

Creative Coaching is a bespoke service £40 per hour

Please email me via the contact page so we can arrange a time to chat.

I aim to reply to your enquiry as soon as possible.

Location

I am based in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire and in addition to my dedicated playroom in Bishop's Stortford, I offer a mobile Play Therapy service to Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire.