Bluebird Dramatherapy and Counselling

03/07/2023

When you work in a school, the last half term is all about TRANSITION. This means reflecting on and saying goodbye to the old, as well as anticipating and planning for the new. This is true across the whole school as pupils prepare to change classrooms and switch teachers, move from infants to juniors or leave school completely to move on to secondary.

It’s a busy time in the life of a therapist as we work with students, teachers and parents to make the transition as smooth as possible for all involved.

Dramatherapy works really well for transition work as drama itself is necessarily transformative. Some of the tools I like to access this time of year are:
•mask work
•role-play
•embodiment
•projective play
•storytelling/poetry
•ritual

06/06/2022

Support young people to ‘tune in' to their emotions with these wellbeing activities by Place2Be's Art Room and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Discover this creative wellbeing project for children.

25/01/2022

I love using storytelling in my therapy work, I find it such a powerful tool in my “kit”. So much so that my entire Masters thesis was based on the effectiveness of storytelling in work with young people (though with a particular focus on its use with young offenders).

Former CBeebies presenter and dad Alex Winters went on a mission to find out just what’s so important about stories.

22/01/2022

What a lovely idea 🌟 aren’t local libraries amazing?

Great news! We have a brand new resource available at all of our libraries and via the library catalogue. Self-care Toolkits are free rucksacks full of resources to support young people experience positive mental health and they're available to borrow now

20/01/2022

I came across this interesting article whilst doing some reasearch for a current role working with teenagers in here in North Yorkshire. Although people mainly link Play Therapy and therapies akin to it such as Dramatherapy with younger children, the play focussed approach can be just as beneficial to teens. Perhaps even more so as they have less opportunity or inclination to play in other settings, making the space provided by us to do so even more valuable.

Dr Clive Holmwood, Associate Professor in Dramatherapy at the University of Derby discusses how dramatherapy and play based approaches can help with the emotional impact on the Covid-19 generation.

06/07/2021

We’ve had some exciting news we’ve been waiting a while for this week… As of October we’ll be moving back up North and Bluebird Dramatherapy will be based in Ripon, North Yorkshire! I’ve shared this quote before as I find it lends itself quite well to not only our lifestyle as a military family but also to the process of therapy itself, both cyclical in nature, a steady stream of endings and beginnings.

If you or an organisation you work for might be interested in taking advantage of some voluntary hours I’ll have available to contribute during my return to work period, do get in touch!

11/06/2021

👏🏻 🌟 Matt Haig hitting the nail on the head here.
When I was training to be a therapist, part of my university course requirement was to attend weekly individual psychotherapy. My early sessions are something I often reflect upon when I am starting work with a new client, particularly those who haven’t self referred.
At the beginning I had the attitude that I didn’t *NEED* therapy, I was only engaging to further my education, but over time I began to feel a shift, to make real use of my sessions, to exit the therapy room with a sense of lightness I did not feel on entry.
This showed me that though we may not all think we *NEED* therapy, we definitely all DESERVE therapy.

14/05/2021

Happy Friday everyone!
Finding a therapist for one-to-one therapy can be an intensely personal thing, just as each client is different, each therapist will be different too.
The client therapist relationship can be important to the transformational effect of the therapy.
Most therapists in private practice will offer an initial consultation to see how we might work collaboratively with our client(s). Within an organisation, this consultation will usually take the form of an initial assessment.

11/05/2021

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme for 2021 is NATURE 🌿.
I love to use natural materials in my work. Here are a few examples of how:
1) Feathers, flowers, seeds, stones and twigs can be used representatively in small world play.
2) Natural items can create a sensory processing experience with many different colours, textures and smells.
3) They make wonderful loose parts to create meaningful art such as mandalas.
There are many other ways items such as these can be utilised in therapy work. Doing so can be grounding for our clients and ourselves as they help us feel connected to the natural world around us.

10/10/2016

1 in 4 people in the UK are affected by poor mental health each year. Statistics show less than half of them will receive treatment.

07/05/2016

Did you know Bluebird also offers educational workshops, wellness coaching, corporate training and team building? Have a look at the other services we offer on our website www.bluebirdtherapy.co.uk

03/05/2016

My friends know me as a happy and confident person. They had noticed a change in me and it made a lot more sense once I had told them about my depression. When I shared what I was going through they were really supportive.