The Play Therapies Centre Ltd

17/03/2026

Channeling some shamrock energy today! ☘️
In many traditions, the three leaves represent the balance of Mind, Body, and Spirit. Take a moment today to check in with all three. Sending a little extra "healing luck" your way!

15/03/2026

This Mother’s Day, let’s talk about the "Good Enough Mother." 🌸🧸
​In the world of play therapy, we often look to the work of Donald Winnicott. He believed that children don't actually need "perfection" from their caregivers. In fact, they need us to be "Good Enough."
​What does that mean?
It means providing a "Holding Environment"—a safe space where a child feels seen and supported, even when things aren't perfect. It means that when we "fail" to meet every single demand instantly, we are actually helping our children learn resilience and independence.
​In the playroom, we see this magic happen through:
✨ Transitional Objects: That well-loved teddy bear that helps them feel brave.
✨ Spontaneous Play: The "True Self" coming out when a child feels safe enough to just be.
​So, if you didn’t get the Pinterest-perfect breakfast in bed, or if you felt "less than" today—remember: To your child, your "good enough" is exactly what they need to grow.
​Happy Mother’s Day to all the beautifully imperfect, "good enough" nurturers out there! ❤️

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13/03/2026

CHILD PROTECTION WORK

Play therapy creates a "Ventral Vagal" environment. Even if the other 23 hours of the day are spent in the "Guard Tower" (Amygdala), that one hour of safety helps keep the Prefrontal Cortex from "atrophying" or shutting down permanently.
​The Result: It preserves the child's capacity for joy. You are keeping the "Pilot Light" of their Self lit so that when they finally are safe, there is still something to build upon.

By playing it out, the child moves the trauma from a "Frozen State" into an "Active State." This prevents the trauma from becoming "Hard-Wired" into their identity.

In Family Intervention and Child Protection cases Play Therapy cannot fully heal a wound that is still being reopened every day. However, we can provide the "Psychological First Aid" that prevents the wound from turning into permanent "Perceptual Paranoia."

www.theplaytherapiescentre.co.uk

01/03/2026

If you’re raising a child with ADHD, you know it’s about so much more than just "focus." It’s about how they experience the world through their senses. 🌎✨
​We often talk about the ADHD brain, but we forget about the ADHD body. Many kids with ADHD have unique Sensory Profiles:
​🏃‍♂️ The Seekers: They crave "heavy work," crashing into couches, and constant movement just to feel "upright."
🎧 The Avoiders: Loud rooms, itchy tags, or the smell of the cafeteria can feel like an actual physical attack on their nervous system.
☁️ The Dreamers: They might have "low registration," meaning they miss cues or feel disconnected from their surroundings.
​💡 How Play Therapy changes the game:
​Traditional "talk therapy" can be tough for a brain that’s wired to move. Play Therapy meets them where they are. It’s not "just playing"—it’s hard work that looks like fun:
​✅ Self-Regulation: Using "heavy work" play to calm a racing nervous system.
✅ Impulse Control: Practicing the "pause" through games in a zero-shame zone.
✅ Emotional Safety: Using puppets or sand trays to express big feelings that are too hard to put into words.
​When we understand a child’s sensory "operating manual," we stop seeing "bad behaviour" and start seeing a need for better regulation. ❤️

Does your child lean more toward being a "Seeker" or an "Avoider"? Let’s chat in the comments! 👇
​

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17vFW9J9dp/

24/02/2026

💥Content warning

Molly Vs The Machines (2026) is a documentary following Ian Russell’s fight against social media algorithms that contributed to his 14-year-old daughter Molly’s death by su***de. It explores the "death-by-algorithm" of young people, focusing on how addictive, profit-driven digital systems impact mental health.

This is a trailer for a new documentary called: Molly vs The Machines | Premiering in UK theaters March 1st. Coming to the U.S. soon after. https://lnkd.in/g5knXNFa Much like thousands of families here in the U.S., the Russell held social media companies to account for the death of their 14-year-old...

22/02/2026

For neurodivergent children—Autistic adventurers, ADHD dynamos, and sensory seekers—the world is often a series of "don’ts" and "do it this way."

​Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) is the ultimate "Yes." In the playroom:
​Stimming is celebrated, not suppressed.
​Repetitive play is seen as mastery and regulation, not "getting stuck."
​Silence is okay. We speak the language of toys, movement, and presence.
​When we give a child the agency to lead, they don't just "behave" better—they grow into their most authentic selves. 🌈
​

18/02/2026

LENT

If we look at our internal world as a playground, we often see parts of ourselves running around trying to enforce strict rules, while other parts carry the heavy weight of universal guilt. We treat our lives like a game with impossible win conditions. But what if we changed the rules of the game?

Permission and Notice" game:
​The Rules: Give yourself permission to enjoy what you love. But, like a child lost in play who suddenly stops when they get bored or tired, I want you to notice the exact moment the enjoyment "glitches."

When we stop being "penitent" and start being curious, we notice:
​The False Relief: Some habits aren't actually "fun"—they are just "numbing." We aren't playing; we're hiding.

