“Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.”

Non-directive or child-centred play therapy was developed by Virginia Axline in 1947. Non-directive play therapy is based on the fact that play is the child's natural means of self-expression. It is therefore an opportunity for the child to 'play out' their feelings and problems in the same way that an adult 'talks out' their difficulties in therapy. 

May has 10 years' experience of providing one-to-one play therapy interventions for people aged 2-80 with a range of emotional and behavioural problems, including withdrawn behaviour, selective mutism, low self-concept, conduct disorder or aggression, autism, ADHD, intellectual, reading, physical or learning disabilities, speech or language problems, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, divorce, sexual abuse and domestic violence, depression, self-harm or suicidal behaviour, with a high 95% success rate of 24-78 play therapy interventions.

After 4 months of May's diligence and care, my son's social communication, behaviour and relationships have changed dramatically. He has developed strong friendships with many of his classmates, including the basketball team, choir and art club, regularly follows his teacher's instructions, often shows compassion to others and plays with many friends on a daily basis. ~ Parent Michael

I particularly enjoyed the parent consultations where May discussed her observations, helped us gain insight into our child's strengths and challenges, and provided practical strategies. I can see that May's sessions have had a real impact on our child, helping him to develop his thinking skills and ways of dealing with challenges. ~ Parent Julie

The initial 15-minute free consultation is followed by a formal parental consultation to help parents understand our approach to play therapy and the effectiveness of play therapy from previous research and clinical cases, while the therapist gets to know the child or adult's previous developmental experiences and makes an initial assessment using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, which assesses the child's or adult's emotional symptoms, behavioural problems, attention problems, peer interaction problems and prosocial behaviour to set play therapy goals.

After every five one-to-one play therapy sessions, a parent consultation is held to update parents on the progress of the treatment, to gather information about recent developments at home and school to help refine the treatment plan, and to give parents tips on how to adapt the treatment plan to the home and school environment.