Understanding Play Therapy

Posted: 3rd August 2026

Foundation Course Level 1 –

Understanding Play Therapy

Course Description

This foundation-level course introduces learners to the development, theory and practice of Play Therapy. Recognised as an effective mental health intervention for children aged 3–12, Play Therapy supports children to express emotions, process experiences and develop regulation skills.

Participants will explore how Play Therapy has developed since the late nineteenth century and how it offers adults a different way to understand children’s behaviour. The course uses a modern, neuro-informed lens to consider why children behave as they do and what they need from the adults who support them.

Core Learning Areas

1. Understanding the Development of Play Therapy

• The historical development of Play Therapy from the nineteenth century to the present day.

• Why play is a child’s natural language and a powerful therapeutic tool.

• What makes Play Therapy distinct from other child-focused interventions.

2. Emotional Regulation through a Neurodevelopmental Framework

• Sensory system development and its role in emotional processing.

• Polyvagal Theory and the early development of regulating systems.

• How the brain and central nervous system shape behaviour in infancy and early childhood.

3. Self-Regulation and Supported Regulation

• How children build emotional regulation skills over time.

• Why children may struggle with regulation and what this means for the adults around them.

• The systems that underpin how we process emotions as children and as adults.

4. Practical Everyday Support Strategies

• Translating theory into everyday practice with distressed children and frustrated adults.

• Using an understanding of brain functioning to inform supportive responses.

• Developing stable, developmentally appropriate regulation strategies for children.

Course Outcomes

By the end of the course, learners will be able to:

• Understanding how Play Therapy can be effective in supporting children.

• Identify key emotional support skills and how to apply them in practice.

• Reflect on why current strategies may not be working at home, in school or in the workplace.

• Recognise what children need from adults to support emotional and social development.

• Use an alternative developmental framework to understand early experiences

• Apply neuro-informed insights to everyday interactions with children.

Expires: 2026-09-09

More Information: https://www.withkids.org.uk/

Contact: Jeanne McLaughlin - Email - j.mclaughlin@withkids.org.uk