Treehouse Theraplay

29/01/2026

I really wanted to share this heart felt post from Special Soul Mama. The words and feelings are so true.

I leave a part of myself at the school gate every morning.

I buckle him in. I unbuckle him. I pass his hand into someone else’s.
And my body doesn’t understand that I’m allowed to leave.

He doesn’t speak.
So I carry his words for him.

His fear. His tired. His please be gentle.
I pack it all into the space between my ribs and I walk away.

People call the hours after this a break.

But my nervous system stays standing.

I listen for my phone even when it’s silent.
I picture him trying to hold it together.
I wonder which parts of him will be seen, and which parts will be corrected.

The world is quieter.
But my body is loud.

It doesn't feel like rest.
It feels like holding my breath with my eyes open.

Because when your child needs you to be their voice, their safety, their calm, you don’t clock off just because you’re not in the room.

School isn’t a break from caring.
It’s the longest stretch of trust I make all day.

And when I drive away, I don’t feel free.

I feel split in two.

- Christine | Special Soul Mama

29/12/2025

So lets talk about xmas gift ideas 🙃 this here, was not even a gift given. Just a kid who found the giant bag of marshmallows and a container and its entertained her for days 😜 so this is my xmas gift recommendation, tag it for next year 😅 and... if you know, you know! The team at Treehouse do hope that you are all having a relaxing break over this xmas/new year period with lots of fun and connection. What has been the favourite item at your house this break?

04/11/2025

Treehouse is closed today, the team are attending Dr Ross Greene training to learn about the CPS model. We are very lucky to have him come to Cairns and we are excited to learn new ideas! 💡

20/10/2025

This is on point 😅 sorry teachers!

17/10/2025

🥰 love this analogy. It's not an epidemic, it's discovery and learning of our own neurotype.

14/10/2025

Happy 5th Birthday to Treehouse! It feels like time has flown by. We are so lucky to work with and alongside all our amazing families. Thank you 💐🎂

17/09/2025

Peach Tree Cairns! Peer led service, supporting perinatal, pregnancy, early parenthood mental health for parents. Opening in Cairns from next week! Invaluable service for Cairns, free to access 💐

https://www.facebook.com/share/1E9SvT8shD/

This is a group for our Peach Tree Cairns Community

09/09/2025

Neurowild always produces amazing resources for parents/therapist/schools and kids etc. Positive identity is so important to be our true Self

02/09/2025

Love this! So informative for everyone

18/08/2025

Amanda is away this week at the International Childhood Trauma conference, obsessing (fangirling?) over meeting all the amazing people that drive the way we work. So excited to be here learning more and more!

The morning session perfectly aligned with everything I believe is essential when working with children who have experienced trauma. The key message that resonated most deeply? We need to centralize CURIOSITY over expectations to truly open pathways for connection, communication, and healing.

A quote that really struck me: "Anxiety isn't designed to be regulated by thought." This speaks so powerfully to why body-based, expressive approaches like play therapy are so effective - we're meeting children where their nervous systems actually are, not where we think they should be.

28/06/2025

Sharing from 'School Can't Australia' Thanks for making people feel heard and seen with School Can't.

We’re told:
Attendance first.
Endure school.
Be there every day.
Push through—and one day, one day—you’ll see the benefits.

But what if school is the thing hurting you?
What if a child is not thriving but surviving?
Masking. Freezing. Panicking.
Sitting in silence while their heart races.
Coming home and falling apart.

What if they’re scared?
Or sad.
Or lonely.
Or bored.
Or overwhelmed to the point their body says: enough.

Is that really something we want them to endure?
Day after day. Year after year.
All the way to graduation?
Will that deliver the outcomes we’ve been promised?
Or will it leave them broken?

Attendance doesn’t equal thriving.
And distress is not a foundation for learning.

When students can’t attend school, there is always a reason.

They are not choosing to stay home.
Their nervous system has already chosen for them.
The way back is not through pressure or punishment.
The way back is through safety.
We must put the student experience at the centre.

If we want students to learn, we must ask:
What does school feel like, in their body?
Not in the lesson plan.
Not in the attendance record.
But in their lived experience.

Let us create school environments where the student experience is one of:
- Relational and physical safety
- Belonging and inclusion
- Agency and voice
- Purpose and engagement
- Care, trust, and success

This is how we support recovery.
This is how we rebuild capacity.
This is the foundation on which students learn.

Because until a child feels safe, learning can’t begin.
And if we care about children, we cannot keep pretending it can.

27/06/2025

Love an iceberg info graphic!