The Tree House Integrated Family Therapy

15/11/2020

Lots of special moments whilst working with metaphor (and magic foam) with our play therapy group today.

What a wonderful bunch of families we have had the pleasure of working with over the past couple of weeks 🌸💫.

21/03/2020

This was written for a client who I won’t be seeing for some time, but may be useful for children who are staying home and may be feeling confused or worried. 💜💜💜

Milly’s Mission

There once was a girl called Milly. She liked to play super heroes.

When Milly played super heroes, she was the bravest, fastest, strongest super hero there could be! She could defeat any imaginary monster, and all the pretend baddies on the planet. She would accept any hero mission, no matter how challenging or scary, to save the world and all the people in it. Milly loved playing Super Heroes.

One day, everything started to change. Grown-ups were watching the news. They were talking about a virus that was making a few people, mostly older people, feel poorly. The virus was like the flu. Although children couldn’t catch it, it was causing a problem all over the world.

The virus caused lots of changes for Milly. First Mummy stopped going to work, assemblies stopped, then her school trip was cancelled. Finally, her teacher announced that school would be closing for a while.

The changes felt very big and Milly began to feel wobbly inside. Everybody seemed to be talking about it, everybody seemed to be worried…should she be worried too? She began to feel scared and had lots of big questions. What was going on? Would Nanna be Ok? Who would help her with her learning? What about seeing all her friends? When would she be able to play Super Heroes again?

That night, as Milly’s Dad tucked her in and gave her a goodnight kiss, Milly began to cry. She didn’t like the changes. She wanted things to go back to normal, she wanted to play super heroes with her friends again.

“It’s OK to feel worried or scared. Sometimes grown-ups feel that way too.” Dad said, as he snuggled up beside her.

“There are doctors and nurses and lots of clever scientists working to keep us all safe. You know, they are a lot like Super Heroes.”

“I LOVE SUPER HEROES!” Milly dried her eyes. “I wish I could help”

“Oh you can!” Said Dad. “You have the most important super hero mission of them all.”

“I do?” Asked Milly, suddenly excited. Could she really help to stop the virus?

“Yes.” Said Dad. “Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to be A Stay Home Superhero. By staying home as a family, the virus cannot spread. It will get weaker and weaker until it disappears into thin air! POW! Just like that, it’ll be gone! Things will go back to how they were before. We’re really counting on your Super powers now Milly.”

Milly had never heard of staying home as a super power before. Surely super powers are meant to be exciting? Like zapping and flying and using super strength?

“Staying home sounds like a boring super power,” Milly sighed.

“Staying home to save the world is not boring!” laughed Dad. “We will need your Super powers to think of all the fun things we can do at home. We can keep on learning, doing school work at home, with lots of breaks for more fun. We can make crafts and cards for Nanna, and the friends we might miss. We can cook and dance and draw. We can even play super heroes in the garden. And whilst we are doing all these fun things, we will be saving the world at the same time!”

And so Milly got to work on her mission. Her first mission was to plan all the fun things they could do at home. She made a long list. It started to feel less scary. With every day that passed, Milly began to feel more like a super hero. She watched movies, played games, sang songs, and completed her work book from her teacher. There were times when Milly did miss playing with her friends, her football club, and trips to the park. But then she remembered how important her super hero mission to stay home was.

When she played in the garden, she could hear other children playing in their gardens too. She realised there were lots of children on super hero missions, all working together!

Milly knew that staying home wasn’t going to be forever, and she was looking forward to things going back to how they were before the virus. But for now, Milly is helping to save the world, one day at a time…. And so could you!

(The Treehouse Play Therapy)

Picture: Jean Jullien Art

20/11/2019

Sleepless nights?

If you are desperate for some a good night's sleep, hypnotism just might be the answer you've been looking for. It was for writer Shona Hendley.

25/10/2019

Negatively forecasting the future causes anxiety. Anxiety causes us to negatively forecast the future. We can get stuck in a worry cycle. Most of the stuff we worry about won’t happen... but the brain can’t tell the difference between imagination and reality so it FEELS like it’s happening, and it feels like it’s happening NOW.
If worries are getting in the way of you living your best life, get in touch 💜
#💜

24/10/2019

The brain cannot tell the difference between imagination and reality.
We use solution focused hypnotherapy and powerful visualisations to create the realities our clients need and want.
That could be helping you to stop smoking, or to run a marathon. You could conquer your fears, be more confident, regain control of your eating or ‘bad habits’. You could let go of stress and anxiety, cope better with pain and illness, or simply develop a more positive outlook to create more happiness. The possibilities are endless...

1) Belief Research shows us that when a person receives a placebo that they believe is a drug, and subsequently experiences a placebo effect, it is because their brain has produced the substances n...

21/10/2019

Dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins are the neurotransmitters responsible for our happiness. Different things trigger these neurotransmitters but there are ways we can INTENTIONALLY cause them to flow. We may not have a money tree... but could we have a happiness tree?
I’ve been working with clients on weight loss and motivation. It’s helpful to know the difference between a dopamine hit and serotonin production. In hypnotherapy, we work to help you produce a steady flow of serotonin, which reduces appetite, helps us cope with pain, and makes us feel healthy and happy!

Sessions are half price until January 🙌🏻

28/09/2019

The Tree House is expanding!
We now offer Solution Focused Hypnotherapy for a wide range of referrals.
•Insomnia •Anxiety •Depression •Low confidence •Pain Management •Sport and Performance •Weight Management •Smoking Cessation •Calm birthing •Fears and Phobias
Sessions are half price until 2020 💜

24/05/2018

Gentle reminder that you do not need to be at your lowest to seek help. Therapy can be used as a preventative, or to help de-escalate a tricky situation before it takes over. Yes, there often are people “worse off” than you, it doesn’t make your problems smaller, or you less worthy of accessing help. Beautiful artwork and reminder by .