Anna Outside Play Therapy

07/12/2025

Final weekend of training with this weekend. What a journey it's been 🌸.

07/11/2025

Almost there!! (That's what I keep telling myself!). I'm back again this weekend completing almost 30 hours of training across 3 days.

Becoming a highly-trained and professionally regulated Play Therapist takes time. I first started my journey in September 2023 and it's still ongoing.

My Master's in Play Therapy has been split into 3 parts, which together takes between 3-4 years to complete. Including assignments, fortnightly supervision, 200 supervised client hours, training weekends, hours and hours of reading and I don't even want to add up the ££££s I've spent on books.

But really the journey begins far, further back than that. I've been teaching in primary classrooms now since 2014 and teaching in Poland before that still.

And as much as I love working with kids, it began to frustrate me the lack of training around children's mental health and how it can be supported in the classroom. (PS it's more than just bubbles and a check-in!)

That curiosity and a CPD session by a Chicago-based psychotherapist began my quest into learning more, so that I could do better by the children in my care.

So here I am STILL learning and growing and what a journey it's been so far.
2026 is my year to become fully qualified as a Play Therapist, but the training never stops!

06/11/2025

Continuing my journey in advocating for Children's Mental Health, I'm researching and boosting the awareness of Play Therapy (particularly in the outdoors) and it's effectiveness for enhancing classroom regulation.

As part of my level 7 training to become a PTUK registered Play Therapist, I've begun to combine my two world's in a way that I'm hoping will become informative to both professions.

Research is vital in both fields, but having my practice backed by the most up-to-date science means I can pass on that knowledge to others too. Passing on the impact to more and more children in our classrooms. Watch this space!

04/11/2025

"How do Play Therapy techniques used in the Outdoors enhance Classroom Regulation?".

So far Play Therapy and School's learning outcomes have been two very separate directions pulling in my head. School's priorities are seeking learning opportunities and information retention, while in Play Therapy I'm seeing more children referred to help them learn how to manage in the environment or to learn how to self-regulate. ( I could write a whole blog post on this alone!!)

But the two ARE linked and one can't be done without the other and it's important that professionals working with children not only see the link, but know how to use this information in practice. (So much so that some countries and incorporating Play Therapy training within their teacher training programmes!!)

This is information that I'll be sharing with you along my research proposal journey, so that all professionals working with children in school's have easy and accessible knowledge to enhance their classroom practice. All to benefit the children in our care and help them grow to become the most empowered and confident version of themselves.

02/11/2025

It's a privilege to return to Play Therapy based client work this term. As well as my returning to my day job as a primary teacher, the course deadlines and training weekends have been keeping me busy! So it's been a little too quiet on the socials front.

*BUT* I have some exciting news... I've been working on combining my two worlds together and for my research proposal, I've managed to do just that.
More details to come soon and I CAN'T WAIT to share them all with you.

12/10/2025

The child who never causes any trouble can be the easiest to overlook - but sometimes ‘perfect’ behaviour is an actually sign of struggle.

When children are ALWAYS compliant, always agreeable, and never express their own needs or opinions, they may have learned that their authentic self isn’t safe to show.

They might be working incredibly hard to stay invisible, to keep everyone happy, or to avoid any conflict that feels dangerous.

These children need our attention just as much as those who act out - they just show their distress differently.

If you notice a child who seems “too good,” consider asking yourself: do they feel safe enough to disagree with me? To express frustration? To have their own preferences? Do they know they’re valued even when they’re not being perfect?

Creating school environments where all children - including the quiet, compliant ones - feel safe to be authentically themselves requires understanding and intentional practice. Our Emotionally Healthy Schools platform supports you to identify the children in your school who need support, and how to meet those needs:

https://clear-sky.org.uk/emotionally_healthy_schools/

04/10/2025

It's been a couple of weeks since I shared this resource for families. Have you passed it on yet?

Campaigning for the Mental Health Rights of Every Child and Nurturing Confident and Empowered Children because that's what they deserve.

Last academic year, I spent time organising a visit from Tom Collins MP for Worcester to our local Play Therapy Clinic and networked with many local Play Therapists.

I wanted to start this year off with an invaluable resource for all families to keep and share, helping them access the support that is already available to children.

Here it is! Please share in groups and communities and with families across our county.

26/09/2025

12/09/2025

Campaigning for the Mental Health Rights of Every Child and Nurturing Confident and Empowered Children because that's what they deserve.

Last academic year, I spent time organising a visit from Tom Collins MP for Worcester to our local Play Therapy Clinic and networked with many local Play Therapists.

I wanted to start this year off with an invaluable resource for all families to keep and share, helping them access the support that is already available to children.

Here it is! Please share in groups and communities and with families across our county.

27/08/2025

When you see your kids role playing having multiple specialisms and retraining to make sure they're working within their values... They absorb it all. 🥰

16/08/2025

Today's the day!! Have you got tickets to this wellbeing event? Excited to see some of you there!!

13/08/2025

Born from our screen free time this summer (so far!), knowledge of optimal child development and ongoing training as an Outdoor Play and Creative Arts Therapist...

Here's my Poem, "When the Screens Went Away!".