FAQs- Play Therapy Questions Donegal
PlayTherapyFAQs
What is Play Therapy?
Play Therapy is a powerful form of therapy that recognises children’s play as more than just fun; it is a language through which they communicate and develop. Rather than seeking to apply standard adult talk-therapy methods to children, play therapy seeks to engage with them at their own level, developing a strong relationship with the child through the medium of play, and through that help children prevent or resolve a wide array of psychosocial difficulties so they can achieve their potential.
What is the difference between Play Therapy and Psychotherapy?
In Play Therapy, the therapist communicates with children through the medium of play. A psychotherapist is a mental health professional who is accredited and/or registered to provide psychological treatment to clients with complex emotional needs.
A play therapist that is not also a psychotherapist, or other mental health professional, uses play therapy to work with children who do not have clinical issues, for instance, they may work with children with developmental challenges and those who are struggling with changes in their lives. The aim is to promote emotional wellbeing and help children adjust to new situations so that they can regain the happiness and security that may have been lost due to a difficult experience such as a bereavement, illness, or single incident trauma.
At UNLOCK we are professionally trained as Psychotherapists specialising in Play Therapy. This means that they are trained to provide developmental and therapeutic play, play therapy, and psychological treatment to clients across the spectrum of need including those with significant clinical issues and those with complex histories including multiple traumas.
How long does Therapy take?
This depends on the individual client/family and the needs presented. Therapy is not a quick fix solution. Usually speaking, it takes a minimum of 13-15 sessions for any noticable change to be apparent.
What types of challenges does UNLOCK cater for?
- Parental conflict, separation or divorce
- Traumatised (sexual, physical or emotional abuse or neglect)
- Adoption or Foster care
- Disruption in attachment relationships
- Bereavement
- Hospitalisation
- Domestic violence
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD)
- Trauma / Post Traumatic Stress
- Persistent anger, worry, sadness or fear which hinders the daily life of the child
- Anxiety
- Excessive shyness
- Low self esteem
- Learning / Developmental problems
- Sleep problems
- Eating problems
- Bedwetting / soiling problems
- Preoccupation with sexual behaviour
PsychoTherapyFAQs
How does Psychotherapy work?
Therapy aims to help children and parents understand that all behaviour – both good and bad – has meaning. It helps us to better manage children’s/teenager’s difficult behaviour if we know more about why they behave the way they do. Psychotherapy is concerned with opening up communication to talk about the reasons for children’s annoying, difficult or challenging behaviour. These reasons may be connected with what is happening at home, with divorce or separation, loss, bereavement, school and learning difficulties, or social and emotional stress.
What involvement do parents have?
- Children are never seen on their own without parents’ involvement because you as parents are the most important people in your child’s life.
- Therapy focuses on relationships and on understanding and improving your child’s relationship with you, with siblings, extended family and in the school setting.
- Practical advice and support is always offered to parents. However this takes place in relation to understanding the context of family and relationship issues so that the advice can be most effective. Parent Sessions are arranged throughout the process.
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EducationalTrainingFAQs
How do we arrange a consultation with Deirdre?
Deirdre will arrange a meeting online to discuss the needs of your organisation and the specific goals and objectives you have for delivering an educational programme/workshop. These are tailored to each organisation.
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ParentsProgrammesand Workshops<br /> FAQs
What options are available?
Deirdre holds workshops in conjunction with many organisations such as family resource centres, educational centres, childcare facilities etc.
She also facilitates workshops online such as Webinars for parents. These are advertised on her social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram. She also has the option of availing of online programmes that specialise and focus on specific themes/topics such as Anxiety, Limit Setting, Communication and many more.