Play therapy for children is a therapeutic approach primarily geared towards working with children, or children and their parents together. In this form of therapy, a therapist supports a child alone or a child and their parent to explore life events that may be affecting their world. This is achieved through play, relationships, and sometimes language, creating a safe space for expression.
When children are facing adverse personal issues, their behavior may become more challenging. Parents may be eager to help but often find it difficult to offer effective aid when a child is unable or unwilling to articulate their feelings. Play therapy is considered one of the most beneficial child therapy services for helping children who are experiencing emotional or behavioral challenges. The toys used in therapy may include a sandbox with miniature figurines, art materials, Legos or other construction toys, costumes, stuffed animals, dolls, dollhouses with miniature furniture, puppets, indoor sports equipment, and various indoor games. Play therapy can benefit children in numerous ways, such as encouraging creativity, promoting healing from traumatic events, facilitating emotional expression, developing positive decision-making skills, introducing new ways of thinking and behaving, learning problem-solving skills, enhancing social skills, and enabling communication of personal problems or concerns.
Child Centred Play Therapy and Interplay (Attachment Based) Therapy adopt a humanistic approach, believing that healing occurs in relationship and connection with others. It is fundamentally believed that we inherently know what we need to heal; sometimes we just require support to uncover that. This type of play therapy is nondirective and grounded in the idea that when provided with optimal therapeutic conditions and the freedom to play, children will be able to resolve their issues with the support of the therapist or primary caregiver in Interplay. This approach is viewed as non-intrusive and child-focused, allowing children to lead and work at their own pace with minimal instruction from the therapist regarding how to engage in play—just support and acceptance to facilitate the process.
Play therapy can help children and their caregivers communicate, explore repressed thoughts and emotions, address unresolved trauma, and experience personal growth, making it a widely recognized, effective, and developmentally appropriate mental health treatment for children. It can also support families in building and healing their relationships in a playful, accepting, and welcoming environment.
What to Expect
Sessions are held weekly and last 45 minutes. During treatment, the therapist creates a comfortable, safe environment where the child and/or child and parent can play together with the therapist's support, maintaining as few limits as possible. The counseling space, often referred to as a playroom, is equipped with a selection of specifically chosen toys designed to encourage the child to express feelings and develop healthier behaviors. This space is also tailored for a child and parent to play together with the therapist's guidance. The child’s interactions with the toys and in relationships serve as symbolic words, allowing them to process any issues present in their world. The therapist can learn about specific thoughts and emotions that a child may find difficult to express verbally.
Additionally, dance movement therapy can complement play therapy for children by incorporating movement into the therapeutic process, further enhancing emotional expression and communication.
Book now for an intake session with Alana, and we will work together to determine the best fit for you and your family.
Dance Movement Therapy is a form of therapy based on the principle of connection - between body, mind, and soul. This approach to dance movement therapy respects and acknowledges this connection and the integral part it plays in your journey to healing. It also emphasizes that the body has its own wisdom that can support your healing, and that dance itself is a powerful medium for healing.
The interaction between body, mind, and soul significantly influences your everyday wellbeing and functioning. As an arts-based psychotherapy, dance movement therapy can help you integrate the psychological, physical, emotional, cultural, and spiritual aspects of your life through dance, creative movement, and sometimes language. Additionally, dance can be a transformative tool for achieving change in areas of your life where it’s needed.
In the context of child therapy services, dance movement therapy can effectively address behavioral and psychological concerns, such as depression and anxiety, while also supporting attachment and the parent-child bond. We utilize a range of practices, including rhythm, breathing, gesture, exploring personal space, creative expression, mindfulness, and non-verbal communication, in both group and individual settings.
Through these explorations, participants, including children, are encouraged to use dance as a tool for self-expression and discovery, problem-solving, emotional regulation, physical expression, resilience building, self and spiritual connection, shifting perspectives, expressing feelings, developing self-awareness, and ultimately, healing. This is particularly beneficial in play therapy for children, where creative movement can enhance emotional understanding and personal growth.
Three Hearts Therapy offers weekly Move Together Groups for parents and their child/ren, designed to help you and your child/ren engage in fun activities. This approach fosters a real sense of connection with your child, similar to the benefits found in child therapy services. Participants can enjoy the following advantages from these movement groups:
* Connecting through movement with your child
* Developing a strong, intuitive bond with your baby
* Learning more about your child’s movement patterns
* Slowing down to enjoy and relax together
* Gaining support by interacting and moving with other parents
* Expanding your movement repertoire and building confidence for both you and your child
* Modeling your love of movement to your child, encouraging a lifelong passion for dance and movement
* Practicing developmental movement through play therapy for children
* Experiencing joy and vitality together through the joy of dance, along with wonder and delight.
Every session aims to strengthen the parent-child relationship by attuning to your child through eye-contact, sound, rhythm, play, and movement, while engaging in sensori-motor experiences together. Throughout these sessions, I will guide you to slow down, observe your child’s unique movement patterns, and appreciate their developing sense of self, needs, and personality. You will learn to trust yourself to move confidently and relax together. Your child learns to love moving by seeing you move! It’s a perfect way to start your day with your little ones!
Play therapy for children is a therapeutic approach primarily geared towards working with children, or children and their parents together. In this form of therapy, a therapist supports a child alone or a child and their parent to explore life events that may be affecting their world. This is achieved through play, relationships, and sometimes language, creating a safe space for expression.
