Wildflower Play Therapy

13/11/2025

📣 IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY ON THURSDAYS 📣

The beautiful thing about our growing team? Less wait times for children and families! Our new team member Alisa has some appointments available on Thursdays for children and families who would benefit from the Therapeutic Powers of Play. Is there a child in your life who:

🌼 Has difficulties socialising and playing with others?
🌼 Has trouble with big emotions, such as anger or aggression?
🌼 Is worried or anxious?
🌼 Has fears or phobias?
🌼 Struggles with self-confidence or self-esteem?
🌼 Has difficulties with pretend play skills or independent play?
🌼 Is struggling with the loss of a pet or loved one?
🌼 May need an outlet to feel safe and express their story?
🌼 You have concerns around their school readiness?
🌼 You’d like to know more about understanding their world view and build your relationship with them?

If the answer to any of these is yes, we’d love to talk with you about how we can help. Please reach out to us on https://www.wildflowerplaytherapy.com/contact
We look forward to connecting with you soon.

30/10/2025

SURPRISE! 🤗 MORE EXCITING NEWS! 🥳

We know it's not long since our last announcement, but we can't hold this one in any longer - we’d like to introduce you to our second newest team member, Katie. Katie is also journeying with us while our wonderful Amy is on maternity leave. We are really excited for families and children to meet Katie:

“Hi, I’m Katie and I’m so excited to be joining the team at Wildflower Play Therapy very soon! Being a play therapist is an honour. I love building relationships of deep trust where a child feels safe to share their inner world with me. Play gives children a voice when words are too hard to find, and I have the privilege of seeing, hearing, and understanding the words to these stories. There’s something so special about seeing the magic of play in real time; when a child finds newfound confidence, creatively solves a problem, feels calm where there was once a worry, or expresses joyful delight. Every journey is unique, and I feel so grateful to walk alongside each child and their family as they share their story and heal, grow and thrive through play.”

To read more about Katie’s qualifications, experience and areas of interest, head to https://www.wildflowerplaytherapy.com/katie-williams

If you’re wondering if your child/family might benefit from Play Therapy, head to https://www.wildflowerplaytherapy.com/contact to reach out to us. We look forward to talking with you more soon.

28/10/2025

EXCITING NEWS!! 🥳

We’d like to introduce you to our newest team member, Alisa (Chunxiao) Liao. Alisa has come to journey with us while our wonderful Amy takes some time off on maternity leave. We are very excited to introduce children and families to Alisa:

“Hi everyone! I’m Alisa, and I’m so excited to be joining the Wildflower Play Therapy team! What I love most about play therapy is how naturally it allows children to express themselves. Through play, they get to explore who they are, how they relate to others, and who they’re becoming — and it’s such a privilege for me to witness their incredible capacity to heal, grow, and flourish. I’ve spent many years working in education, supporting children and families from various backgrounds. I originally come from China and speak both Mandarin and English fluently, which helps me connect with families from diverse communities. I can’t wait to meet and connect with you at Wildflower Play Therapy!"

To read more about Alisa’s qualifications, experience and areas of interest, head to https://www.wildflowerplaytherapy.com/alisa
If your child or family could benefit from the transformative therapeutic powers of play therapy, head to https://www.wildflowerplaytherapy.com/contact to reach out to us. We look forward to talking with you about your child's unique strengths and needs and how we might be able to help.

05/06/2025

We are so proud of our Amy and her recent publication in The British Journal of Play Therapy! Congratulations on your achievement, Amy, so great to see your hard work recognised and this important research published. 🥳

I am proud to say my Masters research, 'Holding Space for Children's Humour: How is Humour used within Play and Child Therapy? A Scoping Review,' is at last, published. I am really proud of the work, and to have my name alongside Dr Natalie Hadiprodjo. You can read it in the British Jour...

03/03/2025

IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY

That dreaded word: waitlist. We know how hard it is to hear that your child will have to wait for the support they need. That’s why we are always striving to reduce wait times and provide kids with the support they need when they need it. So, we are excited to announce that we have several appointments available for weekly Play Therapy with our newest team member, Amber:

“Hi, I’m Amber. I have a special interest in neurodivergence and neuro-affirming practice, and am neurodivergent myself. Within this I enjoy building children’s joy in play and capacity for play, which often supports their relationships with others and well-being. With my experience in educational settings, I also enjoy supporting children transitioning into school and with school related anxieties. By working alongside educators and families, I aim to facilitate the best environment possible for children’s education and care. ”

If you are interested in securing a Play Therapy appointment with Amber for your child, please reach out to us via email on info@wildflowerplaytherapy.com or by phoning 0406 311 254. If you would like more information on Play Therapy, please visit www.wildflowerplaytherapy.com.

