What is the Play Therapy Toolkit and what does it do? 

Against blue background small child on left in blue clothes and with blonde hair, holding a fluffy colourful caterpillar puppet in each hand. Right hand puppet hangs in the air and its tail is bitten by a blue rubber shark hand puppet operated by a woman in a peach coloured jumper opposite the girl. She looks at the girl's face and is on her eye level. The little girl instructed the play therapist how to play with the shark puppet.

The Play Therapy Toolkit consists of all the toys and things a child has access to in the Play Therapy room, and it includes me, the therapist. Indeed, I am the biggest tool in the box! Funny,  but true. In the words of G. Landreth: “The relationship is the therapy”. (from The Art of the […]

Stepping into the unknown

A little chat whilst crafting can be a small but important relational moment in play therapy.

Hello! Welcome to Playing To Be, a brand new mental health and wellbeing service for children in the Skipton area (and further afield) run by me, Patricia Stienstra. This moment seems a good time to reflect on what it feels like to step into new territory and sail into uncharted waters… Starting my play therapy […]