SECURE FOUNDATIONS IS CURRENTLY ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS
(3-10 YEARS AND FAMILIES) TO OUR DUNCRAIG CLINIC IN PERTH.
welcome to play therapy
with Sarah Bolitho
Welcome to Secure Foundations Family Clinic — where play is never ‘just’.
Here, it becomes a developmentally sensitive pathway to feeling, healing, connecting, becoming, and thriving.
Secure Foundations is a neuro-affirming space where children and their families are supported to feel safe, seen, and empowered to discover their true selves.
Come and see how we do it 👇
Play
〰️
Feel
〰️
Heal
〰️
connect
〰️
become
〰️
Thrive
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Play 〰️ Feel 〰️ Heal 〰️ connect 〰️ become 〰️ Thrive 〰️
PLAY THERAPY
Play Therapy is more than just a child-friendly approach, it’s a developmentally attuned, evidence-based form of psychotherapy designed specifically for the way children experience and express their inner worlds.
As a Master's-qualified, PACFA-registered Play Therapist, I bring a deep foundation in child development, neuroscience, psychology, neurodiversity, and play theory. My training includes rigorous psychological research, assessment, and hands-on clinical placements that have shaped a specialised, child-centred skill set.
In my practice, I support children using a whole-child approach that nurtures emotional wellbeing, encourages healthy development, and supports meaningful participation in daily life.
Because it’s grounded in how children naturally grow and communicate, play therapy doesn’t rely on words or insight in the way adult therapies often do. Instead, it draws on what we know from neuroscience: that healing, regulation, and integration happen through embodied, relational experiences—and play is one of the most powerful tools we have.
Through play, children process big feelings, explore their inner world, and build the emotional resilience they need to navigate the challenges of their everyday lives.
🔗EVIDENCE FOR PLAY THERAPY SUMMARY
🔗PLAY THERAPY AND THE NDIS (Feb 2025)
As a Play Therapist, Sarah works individually with children aged 3–10, and supports families from conception through to the teenage years.
Play therapy offers children a space where they feel deeply seen, valued, and accepted just as they are. In each session, the play therapist draws on specialist training to create a therapeutic environment where children are free to express and explore thoughts, feelings, and experiences that might otherwise feel restricted or off-limits. At the heart of this process is a safe, attuned relationship—one that offers presence, co-regulation, and emotional connection, allowing healing and growth to unfold through the language of play.
Play allows children to gather new understandings of their experiences, and reach new decisions about who they want to be and how they want to behave within a developmentally sensitive approach.
Who is it for?
Who is it for?
In truth, everyone can benefit in some capacity from the power of play as they work to grow into their most authentic selves.
Play therapists work with children and young people that may be navigating one or more of the below in their daily lives:
👉 Aged between 3-10
👉A mix of social, emotional, behavioural and learning challenges
👉Significant Life Changes
👉Anxiety, fears and worries
👉Autistic neurotype
👉Trauma
👉Diagnosed, self-identified, or curiosity of ADHD
👉Communication difficulties
👉 Grief and loss
👉 Family and parental separation
👉 Difficulties with self-regulation
👉 Social communication difficulties
👉 Low self-esteem or self-confidence
👉 Difficulty engaging in other therapeutic modalities
👉Separation anxiety or distress
👉Pervasive Drive for Autonomy
where to next?
Step 1: Referral
Please start by completing a referral form so that I can get an idea of what kind of intervention might best support your family’s current needs.
step 2: A fit check
I will reach out to you for any further information, to make sure we are a therapeutic fit and to discuss your and your child’s availability.
step 3: Let’s play
Sessions usually occur weekly at the same time and day for 45 minutes. Parent review sessions will be held every 5-6 sessions to discuss progress.
The playroom is an inviting, child friendly space carefully curated with a range of selected toys and art materials. These toys and materials will become the child's tools for self expression, allow for exploration of emotions and help them to 'play out' their life experiences in a way that seeks mastery.
Throughout the intervention, the child will learn to cope with and to work through their difficulties; they can then generalise these skills to everyday life, and changes are observed outside of the playroom.