07/02/2025

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL PLAY THERAPY WEEK 2025! 🥳

Day 7: Games, Cards, and Projective Resources in Play Therapy

⭐️ Fostering Positive Emotions: The enjoyment and shared experience of games can build trust and strengthen the therapeutic relationship.
⭐️ Exploring and Regulating Emotions: Games can evoke a range of emotions, such as anticipation, surprise, joy, frustration, or disappointment. These experiences provide opportunities to explore and develop emotional regulation skills in a safe and supportive environment.
⭐️ Developing Social Skills: Games often involve turn-taking, cooperation, negotiation, and conflict resolution. These interactions help develop social skills.
⭐️ Enhancing Communication: Games can encourage self-expression, listening, and both verbal and non-verbal communication. They can also provide a platform for practicing narrative skills and sharing personal experiences.
⭐️ Projection and Exploration: Games, cards and other therapeutic resources can serve as projective tools, allowing individuals to express and explore their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and worldview in a symbolic and non-threatening way.
⭐️ Promote Self-Expression: Games can spark conversation, and provide an entry point for exploration of feelings and experiences.

Play Therapy harnesses the natural language of childhood: Play. This week we will be sharing some of the resources we use that support children’s therapeutic growth within Play Therapy.
”

06/02/2025

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL PLAY THERAPY WEEK 2025! 🥳

Day 6: Miniatures in Play Therapy

⭐️ Safety Through Metaphor: The miniature world creates a safe, symbolic space where children can explore and express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences indirectly and in a non-confrontational way.
⭐️ Develop Social Skills and Empathy: By creating and enacting narratives within the miniature world, children can explore different roles, relationships and social dynamics, developing a greater sense of self-awareness, understanding of the social dynamics and empathy.
⭐️ Cathartic Relief and Emotional Regulation: Miniatures can provide a safe outlet for expression of thoughts, feelings and experiences. Through the safety of the play, children can grow to understand and process their experiences, alongside practicing coping strategies and developing their emotional regulation.
⭐️ Therapeutic Expression Beyond Verbal Skills: By engaging with miniatures through play, children can communicate the complexities of their thoughts and feelings non-verbally, overcoming developmental limitations of verbal expression.
⭐️ Problem-Solving and Cognitive Development: The miniature environment encourages problem-solving and cognitive development, as children experiment with different scenarios and outcomes. By manipulating objects and creating narratives, they can develop critical thinking skills, enhance their creativity, and learn to approach challenges from multiple perspectives.

Play Therapy harnesses the natural language of childhood: Play. This week we will be sharing some of the resources we use that support children’s therapeutic growth within Play Therapy.

”

05/02/2025

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL PLAY THERAPY WEEK 2025! 🥳

Day 5: Costume Play in Play Therapy

⭐️ Enhances Self-Understanding, Increases Personal Strengths and Develops Empathy: Costume play provides a safe space for children to explore different strengths, abilities and roles, promoting self-discovery and self-understanding. It also allows them to see things from the perspective of others, fostering empathy and social skills.
⭐️ Allows Stress Relief and Promotes Positive Emotions: Costume play offers a temporary escape from reality, where children can shed their everyday identity and become someone else entirely, encouraging stress relief and fostering feeling of joy, control and competence.
⭐️ Supports Catharsis and Mastery: Costume play empowers children to play out their experiences through the safety offered by the metaphor of play and allows children the freedom to rewrite the ending should they so choose, providing cathartic relief and mastery over experiences.

Play Therapy harnesses the natural language of childhood: Play. This week we will be sharing some of the resources we use that support children’s therapeutic growth within Play Therapy.

