Play & Filial Therapy

23/07/2025

Dr Kate is looking forward to another day of Play Therapy vibes!

Today, she will be supervising play therapy clinicians from London to Hobart and everywhere in between 🌏

Clinical supervision is an important part of play therapy practice. In some countries it is a requirement for registeration (as is the case here in Australia)

Play therapy supervision serves many functions with perhaps the top 3 being:
• Case conceptualisation - helping clinicians understand the deeper meaning behind children’s play and develop comprehensive treatment plans
• Skill development - refining therapeutic skills, and there therapeutic presence in the playroom
• Self-care and professional growth - processing countertransference, preventing burnout, and maintaining the emotional wellbeing needed for this meaningful but intensive work

Whether connecting virtually across continents or meeting face-to-face, supervision creates a safe space for clinicians to reflect, learn, and grow in their practice. After all, we can’t pour from an empty cup! ☕️

Here’s to supporting the supporters of our children 💙

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22/07/2025

Play: you are not just a single star. Nor a fixed point of light ⭐️

Play: you are a whole constellation, scattered, beautiful, interconnected. Some parts of you burning bright with confidence, others flickering softly with potential ✨

Play: your magic is also in the space between your stars, where new connections can form, where patterns can shift, where you can become something entirely unexpected 💫

Play: your stars are not fixed patterns but are actually moving, changing, evolving across time and at scales we can barely imagine… just like us ☄️

22/07/2025

I have two group play therapy kits that are rotated after groups are completed. I always forget to make a Timelapse of group kit changeover…today I remembered to capture a portion of the changeover

20/07/2025

Because sometimes the most profound conversations happen without words 🧸✨

This isn’t just a beautiful metaphor, it’s evidence-based practice. Research shows that play therapy helps children process trauma, develop emotional regulation, and build resilience in ways traditional talk therapy often cannot 📈

When we meet children where they are, speaking their natural language of play, healing happens ❤️‍🩹

20/07/2025

It doesn’t matter where you’re from, what lanuages you speak, or how old you are. When we play, we’re simply human 🌏

What’s your favorite way to play? Drop it in the comments! 👇

18/07/2025

What lights you up? That thing that makes you lose track of time, forget your worries, and play? Your spark is uniquely yours…and the world needs to see it shine. Share your play spark ✨

Inspire others to find their own light 💫

17/07/2025

Play flies far, straight and true like an arrow 🏹

When we embrace play with intention and focus, it cuts through the noise of daily life and hits its mark every time 🎯

Whether it’s a game with friends, a creative project, or simply letting loose and having fun - authentic play has a way of finding exactly what we need 🎲

What’s your arrow of play today? 💘

17/07/2025

📣 Play Therapists are child advocates and in times of crisis we can raise our voices and call for change!

🇦🇺 Today I was asked to speak on the current early childhood education child maltreatment crisis in Australia

📚 I was able to advocate for recommendations that are based on robust research studies and royal commissions

🚗 Behind the scenes look of my car-studio after being given very short notice for this live interview!

🎧 If youd like to listen in to Victorian statewide ABC Drive I speak to Jane Nield, just over an hour into the show
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/vic-statewide-drive/drive/105527202r

👨‍🏫 What are your thoughts on supporting our early childhood educators?

16/07/2025

Tune into my chat with Brett MacDonald on 3BA radio this week via my website!

We covered a lot of recent and powerful play happenings!
▪️ State of Play 2025 Play Australiahttps://www.playaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/State%20of%20Play_final.pdf
▪️ Play Australia published ‘The Risky Play Position Statement for Young Australian Children’ https://www.playaustralia.org.au/national-risk-position-statement

▪️Asia Pacific Play Conference International Play Association (IPA) , Play Australia & Playroom Therapy (Meg Aimee & Natalie Rae)
▪️ Play Commission Report – Everything to Play For: A National Wake-Up Call on Play https://www.playengland.org.uk/newsblog/play-commission-report-everything-to-play-for-a-national-wake-up-call-on-play
▪️England - calls for a Minister for Play
▪️Australia - calls for a federal Minister for Children
▪️Victorian State government has a Minister for Children 👏🏻
▪️local council - Ballarat has a Playspace strategy 2016-2026 (up for review and renewal soon)https://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-07/Playspace%20Strategy%202017.pdf

Link: https://www.playandfilialtherapy.com/projects-6

13/07/2025

The first UN declared day of HOPE 🌻

Play restores hope, if you need a refill, choose play!

Saturday is the first-ever International Day of Hope.

At a time when people and communities are facing persistent challenges, hope can be a guiding principle to help inspire action for a better world.

Tell us in the comments what hope means to you in times of uncertainty?

12/07/2025

‼️ Children have been trying to tell you something important through their play

🪀We are often so focused on getting children to communicate in our adult ways…sit still, use words, follow our agenda…that we miss the rich, complex communication happening right in front of us

🧸 Children's play IS their language. Their choices, their movements, their repetitions, their creativity…it's all communication

🌏 And when we truly listen to that communication, we discover children have profound insights about connection, empathy, and caring for our world

🤔What has a child communicated to you through their play that surprised you?

🎧 Listen to our full conversation about children's natural global citizenship wisdom on the Dr Play podcast with Rachel Parker https://www.buzzsprout.com/2375677/episodes/17451691-from-sandboxes-to-sustainability-children-s-play-based-wisdom