Playful Minds Therapy Services
Our services are grounded in an integrative play therapy approach, drawing from Child-Centered Play Therapy, Synergetic Play Therapy®, AutPlay® Therapy, and Theraplay® principles. Our approach is informed by child development and attachment theory, person-centred and systems theory, and contemporary neuroscience, ensuring each child and family receives support that’s both evidence-based and aligned to their unique needs.
Child Play Therapy:
For children aged 2–10 years, Child Play Therapy sessions provide a space to explore emotions, process experiences, build a positive self-concept and develop healthy coping, relational and regulation skills. Sessions may be non-directive or gentle guided, depending on what best supports your child’s needs and therapy goals. This flexible, responsive approach allows therapy to unfold at your child’s own pace in a way that is developmentally aligned.
Parent-Child Play Therapy:
Parent–Child Play Therapy focuses on nurturing and strengthening the bond between parent/caregiver and their child through playful, attuned interactions. These sessions support connection, communication, and co-regulation and offer hands-on opportunities to practice strategies discussed during parent consultations.
Therapy often consists of a combination of individual child sessions and joint parent–child sessions, creating a holistic approach that supports the child and their caregiver/s. The balance between these session types is thoughtfully considered based on your child’s developmental stage, needs, and therapy goals. This integrated approach helps children express and process their experiences through play, while parents gain deeper understanding, confidence, and connection in their relationship with their child.
Therapy Process
Intake Phase
Play therapy is a medium to long-term approach, and a thorough intake process helps lay the foundation for effective work. Intake is an integral part of learning about your child and family, familiarising your child with the therapy process, and building a trusting therapeutic relationship. While these are 'intake sessions,' it’s important to note that therapy begins from the outset and each interaction with your child and family is an important piece of the therapy process.
The intake phase typically involves four sessions:
- A 90-minute parent/caregiver information-gathering session
- A parent–child play observation session
- An initial child-only play therapy session
- A 60-minute consolidation session with parents/caregivers to establish therapy goals and plan next steps
Ongoing Sessions
Each therapy session runs for approximately 45–50 minutes. Therapy sessions are scheduled at a regular day and time and held weekly to begin with. We ask that the first four sessions remain weekly before considering a shift to fortnightly appointments, if circumstances require. Consistency plays an important role in effective play therapy, helping your child build trust, familiarity, and momentum in the process.
Length of Therapy
Play Therapy is a gentle, relationship-based process that deepens over time. Because every child is unique, the length of therapy is highly individualised.
Many children begin to show early signs of meaningful growth after around 12–14 therapy sessions. This might look like increased emotional expression, improved regulation, greater confidence, or shifts in behaviour. However, deeper therapeutic work (particularly when children have experienced trauma, developmental challenges, or longstanding patterns of dysregulation), often benefit from longer-term support. Ongoing therapy helps children strengthen new neural pathways, consolidate skills, and generalise their growth across home, school, and community settings.
Importantly, Play Therapy does not happen in isolation. Therapeutic change is strengthened when the key adults in a child’s life feel supported and empowered to better understand their child’s underlying needs. The more actively open parents/caregivers are to reflection and learning new ways of responding, the more effective and sustainable the therapeutic process becomes.
Parent/Caregiver Involvement
Parents and caregivers play a central role in the therapy process. Therapeutic change is strengthened when the key adults in a child’s life feel supported and empowered to understand and respond to the child’s underlying needs.
For this reason, regular parent consultations are an essential component of therapy. These 60-minute parent-only sessions are typically scheduled after every 5–6 child play therapy sessions. However, additional or more frequent parent support can be offered at any stage to ensure the therapeutic process remains responsive to individualised needs.
The purpose of parent consultations is to:
- Co-create a therapeutic process that adapts over time to support your child’s individual needs
- Develop shared understanding of your child’s underlying needs. As the therapeutic process progresses and deepens, so too does our understanding
- Explore therapeutic responses and strategies to support your child at home and in other environments
- Reflect on progress, growth, and changes
- Provide psycho-education
In Parent–Child Play Therapy, parents/caregivers are active participants within sessions. In Child Play Therapy, the therapist works one-on-one with the child while parents or caregivers remain nearby in the waiting area.
Next Steps
If you’re considering play therapy for your child, we invite you to reach out to Playful Minds via the Contact page or email (admin@playfulmindstherapy.com.au). We are here to answer your questions and guide you through the process. Get in touch with us today or click the button below to find out about our fees.