”

04/02/2025

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL PLAY THERAPY WEEK 2025! 🥳

Day 4: Nurture Play in Play Therapy

⭐️ Repairing Attachment and Nurture Experiences: Children can role-play as the recipient of care, exploring their own needs for nurture and attachment, at times fulfilling gaps in their own experiences.
⭐️ Mastering Experiences: By reenacting experiences with nurture toys, children can gain a sense of control and mastery, with the flexibility to rewrite their narrative to a different, more healing story if they so desire.
⭐️ Reducing Fears and Anxiety: Nurture play can provide a forum for rehearsing experiences such as inoculations, surgical procedures, injuries, etc. helping to gain mastery, and reduce anxiety and fear.
⭐️ Enhancing Communication Skills: Children can use nurture play to listen to and respond to others both verbally and non-verbally, improving their communication skills.
⭐️ Developing Empathy: Children can develop a deeper understanding of others' feelings and needs, fostering empathy, compassion and healthy relationships.
⭐️ Building Self-Esteem: Successfully caring for others via nurture play can boost children's self-esteem and confidence.
⭐️ Promoting Problem-Solving Skills: Children can use nurture play to explore different solutions to problems and exercise their problem-solving skills.

Play Therapy harnesses the natural language of childhood: Play. This week we will be sharing some of the resources we use that support children’s therapeutic growth within Play Therapy.

”

03/02/2025

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL PLAY THERAPY WEEK 2025! 🥳

Day 3: Aggressive Play in Play Therapy

Aggressive play, often misunderstood and discouraged, can play a vital role in healthy child development:

⭐️ Empathy, Communication and Social Skills Development: Through aggressive play, children practice listening to social cues, practice verbal and non-verbal communication and grow in their understanding of how their behaviour affects others. This fosters the development of empathy, communication skills and social skills.
⭐️ Self-Regulation and Self-Expression: Engaging in aggressive play allows children to express their emotions and experiences in a safe environment. This helps them develop self-understanding, creates an outlet for self expression and encourages the development of self-regulation skills.
⭐️ Moral Development: As children navigate the rules and boundaries of aggressive play, they develop a sense of safe versus unsafe, and right versus wrong, contributing to their moral development and social competence.
⭐️ Physical Development: Aggressive play often involves physical activity, promoting gross motor skills, strength, and coordination.

Play Therapy harnesses the natural language of childhood: Play. This week we will be sharing some of the resources we use that support children’s therapeutic growth within Play Therapy.

”

02/02/2025

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL PLAY THERAPY WEEK 2025! 🥳

Day 2: Puppet Play in Play Therapy

⭐️ Enhance Communication and Social Skills: Puppet play allows children to practice verbal and nonverbal communication.
⭐️ Express Emotions and Experiences: Puppets provide a safe way for children to explore feelings and experiences that might be too overwhelming or scary to express directly.
⭐️ Develop Emotional Regulation: Through puppet play, children can learn to identify, understand, and regulate their emotions.
⭐️ Build Empathy and Understanding: By taking on different roles and perspectives through puppet play, children can develop a greater sense of empathy and understanding towards others.
⭐️ Promote Problem-Solving Skills: Puppet play can be used to explore and resolve conflicts, practice decision-making, and develop problem-solving strategies.
⭐️ Increase Self-Awareness: Through puppet play, children can gain a deeper understanding of their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
⭐️ Reduce Anxiety and Stress: The playful and non-threatening nature of puppet play can help promote joy, humour and relationship and reduce anxiety, and cope with stress.

Play Therapy harnesses the natural language of childhood: Play. This week we will be sharing some of the resources we use that support children’s therapeutic growth within Play Therapy.

”

01/02/2025

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL PLAY THERAPY WEEK 2025! 🥳

Play Therapy harnesses the natural language of childhood: Play. This week we will be sharing some of the resources we use that support children’s therapeutic growth within Play Therapy.

Day 1: Sand Play in Play Therapy

⭐️ Projection of Feelings: Sand play provides a space for children to project their emotions and experiences, allowing them to express themselves in a way that feels safe.
⭐️ Access to the Unconscious: The symbolic nature of sand play can provide access to unconscious thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This can facilitate a deeper understanding of the child's inner world and promote healing.
⭐️ Sensory Play and Construction: The tactile experience of manipulating sand can be deeply therapeutic; bridging gaps in childhood experiences of sensory play and supporting the development of emotional regulation. Building and creating with sand also fosters creativity, problem-solving skills, and fine motor skill development.
⭐️ Conceptualisation: Sand play allows children to externalise and represent their internal experiences in a concrete and tangible way. This can help them make sense of their thoughts and feelings and gain mastery over their experiences.