WELCOME
Hi, I'm Sam, a PTUK certified Therapeutic Play Practitioner and trained Play Therapist. Through SAMSCOVE I work with children in school, helping them to express difficult feelings and anxieties through the medium of play and creative arts.
With big unresolved emotions, children can feel like a small boat adrift in a vast sea of choppy waters.
Play therapy helps children navigate towards the safety of a cove's still waters.
About Play Therapy
Although play therapy has been around a while it’s still quite new to many and I’m often asked different questions about the work I do …
What is play therapy?
A child led therapeutic intervention for children aged between 4-11 who are experiencing mild to moderate emotional, behavioural, or social difficulties. Carefully selected toys are used that afford expression of feelings through the safety of symbols and metaphors, (which is also ‘SAM’).
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This helps children understand muddled feelings and upsetting events that can be getting in the way of life at home, school or maybe both.
Sometimes those feelings are so big for children they find it hard to understand how to deal with them, stop them or express them. That can feel pretty scary. It can be hard for the adults around the child too as often they don’t know how to help.
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Play is children’s natural medium of expression and “.. is not mere sport. It is full of meaning and import.” (Friedrich Froebel, 1903)
Talking about feelings can be hard for children when often they don’t have the language for them. Play therapy allows children to freely choose how to play out their feelings without judgement alongside a professional, like myself, who is highly trainined to communicate with them in this way, whilst offering unconditional acceptance and respect.
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Why is play therapy so suitable to children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties?
What are the session lengths?
I offer an initial block of 12 sessions; at 8 weeks a review meeting is held to see how things are going and if more sessions might be needed. Throughout the process, I communicate with parents, offering supportive strategies when needed.
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Sessions are1:1, held within a school, at the same time, on the same day each week in the same room. It can unsettle the process to miss sessions, though of course sometimes life can get in the way.
For what reasons might children benefit from play therapy sessions?
There are lots of reasons why play therapy sessions might be needed, here are some but by no means all:
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Anxiety
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Sadness
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Frustration
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Poor relationships/social skills
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Low self-confidence/esteem
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Parent separation
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Loss in the family
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Sleep difficulties
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Bullying
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New siblings
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Attachment
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Moving house
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Poor concentration
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Hyperactivity
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Medical experiences, themselves or family member
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Trauma
What happens in the room?
Children express their wishes, fears, worries and sadness in a playful, creative way using a range of carefully selected toys and creative arts items that are part of a play therapy ‘toolkit’. Play is child-led giving children the freedom to choose what to play with and how. Through the therapeutic relationship established with myself, in combination with the child's creative play, transformational change can take place.
About Me
As a Therapeutic Play Practitioner and trained Play Therapist, I find it a privilege to work alongside children in a therapeutic capacity and be witness to their inner worlds.
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I have a wealth of professional experience from various roles in school settings and in the voluntary sector. As a parent, I have navigated the challenges of raising two children whilst living in different countries. The combination of these life experiences enrich my connection with children across a wide range of needs.
Qualifications
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Post Graduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills
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Certificate in Counselling Children Using the Arts
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Diploma in Special Educational Needs Support
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NVQ Level 5 in Early Years Practise
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Batchelor of Arts in Humanities​
I am fully insured, hold an enhanced DBS Certificate
and have regular clinical supervision.
How Does a Child Start?
Either a parent/carer or school can make an enquiry. For sessions to start, a referral form and permission form are then completed, together with a strengths and difficulties questionnaire to help gauge the level of need.
Contact Me
Do feel free to get in touch if you'd like to enquire about sessions. I'm also happy to answer any questions you may have on a no-obligation basis.
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You can email or call me directly; alternatively use the contact form below.
Gloucestershire
Tel: 07565 955890
Email: sam@samscove.co.uk