PLAY THERAPY
🌿 Non-Directive Play Therapy: A Journey to Healing and Growth
Non-directive play therapy is a transformative, child-centred approach grounded in the belief that children possess an innate capacity to heal when given the right environment. Through the natural language of play, children are invited into a safe, unstructured space where they can explore their emotions, experiences, and inner world at their own pace.
This approach honours the child’s autonomy, allowing them to take the lead—choosing how to engage with materials, express feelings, and navigate challenges in a way that feels safe and authentic. It is through this freedom that deep healing begins.
Play becomes a gateway to regulation, and through the therapeutic relationship, children learn co-regulation—an essential step toward building self-regulation. The playroom becomes a space where trust is built, emotional expression is welcomed, and growth unfolds organically. With a focus on the roots of change, non-directive play therapy creates a profoundly respectful, holistic space that nurtures the child’s mind, body, and spirit.
🌱 Creating a Safe Container: The Structure Behind the Sessions
Safety and structure are key components of the therapeutic process. That’s why, at CLARITY, we work with children in sets of six sessions—a model created by Julia to support both the child and their caregivers throughout the therapeutic journey.
This framework begins with a parent session, where presenting concerns are explored and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is completed. The SDQ is a valuable tool that offers insight into where the child is psychologically as the work begins. While the play sessions remain non-directive—honouring the child’s natural pace and process—the SDQ provides a lens to observe shifts in emotional development over time.
Each set of six sessions concludes with a review parent session, including a re-administration of the SDQ to track progress, reflect on emerging themes, and collaboratively plan next steps. This cyclical approach creates a rhythm of reflection and responsiveness, ensuring the therapeutic journey remains grounded, collaborative, and tailored to each child’s evolving needs.
Julia had the privilege of working directly with one of the SDQ’s original creators in the UK while she was developing this structured approach—described as a “cutting-edge” way to track emotional gains and create a safe container for therapeutic work to unfold. Over the past five years, she has trained other play therapists in this model—supporting clinicians in using structured rhythms to foster safety, deepen clarity, and strengthen therapeutic attunement.
This system continues to guide the work we do at CLARITY today, offering a respectful balance between clinical insight and the child’s unique, unfolding process.
Additional information about Play Therapy at CLARITY can be found in the video links below:
Our Therapeutic Environment at CLARITY
At CLARITY, our spaces are thoughtfully designed to support children’s emotional healing and exploration. Each element, from curated toys to art materials, sand trays, and symbolic figures, is chosen to foster a sense of safety and creative freedom. These tools serve as bridges for children to access and express their inner world. Empowering children to embark on a journey of self-discovery.
