Play and Creative Arts Therapy is effective in addressing a wide range of issues around social, emotional and behaviour difficulties or trauma, appropriate for all stages of development. It helps in expressing concerns, adapting to challenges and establishing more successful strategies, working towards lasting change and improved wellbeing. Data analysis highlights that more than 90% of HeartSmart clients experienced improvement in their overall difficulties as a result of our work together.
Young children can generally express deep and powerful emotions far more readily through play and creativity than through words - in fact, play is their natural language! Play Therapy helps children explore their individual experiences and responses to their world in a deeply meaningful but gentle and safe way. Being able to do this helps their feelings and behaviours become less overwhelming and more manageable.
Play
and Creative
Arts Therapy
Creative Arts Therapy draws on the same range of creative and playful ways of self expression and is adapted for use with older children and young people or adults. Creating a world in the sand tray, using clay and paint, or music, dance and story-making can take us deeper into awareness, conveying more than words, supporting healing from trauma and other difficulties.
This can help develop:
-
responsibility for behaviours
-
more successful coping strategies.
-
respect and acceptance of self and others.
-
learning to experience and express emotion.
-
empathy and respect for the thoughts and feelings of others.
-
new social and relational skills.
-
self-efficacy and thus a better confidence about their abilities
