For parents — Berlin
Play Therapy and Parent Supportin Berlin.
English-speaking play therapy for children and adolescents, with close support for parents. For families navigating anxiety, overwhelm, school difficulties, big transitions, or a child whose inner world feels hard to reach.
What play therapy actually is
Children rarely sit down and tell you what's wrong.
They show you. In how they play, what they avoid, who their figures are afraid of, what gets buried in the sand and what gets pulled back out. Play therapy is a quiet, regular hour in a room set up for exactly this — sand, water, figures, art materials, story, movement.
My role is not to interpret or instruct. It is to be a steady, attentive adult who can stay with whatever shows up, without rushing it into words or solutions. Over time, the difficult things become workable. Children begin to feel less alone with what they're carrying.
I work in the humanistic, client-centred tradition, with a gestalt influence, and trained through Play Therapy UK.
What it can help with
Families come for many reasons. A few of the most common —
- Anxiety, worry and overwhelm
- Difficulty at school — friendships, focus, refusal
- Confidence and self-esteem
- Emotional regulation and big feelings
- Attachment, separation and bonding
- Family transitions — moves, separation, new siblings, bereavement
- Adjustment for international and bilingual families
- Behaviour that feels stuck or confusing at home
If you're unsure whether what you're seeing at home is "enough" to bring — please get in touch anyway. A first conversation costs nothing and often clarifies a great deal.
How the work unfolds
A simple, unhurried process.
- 01Initial Parent Meeting
We begin with a conversation — usually just the parents. You tell me what's been happening at home and at school, what you've already tried, and what you're hoping for. I explain how I work, answer your questions, and we decide together whether play therapy and counselling feels like the right next step.
- 02First meetings with your child
The first two or three sessions are gentle and unhurried. Your child gets to know the room, the different ways we work together through play, art and story, and me. There's no pressure to talk about anything in particular. I'm watching, listening and beginning to understand how they experience the world and express themselves within it.
- 03Regular weekly sessions
We then settle into a regular rhythm — usually one session a week, at the same time, for an agreed period. Children use sand, figures, art, story and movement to work through what they're carrying. The consistency itself is part of the work.
- 04Parent reviews and collaboration
Every eight to twelve weeks we meet again as parents to look at how things are going — at home, at school, in the room. You are not on the outside of this work. Your noticing, your questions and your relationship with your child are central to it.
For international and bilingual families
Sessions are in English.
I work with many families who are living between languages and cultures — children at international schools, families on assignment, bilingual households, recent arrivals to Berlin. For many families, the relief of being able to do this work in English — for both children and parents — can be significant. Originally from Wales, I trained as a Play Therapist and Child Counsellor in the UK. I've spent much of my working life across the UK and Europe, and I'm used to holding the particular textures of family life lived in more than one place.
A first conversation is the place to begin.
Send a short note about what's going on. I'll reply as soon as possible and we can arrange a parent consultation.