Amanda is a founding member of Cornwall Play Therapy Associates. The aim of this voluntary collaboration is to raise the profile of Play Therapy across the county and ensure that our profession continues to maintain its exacting standards, in order to support the mental health and wellbeing of children across Cornwall.
Amanda is a fully qualified and experienced Play and Filial Therapist. She has worked extensively with children in Cornwall, and South West Devon, who have complex needs as a result of experiencing trauma and neglect. Amanda has experience of using play to enhance attachment security with foster carers and adoptive parents across Cornwall and South West Devon: she works in a systemic way, advising parents, carers and other professionals (in healthcare, social care and educational arenas) in order to better support children at home and school. Amanda has previously been a Play Therapist for Barnardo’s. As part of her Barnardo’s role, she has supported individual children, parent-child dyads and facilitated whole groups: she was also part of the Barnardo’s South West Adoption Team, offering direct Play and Filial Therapy, as well as emotional support around therapeutic parenting. Amanda also has previous experience being part of the Jigsaw Post Abuse Team (a Cornwall Council service that offers therapeutic support to children and their families where there has been a disclosure of sexual abuse) as well as the Cornish charity CLEAR .
Amanda is an approved Clinical Supervisor with BAPT. She also offers individual and group Clinical Supervision for professionals working with children, e.g., teachers, family support workers.
Amanda is a validated coder for the Child Attachment and Play Assessment procedure.
Prior to becoming a Play Therapist, Amanda was a Primary School Teacher. With twelve years of professional teaching and leadership experience, she has a solid understanding of child-development and can support school staff with bespoke training packages and practicable strategies to support your child.
Why not find out more about Amanda by reading an interview with her in ‘That Nursery Life’ https://thatnurserylife.com/content/an-insight-into-play-therapy
Qualifications.
Please see my ‘key’ certificates at the bottom of this page. You should always feel confident to ask a Play Therapist to see evidence of their professional qualifications: if you wanted to see any further certificates, please contact me.
- BSc(Hons)
- Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).
- Middle Leadership Development Programme (MLDP).
- Certificate of Professional Development in Personal, Social and Health Education.
- MSc Play Therapy.
- Diploma in Neuro-Dramatic-Play.
- Filial Therapy Practitioner.
- Diploma in Sandplay.
- Member of the British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT), registered Play Therapist and Approved Clinical Supervisor
- Member of the Association for Play Therapy (APT)
- Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
- Approved Play Therapist with Cornwall Council’s Family Plus Team, Adopt South West and Adoption West.
What can I expect from a BAPT registered Play Therapist?
Trying to work out who is the right therapist for you and your child can be very confusing, as ‘Play Therapist’ is not a protected title (which means anyone can call themselves this!). There are also different qualifications, resulting in different titles (e.g., ‘Play Specialist’ or ‘Therapeutic Play Worker’). Trying to work out if a therapist is appropriately trained, has the right experience and is someone your child is going to feel comfortable with can feel like a minefield.
When you work with a BAPT registered Play Therapist, you have the reassurance that:
- Prior to training as a Play Therapist, they must have had previous relevant professional qualifications (e.g., Teaching, Social Work, Occupational Therapist) and a minimum of 5 years of experience working in a professional capacity with children and families.
- They studied Play Therapy at a post graduate level (for a minimum of 2 years if studying full-time).
- They will have undergone their own personal therapy, during training, to develop their self-awareness and insight.
- They have regular supervision with a BAPT approved Clinical Supervisor.
- They have current DBS checks.
- They have Professional Indemnity Insurance.
- They are registered with the ICO and meet recommended data handling security measures.
Amanda’s Play Room
Amanda has a specially designed playroom in Lostwithiel. The toys are specifically chosen to communicate to children that expressing a whole range of emotions is acceptable within their play.
