Dreamcatcher Play Therapy

06/05/2024

As SAT’s approach next week,
We again share this wonderful poem that we often share with the children we support in therapy 🌈

A little bit of light for little ones as they approach a stressful week,
To serve as a reminder that they can cope,
That no one thing defines them,
And that they’re far more than a grade on a piece of paper

15/04/2024

To all teaching staff (and school based therapists!) hope first day back of summer term went ok...don't beat yourself up if you didn't have all your ducks in a row today - because instead of working in the Easter break - you took a break!!

Image thanks to All About Early Years

09/04/2024

My cat was clearly as curious as I was when watching 'Working with Shame in Young Children' webinar by Samantha Briggs, hosted by Moonbeams Play with Jacqui Shankly. Thankyou for this thought provoking presentation which is often a feature of the work in the playroom.

I wonder what my cat wanted to add to this shield of shame???

05/04/2024

Enjoyed a fab day meeting up with other local Play Therapists in a gorgeous summerhouse at Sunnyside Rural Trust ... So good to chat to a lovely group of like-minded therapists who are all doing amazing work in Hertfordshire.

Here's to more meet-ups and collaboration. ☕️😊

26/03/2024

For all those carers who are parenting children with a history of trauma who are displaying big baffling behaviours, I highly recommend Sarah Naish -Author & Therapeutic Parent Love this example showing how to get curious not furious using a therapeutic parenting approach.

Check out Sarah Naish-Therapeutic Parent’s video.

11/03/2024

As someone who has worked in classrooms for many years prior to training as a Play Therapist, I know how it feels to try to respond and stay regulated when trying to support pupils who have experienced trauma - it can be tough!
So I have put together a staff inset day training that shares the latest research on childhood trauma in a practical, honest and supportive way so you can playfully engage and connect with everyone in your class.

Here's a testimonal from a recent customer! Get in contact with Claire over at dreamcatcherplaytherapy@gmail.com for more details.

05/03/2024

With round the corner, thought I would share a wonderful website that is full of books that cover almost every worry, issue or problem your little ones might be going through:
https://www.littleparachutes.com/picture-books-library/
Great resource for parents/carers, therapists and teaching staff.

Reading a story about a problem a child is going through is a great approach to start opening up further conversation as it is a safe and gentle way to show acceptance and mastery around the issue.

Little Parachutes

Browse the subject categories below to find picture books to help your child with worries, issues, problems and milestones.

28/02/2024

So a few days back after half-term and already I'm sensing the frazzled feeling from teaching staff! It's so tough in our classrooms with sooo many pupil needs from SEN to trauma and attachment concerns alongside the demands of the curriculum, parents/carers, SLT, Governors, Ofsted and a host of other pressures. Not surprisingly burnout is all to common. So take a moment to re-set your boundaries to ensure you make that clear separation between your job and yourself.

Image thanks to The Regulated Classroom

14/02/2024

On this Valentines Day I wanted to highlight this beautiful book:
'I LOVE YOU RITUALS' by Becky A. Bailey. It is packed with rhymes and games that 'send the message of unconditional love' to children. Perfect for parents & carers, but also for Nurture Group leaders and Early Years staff and especially lovely for Foster and Adoption carers to help build emotional bonds with young children. 💕

One of the rhymes I love from this book:
'A wonderful woman lived in a shoe.
She had so many children,
she knew exactly what to do.
She held them, she rocked them and tucked them in bed.
"I love you, I love you," is what she said. 🥰

09/02/2024

Love working as part of the team on this project supporting our young peoples physical & mental health. Take a look at the website on how to make a referral for this free programme - link in comments below.

02/02/2024

One for the teaching staff....half term is only a couple of weeks away. You can do this!!! 😉

Thanks to HC Play Therapy for the post 🥰

31/01/2024

Being calm is not the point! Great explanation around the meaning of co-regulatation between a child and safe adult 💕

There is a common misconception that co-regulation requires adults to be 💯 calm when a child is dysregulated (upset).

However, we do ourselves and our children a disservice when we buy into the idea that we must be calm ALLLL the time, and fake it when we’re not.

#1, it puts way too much pressure on caregivers to be perfect (which is impossible).

#2, we are burdening the child with the expectation that they must be calm all the time too, and fake it if their not.

#3, if we are truly co-regulating we are going to feel what the child is feeling.

Co-regulation means the adult is authentic in what they feel from moment to moment, but has the skills to bring themselves,
and by proxy the child, back to baseline.

I share this bc I struggle to be calm all the time with my child and then I beat the crap out of myself for messing up.

But I think the reality is we are always going to mess up more than we want to.

Of course, we want to aim for better, but the adult being inauthentic and “calm” during a melt down is not required to teach self-regulation.

We must ride the wave of emotions together, and let the child know it’s safe and “we got this.”