When children are facing adverse personal issues, their behavior may become more challenging. Parents may be eager to help but often find it difficult to offer effective aid when a child is unable or unwilling to articulate their feelings. Play therapy is considered one of the most beneficial child therapy services for helping children who are experiencing emotional or behavioral challenges. The toys used in therapy may include a sandbox with miniature figurines, art materials, Legos or other construction toys, costumes, stuffed animals, dolls, dollhouses with miniature furniture, puppets, indoor sports equipment, and various indoor games. Play therapy can benefit children in numerous ways, such as encouraging creativity, promoting healing from traumatic events, facilitating emotional expression, developing positive decision-making skills, introducing new ways of thinking and behaving, learning problem-solving skills, enhancing social skills, and enabling communication of personal problems or concerns.
Child Centred Play Therapy and Interplay (Attachment Based) Therapy adopt a humanistic approach, believing that healing occurs in relationship and connection with others. It is fundamentally believed that we inherently know what we need to heal; sometimes we just require support to uncover that. This type of play therapy is nondirective and grounded in the idea that when provided with optimal therapeutic conditions and the freedom to play, children will be able to resolve their issues with the support of the therapist or primary caregiver in Interplay. This approach is viewed as non-intrusive and child-focused, allowing children to lead and work at their own pace with minimal instruction from the therapist regarding how to engage in play—just support and acceptance to facilitate the process.
Play therapy can help children and their caregivers communicate, explore repressed thoughts and emotions, address unresolved trauma, and experience personal growth, making it a widely recognized, effective, and developmentally appropriate mental health treatment for children. It can also support families in building and healing their relationships in a playful, accepting, and welcoming environment.
What to Expect
Sessions are held weekly and last 45 minutes. During treatment, the therapist creates a comfortable, safe environment where the child and/or child and parent can play together with the therapist's support, maintaining as few limits as possible. The counseling space, often referred to as a playroom, is equipped with a selection of specifically chosen toys designed to encourage the child to express feelings and develop healthier behaviors. This space is also tailored for a child and parent to play together with the therapist's guidance. The child’s interactions with the toys and in relationships serve as symbolic words, allowing them to process any issues present in their world. The therapist can learn about specific thoughts and emotions that a child may find difficult to express verbally.
Additionally, dance movement therapy can complement play therapy for children by incorporating movement into the therapeutic process, further enhancing emotional expression and communication.
Book now for an intake session with Alana, and we will work together to determine the best fit for you and your family.
Dance Movement Therapy is a form of therapy based on the principle of connection - between body, mind, and soul. This approach to dance movement therapy respects and acknowledges this connection and the integral part it plays in your journey to healing. It also emphasizes that the body has its own wisdom that can support your healing, and that dance itself is a powerful medium for healing.
The interaction between body, mind, and soul significantly influences your everyday wellbeing and functioning. As an arts-based psychotherapy, dance movement therapy can help you integrate the psychological, physical, emotional, cultural, and spiritual aspects of your life through dance, creative movement, and sometimes language. Additionally, dance can be a transformative tool for achieving change in areas of your life where it’s needed.
In the context of child therapy services, dance movement therapy can effectively address behavioral and psychological concerns, such as depression and anxiety, while also supporting attachment and the parent-child bond. We utilize a range of practices, including rhythm, breathing, gesture, exploring personal space, creative expression, mindfulness, and non-verbal communication, in both group and individual settings.
Through these explorations, participants, including children, are encouraged to use dance as a tool for self-expression and discovery, problem-solving, emotional regulation, physical expression, resilience building, self and spiritual connection, shifting perspectives, expressing feelings, developing self-awareness, and ultimately, healing. This is particularly beneficial in play therapy for children, where creative movement can enhance emotional understanding and personal growth.
Three Hearts Therapy offers weekly Move Together Groups for parents and their child/ren, designed to help you and your child/ren engage in fun activities. This approach fosters a real sense of connection with your child, similar to the benefits found in child therapy services. Participants can enjoy the following advantages from these movement groups:
* Connecting through movement with your child
* Developing a strong, intuitive bond with your baby
* Learning more about your child’s movement patterns
* Slowing down to enjoy and relax together
* Gaining support by interacting and moving with other parents
* Expanding your movement repertoire and building confidence for both you and your child
* Modeling your love of movement to your child, encouraging a lifelong passion for dance and movement
* Practicing developmental movement through play therapy for children
* Experiencing joy and vitality together through the joy of dance, along with wonder and delight.
Every session aims to strengthen the parent-child relationship by attuning to your child through eye-contact, sound, rhythm, play, and movement, while engaging in sensori-motor experiences together. Throughout these sessions, I will guide you to slow down, observe your child’s unique movement patterns, and appreciate their developing sense of self, needs, and personality. You will learn to trust yourself to move confidently and relax together. Your child learns to love moving by seeing you move! It’s a perfect way to start your day with your little ones!
Alana, a qualified dance movement and play therapist, offers professional development workshops that can be conducted in any workplace, particularly focusing on child therapy services. These workshops cover various essential areas, including:
- Play therapy for children
- The importance of play
- The significance of relationships in supporting children who have experienced trauma
- The role of movement and body-based practices in education, along with a range of fun tools for the classroom
- Supporting emotional regulation through movement and dance
- Circle of Security concepts, which are attachment-based to foster relationships
- Concepts from the Blackbox Parenting program that emphasize relationship building
- Insights into trauma, the Vagus nerve, and neuroscience
These professional development sessions are led by Alana, a qualified Early Childhood Teacher, and are designed to enhance workers' abilities to build strong relationships with the children they serve. While these workshops can be held in various settings, they are particularly well-suited for early childhood or school environments.
Three Hearts Therapy
acknowledges that they operate on Awabakal,Worimi and Wonnarua Land. Alana is privileged to walk, dance, play and love on this Aboriginal Land, and acknowledges the ongoing sovereignty of the First Nations Peoples of Australia. Always was, Always will be Aboriginal Land. With love I pay respect to Elders, past, present & future.
Three Hearts Therapy is LGBTQIA Inclusive