Ages 3 to 18 · Manchester
Most children can't explain why they're struggling. Many can show you, given a sand tray and a shelf of small figures.
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Play-based counselling is counselling in which a child uses toys, sand, art and games to express what they can't yet put into words. At Young Minds Grow, Gitta Strassman MBACP offers it at our north Manchester clinic, in school and online. She is an integrative counsellor, not a registered play therapist, though many parents find us by searching for 'play therapy'. The way sessions work is similar, and we're happy to explain the difference.
Children choose what to play with and how. Gitta watches, joins in when invited and wonders aloud about what she sees, without telling the child what it means.
A child who buries a figure in the sand every week, or makes the puppet crocodile shout at the baby, is telling us something. Over time we help them make sense of it.
As children feel more settled, many start to talk about what the play was about. We let that happen at their pace.
Play therapy is a specific profession, with its own training and its own registers, such as the British Association of Play Therapists and Play Therapy UK. Play-based counselling is counselling in which play, art and other creative materials are the main way of working. Gitta Strassman is an integrative counsellor for children and young people and a registered member of the BACP (no. 406991). She is not a registered play therapist.
We mention this because a lot of parents search for ‘play therapy Manchester’ when what they want is a counsellor who will work with their child through play rather than expecting them to sit and talk. That is what we offer. If you specifically need a registered play therapist, for example because a funder or a report requires one, we will say so on the free call.
Our playroom in north Manchester has a sand tray, and shelves of small figures: people, animals, dragons, fences, trees, cars and things that are a bit frightening. There are paints, pens, clay, puppets, a dolls’ house, games and a lot of paper. Each thing earns its place. Clay is good for anger because you can squash it. Puppets let a child say things in someone else’s voice. The sand tray lets them build a whole world and then change it.
A session lasts 50 minutes. Your child comes into the room and chooses where to start. Imagine a five-year-old whose parents have recently separated. Week after week she builds two houses in the sand with a long road between them, and drives a small car back and forth. Gitta doesn’t explain the scene to her. She comments on it: ‘That car has a long way to go.’ Over several weeks the child starts to add things, maybe a bridge, or a figure waiting at one end. Eventually, sometimes, she talks about it. Often she doesn’t need to, and the change shows up instead at home, in fewer tears at handover.
This is the core of play-based counselling. Children use play to work through things that are too big or too confusing to say out loud, and a counsellor who is paying close attention helps them do it.
It works well for children aged roughly 3 to 11, and for older children who find talking hard, including many autistic and ADHD children. It is often used after a bereavement, a separation, a new sibling, a house move or a frightening event, and for children whose feelings are coming out as behaviour.
Gitta has 25 years of experience with children and young people. Because she is an integrative counsellor, she can move between play, creative work and conversation as your child grows or as their needs change, without anyone having to start again with someone new.
Parents meet Gitta for 50 minutes before sessions start, and again every six sessions or so to review. We don’t report what your child played each week, because that privacy is part of what makes the playroom work. We do tell you what we are noticing and how you can help at home. If we were ever worried about your child’s safety, we would act on it.
Families reach our clinic from across Manchester, Salford, Bury and Whitefield, and sessions can also be held in school or online.
At our clinic in north Manchester, in your child's school (arranged with the SENCO or pastoral team), or online by video anywhere in the UK. Times are flexible, including after school. Gitta is MBACP registered (no. 406991), DBS checked and fully insured, with 25 years' experience working with children and young people.
No. Gitta is an integrative counsellor for children and young people and a registered member of the BACP, and she works through play. Play therapy is a separate profession with its own training and registers. We're happy to explain the difference on the free call.
It can look that way from outside. The difference is that a trained counsellor is watching closely, noticing the themes that keep coming back, and helping your child make sense of them. Children often play out at the sand tray things they have never mentioned at home.
It suits children from 3 to about 11 best, though plenty of older children still like to draw, use clay or build while they talk. With teenagers sessions usually involve more conversation.
Our clinic in north Manchester has a playroom with a sand tray, figures, art materials, clay and puppets. Gitta can also bring materials into your child's school, and online sessions are possible for children happy to use their own pens, paper or toys.
Fees depend on where sessions take place and how often. We go through them on the free 15-minute call, with no obligation to book.
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Tell us what's been happening and ask whatever you like. If we don't think we're the right people to help, we'll tell you who might be.
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