Psychology and Play Therapy Australia

30/10/2025

**BEING IS THE DOING**

The power of presence, of being with....
Attuned...
Connected...
Two biologies in flow with each other...
Healing.
Transformational.
No other "strategies" or "techniques".
Being together.
Co-regulating. Witnessing. Validating. Accepting.
Healing.
Transformational.

29/10/2025

Have you saved your spot for ‘Be My Co-Therapist™ Module 1: Parent Mental Health Vulnerabilities in Child and Play Therapy’ yet?

This workshop will provide an overview of common mental health issues many parents/caregivers experience, and will support child therapists to recognise these presentations in their practice.

These presentations include:
👉🏻 Postnatal depression or anxiety
👉🏻 Generalised anxiety disorder
👉🏻 Depression
👉🏻 Loss and grief
👉🏻 Fertility issues
👉🏻 IVF

Special consideration will also be given to the impacts of a parent’s fertility journey, family violence, and intergenerational trauma.

Learn more and register here: https://psychologyandplay.mykajabi.com/offers/u3gpozUc/checkout

28/10/2025

Join me on 13th November as I get personal. I'll be sharing from my lived experience to support you in your work with parents/caregivers.

The increasing occurrence of fertility treatment means that many of your child clients were conceived this way.

In fact, 1 in 16 children were conceived through IVF in Australia in 2023.

It is imperative that child and play therapists approach their interactions with parents/caregivers with great sensitivity .....it is likely their pathway to parenthood has involved much pain.

From initial intake and assessment sessions, through to feedback and parent/caregiver support sessions, these parent/caregivers experiences are likely to make their way into our space in some way.

If you don't yet know about the nitty gritty detail of fertility treatment and IVF, I implore you to join me for my upcoming workshop "Parent mental health vulnerabilities in child and play therapy".

This is rarely talked about.
And this knowledge is too important to miss!

This will be recorded, so if you can't attend live, please register and access the recording:
https://psychologyandplay.mykajabi.com/offers/u3gpozUc/checkout

With care
Katherine Olejniczak
(Director, Psychologist, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor™)

28/10/2025

If you feel like there’s something hard about working with a parent, it’s likely that it’s touching a parent vulnerability.

The goal of our training ‘Be My Co-Therapist™ Module 1: Parent Mental Health Vulnerabilities in Child and Play Therapy’ is to help therapists identify these vulnerabilities, so that you can more effectively work with the parent to help them become open to the therapy process with their child, or to engage in therapy with them.

Let me give you an example of how this may present in your clinical work…

The parent may be resistant to participating, even in an initial intake or assessment session, or if they do engage then what they speak about is problem-saturated about the child. This may look like a parent who takes over the child’s session by wanting to talk and ask questions, including either before or after the child session.

If you aren’t confident working with parent mental health vulnerabilities, I recommend joining us for the live workshop on 13th November.

Learn more and register here: https://psychologyandplay.mykajabi.com/offers/u3gpozUc/checkout

27/10/2025

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT**
Psychology and Play Therapy Australia are offering 2 scholarships for emerging play therapists for the 2026 year!

To be eligible, you must be completing your Deakin Master of Child Play Therapy by December 2025.

Scholarship benefits include:
👉🏻 Monthly group supervision sessions with Katherine Olejniczak valued at $1,440
👉🏻 30% off fees for ALL training workshops and masterclasses
👉🏻Ongoing membership to Psychology and Play Therapy’s Community of Practice private Facebook Group

For more information and to apply, visit https://www.psychologyandplay.com.au/cpd-scholarship

Please share this post with any Deakin Master of Child Play Therapy students or play therapy supervisors to ensure that the students know about it! Alternatively, I’d love it if you could post it into any of the play therapy groups online.

27/10/2025

Join Katherine for this insightful webinar next week! Registrations open to all......AAPi members FREE!

This webinar will explore the efficacy and processes of play therapy that position it as an effective evidence-based child-centred, developmentally appropriate and neurobiologically sensitive intervention for children. A case example will be shared illustrating HOW play therapy works – i.e. cognitive reprocessing within a play therapy intervention.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Define play therapy, articulate its efficacy, and distinguish between three common play therapy models
2. Gain insight into the therapeutic and processes of how play therapy works
3. Identify key play therapy techniques

Learn more or register here: https://ow.ly/vchC50Wo7x0

26/10/2025

What should you be looking for when you observe a sandtray?

There are three areas that we’d recommend observing:
🦋 The objects: Including which ones have/haven’t been used, interactions, the use of the space etc.
🦋 The client: Pay attention to their physical and emotional cues.
🦋 The therapist: What’s going on for you whilst observing?

This is something that we will be covering in our 3-day Sandplay and Clay Therapy Immersive

Deeply experiential and immersive, this special sandplay and clay therapy event offers play and creative arts therapists a unique opportunity to personally engage with these mediums.

This immersive event is grounded in Jungian Sandplay Therapy and Gestalt Play Therapy theories. It will explore symbolic representation of the psyche (our internal world) as it presents through sandplay and clay, with a dash of neuroscience thrown in!

