Play therapy is a mental health provision for children which uses play as a way of helping them understand and express their thoughts and feelings.

It’s mainly used with children who may not be able to put how they are feeling into words. Play therapy helps them to communicate at their own level using everyday play materials. This can help them learn to cope with what they’re going through and to develop and build relationships with others. At the heart of this is the therapeutic relationship which builds on developing bonds that can lead to secure-based attachments.

This therapeutic approach can help foster carers understand their child’s needs better whilst being guided to apply the foundational strategies that can support not only the child but the family as a whole. The therapist offers unconditional support to the foster carers who may also require effective help in understanding the child’s needs and how to manage their various forms of communication.  Having Play Therapy as part of the clinical support helps carers understand how to foster positive attachments to their child, with the intention of creating more safety, stability, consistency and understanding in relation to the child’s past life experiences. This provides a wrap-around support network in addition to the support provided by social workers, support staff and other members of the team around them.