​The Somatic Signal: When the chocolate or the scrolling stops feeling good and starts feeling heavy, that is your body communicating an emotional dissatisfaction.

​The Authentic Self: By acknowledging the pain or joy behind the impulse, we stop being "impulsive" and start being "expressive."

​Lent doesn't have to be a season of self-flagellation. If we treat it as a period of Internal Attunement, we can clear out the habits that no longer serve the "play" of our lives.

Art : Andrew White

16/02/2026

GLOBAL PLAY ROOM

A core goal of play therapy is helping a child move from a state of dysregulation (feeling powerless) to mastery (feeling in control).

​In 2026 the global levels of Anxiety are significant: With AI, climate shifts, and shifting borders, the average global citizen feels a loss of agency.

The shift in world views is an attempt by the psyche to gain back a sense of control. In the play room this is control over the resources. On a global scale it looks like control of borders, data and culture.

We as a culture are playing out old traumas from Covid and War starting in Europe.

In therapy, a child might play out a car crash over and over to process a trauma.

On a global scale as a way to cope with the terrifyingly new threats of the 21st century. We are clinging to old scripts because the new ones haven't been written yet. We are collectively "playing out" 20th-century tropes (Cold War rhetoric, massive industrial buildup) as a way to cope with the terrifyingly new threats.

If Gen Z is the generation that "identified the trauma," Gen Alpha is the generation that "does the work." They won't just lead the world; they will try to re-parent it.



www.theplaytherapiescentre.co.uk

14/02/2026

🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️HAPPY VALENTINES
While we often associate this with romance, in a child's world, the "Lover" archetype is about the drive for connection.

​The Light Side: It’s the part of a child that wants to be close to a parent, find a "best friend," or feel a deep bond with a pet. It represents the realization that "I am not alone."
The Shadow Side: This can show up as The People Pleaser (doing anything to be liked) or The Clinger (a fear of being abandoned). In the playroom, a child might obsess over making the "perfect" card for a teacher because they are terrified of losing that connection.

www.theplaytherapiescentre.co.uk

03/02/2026

🌟 Exciting News: Welcoming Solace Holistics to the Centre! 🌟
​At the Play Therapies Centre, we know that for a child to thrive, their big people need to be poured into, too. That’s why we are so thrilled to welcome Francesca Pagni from Solace Holistics to our community! 💜

While your little ones are busy expressing themselves and growing through play, we’re now offering a space for YOU to reset and recharge.
​Why this matters for Parents & Carers:
​Caregiving is a physical job. From lifting and carrying to the mental load that settles in your shoulders, your body carries the story of your hard work. Francesca specializes in helping you release that tension so you can show up as your best, most regulated self.
​Services available include:
​✨ Sport & Relaxing Massage – To ease those "parenting posture" aches.
​✨ Dry Needling & Cupping – For deep-seated tension and chronic knots.
​✨ I.A.S.T.M. – Targeted recovery for active carers.
​Take a moment for yourself:
​Self-care isn't selfish; it’s maintenance for the most important person in your child’s life. Let’s tackle the burnout together—one session at a time.
​📅 Bookings now open!
📞 Call/Text Francesca: +44 7733374809
📧 Email: info@solaceholistics.co
📲 Follow: .holistics
​Welcome to the family, Francesca! 🧘‍♀️✨
​

30/01/2026

💔💔💔RIP Catherine O'Hara

What an actress! I LOVED her as Kate McCallister in Home Alone where she showed us the map of the mother caretaker. How its possible as a mother to transform.

She took us on a journey of the rigid glue trying to hold the family together in all the chaos, to the "shattered caregiver" realising bad things happen even on her watch!

She was so obsessed with order that she forgot the individual....to then transforming into the fierce protector.

She sheds the "polite" version of the Caregiver. She stops caring about the "Importance" of the flight or the "Rules" of the airport. She moves into a Primal Maternal Archetype.

She showed all of us that the transition from the caregiver archetype to the fierce protector is one of the most transformative journeys a person can take. ❤️

28/01/2026

There is no "right" way to heal, and while some find confrontation empowering, others find it more harmful than helpful.

You might want to consider play therapy even as an adult.

You might choose a figure to represent yourself and another to represent the abuser. This allows you to "confront" them symbolically, express your anger or pain, and visually change the power dynamic in a controlled space that keeps you safe.

Why this might be better than a real confrontation:

​Safety: You are in a secure room with a professional. The abuser cannot hurt you, gaslight you, or deny your reality.
​Control: You can stop the "confrontation" at any moment. You are the one in charge of the narrative.
​No "Need" for a Response: In real life, we often confront people hoping for an apology that never comes. In therapy, the focus is on your release and your healing, regardless of what the other person thinks.

www.theplaytherapiescentre.co.uk
https://youtube.com/shorts/CVZZtxO180o?si=CzcyVYsGkyrK6Kji

Waiting desperately for "Purse Poncho" to come out! Check out our Season 1 Compilation episode, out now! Listen wherever you get your podcasts ➡️Monica Share...