Mara Play Therapy

16/12/2025

Noise sensitivity and Moro reflex

03/12/2025

Today marks one year since Mike, Helen and I (and my dad) first walked through the doors of our building at Liberton Brae. We had so many hopes and dreams — and a LOT!!!! of work ahead of us. I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved and all that we’ve learned along the way on this beautiful project.
Happy 1-year anniversary

30/11/2025

18/11/2025

Supporting children with sensory processing difficulties

06/11/2025

This may be supportive to some of you.

03/11/2025

My child needs mental health support but will never attend therapy!!

You’re not alone — many children and young people find the idea of “therapy” scary or uninteresting.

🐾 That’s where Animal Assisted Play Therapy®️ (AAPT) can make a real difference. And that’s where Fresa comes in…

Fresa is my 2-year-old Goldendoodle therapy dog— her name means Strawberry 🍓 in Spanish. She’s playful and loves inventing her own games, like hide-and-seek or tossing a balloon back and forth. Fresa is very attuned to people, especially children, and she’s wonderful at matching their energy.

Kind, funny, and clever, Fresa understands Polish, Spanish, and English! She naturally connects with children and helps them to:

✨Build trust

A calm, friendly dog helps children feel safe and relaxed — no judgment, no pressure.

✨Feel accepted

Animals offer unconditional acceptance, helping children feel valued and free to be themselves.

✨Turn therapy into play

Playing with Fresa makes sessions fun and helps children open up naturally.

✨Develop empathy

Dogs reflect children’s emotions, helping them understand and manage their own feelings — and those of others.

✨Create connection

Animal Assisted Play Therapy®️ fosters a safe bond between the child, therapist, and dog — nurturing trust and healing.

At Mara Play Therapy, Fresa joins me in play therapy sessions to help children and young people explore trauma and difficult emotions in a gentle, supportive way.

If you’d like to know more about how Animal Assisted Play Therapy®️ could help your child or young person, we’d love to hear from you.

📍 Edinburgh South. 18E, Liberton Brae EH16 6AE

🌐 www.forresterplaytherapy.uk/edinburgh-playroom

📧 maraplaytherapy@gmail.com

14/10/2025

Some neurodivergent children who struggle with having their hair washed or cut may still have an active “rooting reflex.” This video shows how to help with that

08/10/2025

These are the children who are often overlooked — the quiet, compliant ones who rarely cause any concern. When I observe children in the classroom, I always make a point to pay special attention to them to find out any unmet needs

The child who never causes any trouble can be the easiest to overlook - but sometimes ‘perfect’ behaviour is an actually sign of struggle.

When children are ALWAYS compliant, always agreeable, and never express their own needs or opinions, they may have learned that their authentic self isn’t safe to show.

They might be working incredibly hard to stay invisible, to keep everyone happy, or to avoid any conflict that feels dangerous.

These children need our attention just as much as those who act out - they just show their distress differently.

If you notice a child who seems “too good,” consider asking yourself: do they feel safe enough to disagree with me? To express frustration? To have their own preferences? Do they know they’re valued even when they’re not being perfect?

Creating school environments where all children - including the quiet, compliant ones - feel safe to be authentically themselves requires understanding and intentional practice. Our Emotionally Healthy Schools platform supports you to identify the children in your school who need support, and how to meet those needs:

https://clear-sky.org.uk/emotionally_healthy_schools/

28/09/2025

In Play Therapy, doodling offers a safe and non-threatening way for children to express thoughts and feelings they may not have the words for. It allows them to:

🧠 Process complex emotions

💬 Communicate experiences symbolically

🌱 Develop self-awareness and coping skills

🎭 Explore their imagination and creativity

Because there’s no right or wrong way to doodle, children feel free to express themselves without pressure or fear of judgment. This freedom can unlock stories, worries, and hopes hidden beneath the surface – making doodling a valuable tool for therapists to support healing and growth.

So, why not grab a pen today and let your doodles flow? You might be surprised by the insights that emerge. 💭✨

18/09/2025

Giving children hope. So powerful.

What’s the most important thing when a teenager stops going to school?

It’s not buying the books so they can follow the curriculum at home.

It’s not making sure they understand the consequences of missing school by threatening them with a miserable future.

It’s not taking their phone away so they can’t contact their friends unless they go back to school.

It’s not showing them you’re the boss and making their home life miserable.

The most important thing is hope. Not going to school is an unhappy place to be for lots of teenagers. School makes them desperately unhappy, but staying at home makes them anxious. They think they’ll have no future. They are caught.

The adults around them need to give them hope. We need them to know that no matter what, they’ll have a future. We need them to know that we have faith in them and their abilities and that we’ll be there with them. We need to show them that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and that we’ll be right there besides them as they find their way towards it

12/09/2025

This makes sense