Newsletter: March 2025
This months top news
We have had the privilege of teaching the L6 Relational Play and Creative Therapy, Young People’s course to a wonderful group of professionals. Every day brought new learning, insight and deep appreciation for everyone’s knowledge and ability to explore the topics fully. These seven days of training were truly inspirational!
We are looking forward to the termly tutorials, elevating learning and practice further.
We received amazing feedback which has really inspired us, here is a snapshot of some of the comments we received:
“The layout and layering within the course structure gently introduced new ideas, concepts and skills before then utilising experiential activities to develop my confidence in application. “
“Neurodiversity is something I feel could be a blind spot for me, I feel the course has given me a stronger basis to go away and think about my own practice in supervision and do a bit more research.”
“The breadth of experience from all three tutors are a testament to what you have created with the school of p.a.c.t. The values that align with school of p.a.c.t were seamlessly integrated into the quality of teaching. Content of PowerPoints, accessed to resources, was easily ready and accessible. “
“Fabulous course which is led in such a safe and heartfelt way. Thank you.”
Coming soon...
Web Therapy: Supporting families in Crisis Working with traumatised children and their families requires specialist training. Web therapy takes you through a system that will empower you to work with clients who have experienced complex trauma and parents and professionals who are caring for them.
For more information: https://schoolofpact.com/courses/web-therapy/
When: 15/03/2025 – 16/03/2025
Location: Online
Creative Therapeutic Life Story Work
This 8-day comprehensive programme offers a clear framework for professionals who want to develop their therapeutic skills offering Life Story Work to children and young people who have been adopted or are in foster care, Kinship care, or under SGO’s.
Creative Therapeutic Life Story Work Qualification is Accredited by CpCAB.
Dates: 29/03/2025 – 30/03/2025
27/04/2025 – 28/04/2025
31/04/2025 – 01/05/2025
14/06/2025 – 15/06/2025
Quarterly tutorials: Dates and times will be agreed with the cohort
Location: Online
More details about this courses can be found at https://schoolofpact.com/courses/post-qualifying-creative-therapeutic-life-story-therapy/
L6 Diploma – Relational Play and Creative Therapy, Children and Young People.
This innovative exciting programme will teach you the fundamentals of play and creative clinical practice with children and young people 4-18 years old, up to the age of 25 years for young people who are Care Leavers or those who have Special Educational Needs.
Taught over 2 years, commencing:
05/04/2025 in Bedford
10/05/2025 in Bristol.
Accredited by: CpCAB
For more information about this dynamic course visit: https://schoolofpact.com/level-6-diploma/
Once Upon a Trilogy ®
Three-day course:
Day one: Once Upon an Archetype
Day two: Once Upon a Metaphor
Day three: Once Upon an Anti-Hero
Within this three-day course we explore Archetypal Energy, Metaphor and Anti Heroes and the way they can present within our clients play. Have you ever wondered about the repetitive play of your clients? The same characters being used? The same themes coming up week after week? What processes are happening? How can you become involved? When should you join in or be a silent witness?
This course will enable you to gain a deeper understanding of how Archetypes, metaphor and Anti-heroes become powerful concepts within your client work. When you are the observer of your client play, watching a play narrative unfold this course will help you to consider these concepts to gain a deeper understanding of your client’s process and the transference which arises.
Dates: 03/05/2025, 22/06/2025, 28/06/2025
Time: 9.00 – 4.30
Venue: Online
Accredited by: CPD Standards Office
For more information about this dynamic course visit: https://schoolofpact.com/courses/the-once-upon-trilogy/
New Dates and New Venue! L6 Certificate, Relational Play and Creative Therapy, Young People
Relational Play and Creative Therapy for Young People Qualification provides the essential theoretical knowledge and practical skills required to work ethically with an older age range.
This course will explore the legal requirements of working with an older age range of clients, including consent, risk assessing and safeguarding responsibilities. Full details of this qualification can be found at https://schoolofpact.com/courses/post-qualifying-relational-play-and-creative-therapy-for-young-people/
Accredited by CpCAB.
Dates: 25/10/2025 to 31/10/2025.
Quarterly tutorials: Dates and times will be agreed with the cohort
Location: In Person – Mercure Bristol North the Grange Hotel, Old Gloucester Road, Winterbourne, Bristol, BS36 1RP
Something to ponder on...
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” Plato
As therapists working with children and young people, we understand the value of play and playfulness in and outside the therapeutic space. Play, after all is a child’s first language. Play provides the child an opportunity to develop physical skills, express themselves safely, take risks and problem solve.
I had the privilege of observing two sisters in play recently who gave me such a wonderful insight into their worlds and their relationship. I could see how they worked together to plan and develop their play narrative. As I watched them, I became acutely aware of how the soon to be 6-year-old, related to her older sister of 9 years old. Playing cafe’s taking the food and drink orders from the adults around them. The food order was relayed to the other child, who adopted the role of chef to prepare the food. The richness of communication between the two was wonderful, verbal and non-verbally they achieved the task and brought the food and drinks to each adult. They seemed amused when the adults pretended to eat and drink the refreshments made of wood! The adults making the appropriate aww, how wonderful, delicious, what a fabulous cafe…. we will return! I found myself smiling at the pleasure watching these children playing gave me. The play was repetitive, neuroscience teaches us that learning occurs through repetitive actions.
Later that day as I reminisced over my career working with children. For many of the children I worked with, play did not come naturally. These children clung on to adults, because they could not engage with the toys, play opportunities or to the other children. Their natural innate curiosity did not appear to be activated, overwhelmed by all the play opportunities, feeling unsafe and therefore these children presented as shut down. The toys were alien to them, playing with another felt challenging, developmental skills often delayed.
Building therapeutic relationships required time, often based on verbal communication and high energy. Clients were often in a state of mobilisation, presenting as hyper vigilance, flitting around the space unable to settle at an activity. Mess was quite often seen within the session, resources explored but not played with and just left all over the floor.
To make the therapeutic space less overwhelming I would scale back the toys, making the environment less busy and adding opportunities to hide in a tent or self-made den. In one therapeutic space a small trampoline enabled rhythmic repetitive bouncing which helped regulate their nervous system, Dana (2020). Drums were another really valuable resource to offer these rhythmic repetitive opportunities as suggested by Dr Bruce Perry. These activities supported emotional regulation and the development of the therapeutic alliance. Once this had occurred the Relational Play and Creative Therapy journey could then begin.
To watch these sisters play is the goal for all children as they access therapy.
"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” Plato
Spotlight
This is a shout out for our friend Jools Slaterpartridge.
Sen-inclusion offers therapeutic alternative education provision (1:1, 2:1 and small groups) as well as various types of therapy, including: Play and creative arts therapy, sensory therapy / sensory fitness, family therapy. They also provide lower-level therapeutic support in the form of emotion coaching / ELSA for those not in school or on EOTAS packages.
We are based in the centre of Ryde which is a short walk from the Portsmouth to Ryde foot passenger ferry and a short walk from the Southsea to Ryde Hovercraft (both a 5–10-minute walk depending on speed). If driving, we are a short drive from the Portsmouth to Fishbourne car ferry (10 minutes).
Contact: Jools Slaterpartridge
Mobile: 07548888701
Telephone: 01983 616967
Email address: [email protected]
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