Frequently asked questions

No referrals are required to make an appointment with Light Up Play Therapy, however referrals are welcome.

Prior to your child starting play therapy sessions, you will be required to have an intake meeting. If possible, both parents/primary caregivers are invited to attend. During the intake necessary information including current concerns, your child's developmental and health history, family dynamics and significant life events will be obtained. At this time parents/caregivers will also be provided with a consent form and the legalities related to confidentiality will be explained.

In consultation with parents/caregivers a therapy intervention plan including goals will be established, with review meetings with parent/caregivers planned at 5-8 week intervals.

Sarah believes in a systemic approach to supporting children and their families and is willing to communicate with other allied health practitioners or teachers with the permission of parents/caregivers if this is deemed necessary to support a child. 

Reports for NDIS, specialists or other services relating to a child's progress can be provided. These will be billed accordingly. 

NDIS- Light Up Play Therapy works with children on self-managed or NDIS managed plans and collaborates with all relevant services to support children to reach the best possible outcomes.

Medicare- Unfortunately, Medicare rebates are not currently available.

Private Health Cover- Please contact your private health insurer to enquire if they cover mental health services.

Please advise Sarah if you are experiencing financial hardship.

A qualified play therapist can be registered following the completion of a Masters in Child Play Therapy and registration with a governing body including APPTA and PACFA. The Masters qualification comprises of 250 clinical hours with clients, 70 supervision hours with a qualified Play Therapist and 50 hours of personal therapy. On-going professional supervision is required for practising registered Play Therapists (RPT).

Building a trusting and respectful relationship is critical in a therapeutic relationship. It is therefore advised that parents and caregivers do not ask children what they did in their play session. Children are advised when commencing therapy that what happens in a play therapy session is private, but not secret. It is also explained to them that if the therapist is concerned about their safety or wellbeing, they will be required to speak to a parent or other adult about these concerns.

Parents/caregivers will be updated on their child's progress. Meetings will be arranged face to face or virtually to discuss themes identified in children's play, re-visit goals and to discuss their child's progress. 

Asking children about details of their therapeutic play time can lead to:

-Issues with confidentiality due to play therapy being private

-Feelings related to  judgement or pressure to please parents/caregiver

-Disrupting therapeutic boundaries, including therapist-child boundaries

-Misinterpretation related to misunderstand or misjudging play therapy's meaning

-Issues associated with emotional safety as sensitive topics may arise, premature inquiry may distresses children if they have not had time to process and integrate their experience

Instead, parents/caregivers can:

-Trust the therapist and have open communication with them

-Create a supportive home environment that is a safe space for expression

-Be patient as children will often share in their own time

-Encourage communication by talking about feelings without linking it to therapy

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to respect the process, protect the child, and maintain trust with the therapist.

Initial intake meeting (without the child present) will take 1- 1.5 hours.

A standard play therapy session runs for 45 minutes.

Interval reviews at the 6-8 week mark will take approximately 30-45 minutes (either face to face or via a Telehealth meeting).

A Filial Therapy or Theraplay based intervention will comprise of a combination of 20/ 30 and 60 minute sessions incorporating observations, assessments and supervised play sessions with a flexible delivery of face to face and Telehealth options available.

Weekly sessions are the standard delivery approach for these modalities due to:

-The need to develop trust and a strong therapist-child bond

-Allowing children adequate time to integrate and process their experience

-Providing consistency and predictability for children

-Being able to track progress more effectively

-Being able to tailor interventions based on a consistent monitoring approach

-Consistency supporting emotional regulation and reinforcing new behaviours

-The momentum helping to sustain progress and engagement

As each child's presents with varying needs, the duration of a play therapy intervention varies. It is a dynamic process that helps children work through emotional and behavioural issues, and while 10 sessions may be effective in supporting one child, the 'sweet spot' for therapeutic change often occurs at the 20-22 session mark. 

Parent and caregivers are an integral part of the process and help to identify when a child has made significant progress, demonstrated improved emotional and behavioural functioning, and has an increased potential to cope with challenges independently. The typical stages of a child’s therapeutic journey includes the warm up phase, aggressive (testing) phase, regressive phase and mastery phase. These will be discussed with parents/caregivers in more detail during the intake meeting.

Each child will differ in the speed in which they progress through each stages and regression is a typical part of the therapeutic process.

Therapeutic play differs from normative play, as the emphasis is on the process of the therapeutic journey rather than the activity/product/procedure. In therapeutic play, the therapist allows the child to dictate the pace and direction of play, always valuing the child's choices. The therapist empowers the child to take control and guide the nature of the play. As the play evolves the therapist uses specific therapeutic skills such as tracking the child's play and reflecting their emotions empathically. 

 
In normative play with peers children often have to adhere to rules and social norms while play with adults can often be educational or instructional by nature. In therapeutic play, children are supported to express themselves freely. Through this process, prosocial aspects of the child's personality are encouraged to flourish as they heal, grow, and undergo positive changes. 

Children can take time to develop a trusting relationship with their therapist. This is a normal part of the process which varies depending on a child's previous experiences, temperament, state of regulation and developmental abilities. A  play therapist is guided by the child and trained to accommodate their needs and meet each child where they are at. This involves using clinical reasoning to facilitate understanding and view the world from the child's perspective.

In child-centred play therapy sessions, the sessions take place between an individual child client and the therapist. If a child is particularly anxious, shorter intervals will take place initially, with the parent invited to stay or be visible to the child through the door. As a more trusting relationship develops between the therapist and child, longer intervals (up to 45 minutes) can take place with parents/ caregivers permitted to leave and return at the end of the session.

Siblings typically do not stay in a play therapy session intended for an individual child, unless this is deemed necessary. If they also require support, individual appointments can be arranged.

Other family members would participate in therapy as part of a Filial Play Therapy intervention as this comprises of whole family play observations and participation. This may be a recommendation for families following individual child-centred therapy to further strengthen relationships within a family.

Play therapists in Australia follow professional guidelines and standards set forth by organisations including PACFA and APPTA.

https://www.pacfa.org.au/

https://appta.org.au/who-is-appta/

Please refer to RESOURCES for PDF copies related to these organisation's Code of Ethics which Light Up Play Therapy adheres to.

The following policies are also provided to families upon initial intake or can be requested at any time:

- Children's safety 

- Code of Conduct

- Privacy and confidentiality

- Complaints & feedback

- Risk management

24 hours notice is required so that scheduled appointments for other clients can be offered.