At the heart of my practice is a simple but profound belief: children grow and heal within the safety of relationship. 

Drawing on Polyvagal Theory (Porges, 2011), I understand that before a child can play, reflect, or connect, their nervous system must first experience safety. This happens not through words or instruction, but through the quality of presence, through tone of voice, facial expression, pacing, and the felt sense that this is a place where all of who you are is welcome. For neurodivergent children, whose nervous systems may be wired for heightened sensitivity, different patterns of arousal, or sensory experiences that the world rarely accommodates, establishing this quality of felt safety is the essential first step in any therapeutic work.

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Play as the Language of the Nervous System

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Play is a child's natural language, it is also the nervous system's natural pathway toward regulation, integration, and growth. Child-centred play therapy provides the relational and theoretical framework within which children are free to express, explore, and make meaning at their own pace, in their own way, without pressure to perform or conform. Within this space, grounded in interpersonal neurobiology and the foundational research of Dan Siegel and Allan Schore, children gradually develop the capacity to notice and make sense of their internal signals, experience co-regulation within a safe relationship, build emotional awareness and tolerance, and develop the neural pathways that support flexible thinking, self-understanding, and connection with others.

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Consistent, attuned, responsive relationship, what Schore describes as the right-brain to right-brain connection between caregiver and child, is one of the most powerful shapers of the developing brain. This is the mechanism through which relational experiences become neural architecture. Play therapy, offered within this kind of relationship, is developmentally meaningful, neurobiologically grounded intervention.

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A Trauma-Informed, Neurodiversity-Affirming Lens

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I recognise that trauma for neurodivergent children is often not a single event, but a cumulative experience, the weight of chronic invalidation, pressure to mask, social exclusion, misattuned relationships, and systems that were not designed with their nervous systems in mind. These experiences may not always be named as trauma, but they leave real imprints on regulation, attachment, identity, and the body's baseline sense of safety.

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My practice is grounded in trauma-informed care that takes these experiences seriously. This means I do not use approaches that require children to suppress, hide, or perform over their authentic neurological expression. Masking carries high costs to nervous system health, identity development, and long-term wellbeing. Instead, I create therapeutic conditions in which each child's neurotype, sensory needs, communication style, and pace of engagement are genuinely valued and actively supported.

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I draw on research in social and emotional learning, attachment theory, and evidence-based play therapy to support the integration of emotional and reflective processes in ways that are meaningful and accessible for each child.

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Children's Voices Lead the Way

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Children's voices, preferences, and instincts about what they need are central to how we work together. I collaborate with each child to understand their own goals, follow their lead within sessions, and respect their autonomy to navigate the therapeutic process at a pace that feels safe and right for them. Competence is always presumed, every child is understood as capable of communicating, understanding, and engaging meaningfully, even when they do so differently.

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Supporting Families and Caregivers

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Children heal in the context of their most important relationships. Caregivers are essential partners in this work, and I support them in understanding their child's unique nervous system, recognising their child's bids for connection, which may look very different from neurotypical developmental expectations, and building the attuned, co-regulatory presence their child needs to feel safe and understood.

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I provide education around the Double Empathy Problem (Milton, 2012), the mutual challenge of understanding that can arise across different neurotypes, to open new pathways of connection that honour everyone's way of experiencing and engaging with the world. When caregivers and children feel genuinely understood by each other, something profoundly healing becomes possible.

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