Children (4-12 years)
When sexual violence devastates a child's world, they may struggle to understand and process their experiences. Our Children’s Service Play Therapists are specially trained to work with younger clients. We welcome all children - no matter how they identify.
Early therapeutic intervention can help prevent more serious emotional and behavioural problems developing as a young person matures. We use a creative and therapeutic approach, including play, sand and art therapy.
If you are unsure about referring your child, please do call us. All calls are confidential, and you will be treated with kindness and respect.
What is play therapy?
Play therapy helps children to explore their feelings, express themselves and make sense of their life experiences, even when verbal communication is difficult.
Children can shift their perspective of sexual violence so they are less likely to internalise blame. Play therapy can offer a child a space where their feelings can be expressed and contained, promoting resilience and discovering a more hopeful view of the world. They may also learn to manage relationships and conflicts in more appropriate ways.
Play therapy generally happens at the same time, with the same person in the same room each week, allowing the child to build a trusted relationship with their play therapist.
Who can benefit from play therapy?
Play therapy can help young people of all ages, cultures and genders, but is most often used for children aged between four and twelve years. For example, this could include children who have:
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Been abused, neglected, or traumatised.
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Experienced loss through bereavement or family breakdown.
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Witnessed violence or substance abuse.
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Faced separation from their culture or origin.
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Emotional or behavioural difficulties, such as depression or aggression arising from their experiences.
The Birchall trust works with individual children, but we can also offer joint working involving parents, carers or siblings.
What do we offer?
Our Play Therapists encourage children to express themselves without having to explain their experiences verbally. We have a large selection of play items, including art and craft materials, dressing up props, sand and water, clay, small figure and animals, musical instruments, puppets and books.
Brought to you by Sesame.org, this app teaches kids Sesame’s research-based ‘Breathe, Think, Do’ approach to solving problems and dealing with tricky situations.
Helpful Apps for Children
This app from BBC helps children under 5 learn a variety of topics including wellbeing in a hands-on way.
Mindful Powers is built on a skills-based approach that helps children build a healthier relationship with life, stress and anxiety.
Three Good Things encourages users to write down three things that went well for them each and every day.