TRE – from a Mum’s perspective
Life starts throwing things at us from when we are small - and we learn to navigate, deal with, overcome or stuff them. Regardless, they have an impact on us, and so many parents find that 'parenting' brings many of these unresolved experiences and tensions to the...
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Sleep 201 : Fighting the Real Enemy, and the No.1 mistake parents make when it comes to bedtime fear
Many, many children go through a stage in their development when they don't like going to bed, and the reasons can be many and varied. Parents often tell me their children are generally fine and 'the behaviour' only begins when it is time to start the bedtime routine....
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Sleep 101 – 3 essential foundations for good quality sleep
Last week there was a documentary on British TV about children and sleep; a crisis hitting our younger generation. I'm sure we all know the horrible feeling of not having had enough sleep - it happens to us all from time to time. However, the additional knock-on...
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“I don’t feel pain” – Exploring dissociation as a reason why not
You meet all sorts of people whilst out dog walking. I met a man today who was wearing a jacket and shorts and trainers. I know it is now officially March - but I was wearing a T-shirt, hoodie, and fleece. I also had a woolly hat, jeans, thick socks and warm walking...
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Crucial things to ask yourself when life asks you to choose
Sometimes things don't work out the way you planned... As many of you will know, Hinton has been a big part of my life for the last 16 months (make that 20 if you want to include the 4 months of crazy excitement and preparation from decision day until he actually...
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Getting honest – when working with challenging children brings you to tears
We all know that being around challenging children is HARD. Being involved in their lives means that we have a significant role we are playing - and yet it can sometimes mean we think that to be doing a good job we have to keep it all together and not let others know...
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6 Things you should know about how play therapy training will change you and your relationships.
So you want to train to be a play therapist? Really? There are a few things you should know, that none of the play therapy training materials will tell you. Firstly, you will likely develop a life-long penchant for 'collecting' miniature items from shops, car boots,...
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Stress and inevitable symptoms of working in a school…?
This just came in from one of the senior teachers I have been supporting. It is shared here with permission. Everyone's story is different of course - and if you are curious to change yours then please get in touch. "Hi there I just wanted to send you a few words that...
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Routine at Christmas – a gift for worried, anxious and down-right scared children
Hinton loves routine. He really does. He has always had a sensitive temperament. Routine helps him know where he is, what is coming next, and he likes that. We are at the stage now where he knows there is a period of time to wait (for digestion) between breakfast and...
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Halloween has been – but not necessarily gone ~ Helping a child who has been scared by something fictional they’ve seen.
I'm pretty sure it is not just me getting older, but I have been really struck over recent years by the amount of 'Halloween' in the shops and on the telly. I'm not just talking about pumpkins and broomsticks. It seems that a more prolific and much darker element to...
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The down-side to having Pastoral Staff in school
So many times I have heard it said to me 'we are doing ok, we have a learning mentor' or 'we have a nurture room' or 'we have a child and family support worker'. Even if it is not said specifically in those words, I have had more conversations than I want to count...
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Working with Children and Dogs -1 : Big for their age
SO many of you will already know that after 10 years of continuous work as a children's therapist, often working with very complex cases, I have been on a sabbatical from my direct clinical work. Have I been sitting around twiddling thumbs for the last year? Umm No....
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