Why Play Therapy in your school?
Jade works from a holistic and child centred theoretical perspective and provides a psychologically safe space for children to work through challenging issues and traumas, which often helps children to make significant changes in their lives. In addition to this Jade works closely with the child’s support network and offers advice and strategies to parents, carers and teaching staff involved.
Personal benefits to children can include restored and deepened relationships, increased self confidence and self esteem, reduction in fear and anxiety, resolving of traumas, increased concentration, improved behaviours, reduction in aggressive behaviours in addition helping the child return to normal functioning within a home and classroom setting, in turn saving additional children’s services both in education and social care.
Which Children could Play Therapy help?
Jade can work with children aged between three and eleven years of age, and occasionally adolescents, suffering from a range of psychological difficulties and complex life experiences. Psychological difficulties include (but not limited to) challenging behaviour, depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, aggression, ASD, learning difficulties and ADHD. Difficult life experiences include (but not limited to) abuse, grief, family breakdown, parental mental illness, domestic violence and trauma.
What does a mobile Play Therapy service include?
- A weekly visit to the school where individual Play Therapy sessions with the children would take place:
- 4 children Jade would be on site for approximately 7 hours each week
- 3 children Jade would be on site for approximately 5.5 hours each week
- 2 children Jade would be on site for approximately 3.5 hours each week
- All Play Therapy materials and equipment
- Relevant Play Therapy Assessments
- Pre-session planning and post-session analysis
- Parent and carer liaisons and telephone support
- Play Therapy review meetings, which take place every six to eight weeks
- Review meeting written feedback
- Record of Play Therapy intervention reports
- Drop-in consultation for teachers concerned about children in their class
- Post-therapeutic support following completion of children’s play therapy interventions.
- Advice and strategies to support the child both at home and at school.
How is Play Therapy set up at school?
Once you have made contact with Jade she will begin by arranging a FREE meeting to come in to the school. During this meeting Jade will be able to discuss with you potential Play Therapy referrals and decide on the day and times of weekly Play Therapy. Jade will complete brief referral forms with you. Jade will require a room for the Play Therapy to take place each week that is consistent and private.
The school will then be asked to make contact with the parents/carers of the children referred and a introductory meeting between Jade and the parent/carers will be scheduled.
Jade will then hold the introductory meeting with the parent/carers, gathering relevant information, sharing details of the Play Therapy process, and completing the Play Therapy Consent Form. Play therapy can only take place once a parent/carer (person holding parental responsibility for the child) has signed a Play Therapy Consent Form.
It may be that at this stage Jade will need to carry out further assessment of the child and family. This assessment could include joint parental and child sessions, individual child assessment sessions, observing the child at school, and meetings with the class teacher.
Jade can then begin Play Therapy with the children. Play Therapy usually takes place at the same time and place once a week for fifty minutes to an hour. During the first session with the child Jade will age appropriately explain why they are coming to play therapy, and will outline the rules and procedures of the Play Therapy space.
During the Play Therapy sessions Jade will provide a wide range of resources and will enable the child to use these to express him or herself without having to provide verbal explanations.
Every six to eight weeks Jade will schedule Play Therapy review meetings involving parents/carers and, where appropriate, relevant staff from school.
Booking Jade for your school:
Jade Play Therapy’s mobile service is Surrey based. Available in the boroughs of Kingston Upon Thames, Richmond, Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, and Mole Valley. Travel to other areas will be considered. To enquire about booking mobile Play Therapy please use the email address and telephone number or complete the form below.
Email address: jade@jadeplaytherapy.com
Telephone number: 07841 867737
(Sometimes it can be difficult for Jade to answer the phone during the day due to carrying out Play Therapy sessions. Please feel free to email Jade and a telephone appointment can be made. All emails come directly to Jade and are confidential)