Learn more and register here: https://psychologyandplay.mykajabi.com/offers/vev3Am3F/checkout

25/10/2025

** WEEKEND WONDERING **

“A child who is unable to act on their natural curiosity...to explore....to play...is likely to experiences disruptions in their play capacity and other areas of development. Devastatingly, I see this often present in a child’s self-efficacy and self-concept, particularly in the school context.

These are the kids who, on referral, are often described as not following directions and disrupting other children instead of doing their work. But in fact, when I begin to learn about the child what I so frequently discover is that their poor self-efficacy and low self-concept does not allow them to initiate in the task.

That is far too risky! An unsuccessful attempt would simply reinforce that low self-concept. The child protects themselves against that yucky feeling at all costs by avoiding engagement in the task.

In order to play, children must first act on their natural biological drive of curiosity. It is through this process that children learn to initiate engagement in activities...to try things, experiment, take risks and problem-solve. Through this process children develop self-efficacy” (Katherine Olejniczak).

Why we’re so passionate about talking about CURIOSITY is because it is the FOUNDATIONAL BUILDING BLOCK OF PLAY. Curiosity is a natural biological drive, just like attachment is a biological drive. It’s something inherent in all of us. When we are able to act on our curiosity, we're able to explore the world. THE ABILITY TO EXPLORE LEADS TO CAPACITY TO ENGAGE IN PLAY.

Play leads to feelings of pleasure. It activates our reward neural circuitry and releases the neurotransmitter, dopamine. One of the functions of dopamine is in driving motivation towards that behaviour that is associated with the pleasure feelings and we want to do it more. In play, this leads to repetition. Repetition leads to mastery of experiences. AND HERE LIES THE DEEP VALUE OF PLAY IN CHILDREN’S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT!

However, FEAR KILLS CURIOSITY! When our fear/stress response is activated we are less able to be curious and engage in play. Our threat response system means that our attention is oriented towards threat and is focused on engaging our survival responses. SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR OUR CHILDREN WHO EXPERIENCE CHRONIC STRESS?

It means they are less likely to be able to act on their natural curiosity...to explore...and to play. THINK ON THAT FOR A MOMENT. Think about what that means for the children you're working with. When children have difficulties in play, they miss out on many opportunities that can impact positively on their development.

Think about what this means for the parents of children you're working with. When engaged in play with another person, oxytocin is released. Oxytocin supports bonding and attachment. When children and parents have difficulties in play, they miss out on many opportunities that can impact positively on their attachment relationship.

** THERAPIST REFLECTION PROMPT **

Think about what this means for you in your own life....remember, we are still a human being. We each still have the biological drive of curiosity.

How does curiosity and play present in your life?

24/10/2025

**DEAKIN STUDENTS & SUPERVISORS**
We're once again pleased to be offering 2 CPD scholarships for the 2026 year!

To be eligible, you must be completing your Deakin Master of Child Play Therapy by December 2025.

Scholarship benefits include:
👉🏻 Monthly group supervision sessions with Katherine Olejniczak valued at $1,440
👉🏻 30% off fees for ALL training (live and recorded)
👉🏻 Ongoing membership to Psychology and Play Therapy’s Community of Practice private Facebook Group

Kickstart your career play therapy career working with one of Australia's most senior and respected play therapists!

Students AND Supervisors.....PLEASE SHARE THIS OPPORTUNITY THROUGH YOUR NETWORKS

Full details and application form at:
https://www.psychologyandplay.com.au/cpd-scholarship

24/10/2025

**FRIDAY FUNNY**
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=1509917257108594

23/10/2025

HORIZONTAL DEVELOPMENT & INTEGRATION

Healthy development requires neural integration at all levels of the brain- vertical as well as horizontal.

Vertical brain development has become well understood within our field, thanks to Dr Bruce Perry's work around neurosequential development. What can sometimes be forgotten though, is the importance of horizontal integration.

Did you know that just like there are critical periods of growth during vertical brain development, there are also critical periods of growth during horizontal development?

The RH has a critical period of growth up until approximately 18 months, and then the LH has a critical period of growth following....AND....there is an alternating shift in these critical periods of growth approximately every 18 months.

For example, the fact that the RH is the first to have a critical period of growth makes sense, as much of the way our brain processes relationships occurs in the RH....and a primary developmental task for infants is to develop secure attachment relationships.

For children who experience relational trauma, much of their neural energy is spent in the RH, highly attuned to processing relationship and non-verbal communication, and less time in the LH. This helps us understand why such children often present with delays in language development.

So when we're shaping our interventions, let's remember the vital importance of hemispheric integration.

Embodied experiences support learning through hemispheric integration of left (LH) and right hemispheres (RH) of the brain. For example, play activities that cross the midline (e.g. crawling, climbing, hand clapping games, sandplay activity shovelling sand with spade from one side of body into a bucket on the other side, painting, throwing-catching ball across midline).

21/10/2025

Thinking about joining us for the 3 Day Sandplay and Clay Therapy Immersive next year?

Get in now for the earlybird rate, and you’ll be able to take advantage of booking earlybird airfares over to Tasmania.

Or maybe you’re feeling brave, and want to come on the Spirit of Tasmania. I’d recommend booking early to get the best rates!

Learn more about the immersive and register at the discounted rate here: https://psychologyandplay.mykajabi.com/offers/vev3Am3F/checkout