Ali Stevens Mains-Play Therapist

06/04/2026

Worried about your child?
Play therapy can help.

Is your child feeling anxious or withdrawn, finding school hard, or struggling to express what’s going on?
Are you noticing overwhelm, shutdown, or big emotional reactions, where things feel like too much day to day?
Have there been changes at home, such as separation, divorce, or loss?

It can be hard to know where to turn.

Play is a child’s natural way of communicating. In a safe, supportive space, children can explore their feelings, build resilience, and make sense of their experiences at their own pace.

Mara Play Therapy offers child-led, therapeutic support for children aged 3–15.

Spaces available in:
Edinburgh
East Linton
Cockenzie

Arrange a free 20-minute initial call
www.forresterplaytherapy.uk

04/03/2026

When the world feels loud and scary, children don’t need all the details… they need felt safety.

Even if they only overhear a few words, their brain can fill in the gaps with worst-case pictures.

This post will help you support anxious children (and teens) with boundaries around news, gentle framing, and simple regulation tools — without spiralling into overwhelm.

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15/02/2026

Play therapy spaces available in East Linton.

Resilience Play Therapy offers a dedicated, child-led space at The Mart where children can work things through in their own way and at their own pace.

Play therapy can help when a child feels anxious, overwhelmed or out of balance, or when emotions and behaviour are becoming harder to manage. It can also support autistic and ADHD children, and children affected by trauma or change.

Sessions focus on building confidence, emotional understanding and steadier regulation through a safe, consistent therapeutic relationship.

Resilience Play Therapy is part of the Mara Play Therapy team and is BAPT accredited.

You’re welcome to message to enquire or book a free initial phone call here:
https://www.forresterplaytherapy.uk/contact

15/02/2026

15/02/2026

We know that therapy is a big emotional and financial commitment and that it has to be the right thing for your child and family. If you would like to explore more, please contact us:
https://www.forresterplaytherapy.uk/contact

27/08/2025

Bullying can come in different forms and can often be hard to spot. The distress of bullying may present in changes in your child, subtle changes such as hyper-vigilance, anxiety, avoiding certain settings, somatic feelings, reduced self esteem and friendship troubles.

Play therapy can help children process painful feelings that come from the distress of being bullied. Strong feelings of anger, shame and humiliation can be safely expressed and explored as children move to playing out scenarios where they are assertive, confident, powerful and boundaried in reacting to the bullying.

Play therapy can also support the child who is actively bullying Giving them a safe space to express feelings of anger and revenge as they explore the experiences that drive them to bully others. This helps the need to bully diminish and allows them to start playing out different ways of being in social relationships, practicing new ways of feeling and acting that they can take into the real world.

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18/08/2025

14/07/2025

Parents and carers are often key to observing changing behaviours of their children as they know them best. They can see what may be out of character or what may be unusual behaviour. The question we can ask ourselves is what is behind this and how can we help. Early recognition, if there is a known problem, worry or emotional struggle and search for support can be valuable to them and you, as parents/carers.

29/06/2025

Play Therapy sessions with me in East Linton will resume in August. Have a wonderful summer!

17/05/2025

Emotional regulation is the term used for our ability to manage feelings and responses to situations.

When children are able to do this, they can maintain equilibrium within their nervous systems, subsequently they are able to comply with instructions, make and maintain friendships and respond to situations in a way that is considered to be socially appropriate.

Often, when children come to play therapy, this skill is underdeveloped. This can be for many reasons:

- trauma
- developmental stage
- neurodivergence

The ability to emotionally regulate is a skill that is essential to be part of a community. If a child is unable to regulate their emotions, they can be ostracised and made to feel as if something is wrong with them, even though sometimes they are not in control when this dysregulation occurs.

Through the play therapy relationship with their therapist, children learn to tolerate these big feelings and learn coping mechanisms to deal with these moments of dysregulation.

At the end of their play therapy journey, children are more able to regulate their emotions and are more readily accepted into their communities.

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