Frequently Asked Questions

Mobile session can be a wonderful option for many families. Mobile sessions can be held at your child's school, kindergarten or early childhood centre or at your family home. 

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To ensure the effectiveness of these sessions, there are some key features which the space needs to offer:

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Privacy: it is important that there are not other people walking into the space and that what the child says is not easily heard by others.

Enough space: Ideally, the space provided should be 3.5m x 3.5m, however there is some wiggle room here! Humanistic Play Therapy does use some messy mediums, so it is important that it is ok if the floor becomes a bit messy. The therapist will do their best to tidy at the end, but sometimes there are some signs of play left!

The ultimate goal for play sessions are for the child to work one on one with the play therapist, however there is an important caveat to this. For play therapy to be effective, the child must feel safe and have established a trusting, therapeutic relationship with the therapist. For some children, this may take a few sessions to establish. During this time, a parent or trusted adult may need to attend parts of the session and slowly over time, begin to phase themselves out. Other children may feel comfortable to be alone with the therapist but need to leave the room every now and then to 'check in' with their trusted adult outside of the therapy space. All of these options are possible and the therapist will support with their best way to move forward.

Every toy that is used during sessions has been carefully selected to ensure that the child has access to a broad range of toys to facilitate expression of many different themes, ideas and emotions. If you are uncomfortable with a particular toy, ensure that you raise this during your parent intake session. The therapist will work with you to come up with a solution that ensures you feel comfortable and the child has all the toys they need.

Getting ready for the first session can feel a little nerve wracking! Prior to starting, the therapist will send a digital story for the child to read, introducing themselves and briefly explaining what will happen. Additionally, during the parent intake session, the therapist will guide you through how to speak with your child about play therapy and what to expect before, during and after sessions. 

There is also a link on our resources page to a guide on what to expect!

No! There is no need for a referral from another medical practitioner to access play therapy at The Playful Life. I work with both NDIS participants and private clients, tailoring each intervention to the exact needs of each child and family.

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If you are interested in finding out more, reach out to me for a chat via my contact page!

The Playful Life does offer professional development services to early childhood centers, kindergartens and schools. Teachers and educators have the increasingly difficult job of supporting many children with varying needs. Equipping these amazing professionals with a deeper knowledge of childhood development and therapeutic play will help them support their whole groups.

This is a tricky question as each child's needs will require a different number of sessions. However, according to the many research studies exploring the effectiveness of play therapy across a vast range of challenges, between 18 and 20 sessions is suggested as a starting base.

When setting goals and creating each child's treatment plan, the therapist will plan for 20 sessions. During the parent/carer review sessions, this number can be adjusted depending on progress and goals. 

FREE 15-minute initial phone consultation to assess need and suitability

60 – 90-minute initial parent consult

Creation of a treatment plan tailored to your child’s individual needs

50-minute weekly sessions

30-60-minute parent review consult to discuss goals, progress and questions every 5-7 weeks.