Our range of therapies are a key strand our approach which integrates education, therapies and expert care in a holistic therapeutic environment with onsite medical support.

One of the many therapies that we provide is play therapy.

Play therapy helps children to express their inner feelings and emotions in an imaginative, safe and child-led way. They are encouraged to act out their concerns and explore their imagination.

We sat down with Play Therapist, Fatima Godinho, to find out more about how play benefits our students.

What is Play Therapy?

Play Therapy is a therapy that uses play to help children express their worries, concerns and fantasies. Through play, they can work through emotional and behavioural difficulties that may stem from a wide range of causes including parental separation, bereavement and different kinds of trauma. 

What benefits does Play Therapy bring to students at Camphill?

Play Therapy has been very beneficial to many students at Camphill. On top of the above mentioned traumatic experiences that any child can have, they have also the trauma of their disability and quite often the correspondent bullying experienced in previous school settings and their own sense of failure. It can also help students in the autistic spectrum to reduce anxiety and stress and achieve emotional regulation.

How often do students take part in Play Therapy?

Play Therapy is usually done once a week, in individual sessions lasting between 45ms to one hour. 

What does Play Therapy involve?

Play Therapy involves a quiet and peaceful setting where the child can feel welcomed, accepted and nurtured. The Play Therapy done in Camphill is child-centred and non-directive, which means the child can decide what they want to do in the room and lead the play. In this way they can feel free to express through play what worries them and how they experience the world around them. The Play Therapy room has a wide range of materials and play possibilities including a sand tray, dressing up material for role play, art materials, musical instruments and games.