Therapeutic play

Play is a privileged mode of expression for children and allows them to replay different events or experiences, in a realistic or imaginary way. They can thus give form to their fears and wishes, and more generally to anything that may have impressed, affected or hurt them. Therapeutic play is both a tool of expression, liberating buried or misunderstood emotions within the child, of discovery and self-knowledge, but also allows the child to digest their emotions and learn to better manage them.

My approach to working draws heavily on child therapists such as Virginia Axline, Donald Winnicott or Alfons Aichinger, and I have trained with the latter. I also wrote my doctoral thesis on the theme of creativity in children's play.