In this episode, Kylie outlines how to structure ongoing parent/carer consultations in three parts: reviewing progress, sharing playroom insights, and planning next steps. Every 4–6 weeks, she meets with parents to reflect on their child’s growth, revisit goals, and adjust support where needed. Kylie emphasizes communicating themes and stages of play in parent-friendly language while protecting the child’s confidentiality, using examples like power and control or learned helplessness. She also shares practical, realistic strategies for parents to strengthen connection and co-regulation at home — always returning to the core principles of empathy, collaboration, and attachment in Child-Centred Play Therapy. 🌿
The episode dives into the essentials of conducting initial parent consultations in Child-Centred Play Therapy (CCPT) — from building authentic rapport and exploring formative history, to gathering insights on school, health, and family systems. Kylie offers practical guidance for beginning therapists, emphasizing that connection and caregiver involvement are key to positive outcomes. Part Two will continue next week with ongoing parent consultations and deeper strategies for supporting families in the therapeutic journey. 💛
In this episode, Kylie explores how trust, empathy, and authentic connection with parents and caregivers are essential for children’s therapeutic progress, especially amid today’s complex family challenges. She also reminds play therapists to offer themselves the same compassion they give to clients, honouring boundaries, collaboration, and self-reflection in their work. 🌿
In this episode, Kylie Ellison takes us through one of the foundational frameworks of Child-Centred Play Therapy (CCPT), the stages of the therapeutic process, exploratory, aggressive, regressive, and mastery.
She unpacks what each stage looks like in the playroom, how to recognise progress, and why growth in CCPT is rarely linear. Kylie shares insights for therapists on staying grounded, trusting the process, and communicating progress to parents while protecting confidentiality.
A thoughtful, practical guide to understanding how children move through their therapeutic journey — and how we can meet them with empathy at every stage. 💛
In this episode of the Play Therapy Circle podcast, Kylie Ellison introduces the concept of limit setting in child-centered play therapy (CCPT), focusing on the ACT model (Acknowledge feelings, Communicate the limit, Target alternatives). She reflects on her own challenges learning this skill, reassures beginning play therapists that it becomes easier with practice, and emphasizes that limits build safety, structure, and trust in the playroom. Ultimately, Kylie highlights how consistent and empathetic limit setting not only protects therapists, children, and resources but also fosters emotional regulation, self-responsibility, and respectful relationships.
This episode explores the foundational CCPT skill of reflecting feelings, building on last week’s focus on tracking. The discussion highlights how reflecting feelings validates children’s emotions, deepens the therapeutic alliance, and supports emotional literacy and self-regulation. Practical strategies are shared for tone, timing, and language, along with common pitfalls and the importance of authenticity. Therapists are encouraged to practice, embrace mistakes, and trust the process as children lead their healing journey.
Kylie introduces the core CCPT skills of tracking and reflecting content, framing tracking as the foundational way therapists show they’re following a child’s play (e.g., starting statements with “You/You are…”). She explains how brief, non-judgmental tracking supports co-regulation, invites permissiveness, and keeps the child in the lead, while reflecting content offers short summaries of what the child has done. Kylie cautions against the “question trap,” over-praise, and over-tracking; encourages pausing to observe nonverbal feedback; and highlights culturally sensitive and neurodiversity-affirming language. The episode closes with practical tips: practice tracking in everyday life, keep statements short and concrete, observe before speaking, and remember the goal is the child’s process, not the therapist's “answers.”
Kylie Ellison explores how play serves as a powerful avenue for children to express emotions they cannot yet verbalise, highlighting the importance of meeting children where they are developmentally. She emphasises the therapist’s role in creating a safe, authentic, and supportive space while observing themes and symbolic play without rushing to interpret. The episode encourages practitioners to trust themselves, the process, and the child, using play as both communication and healing.
Kylie Ellison explores how to set up a therapeutic playroom from a child-centered play therapy (CCPT) perspective, highlighting the importance of intentional toy selection, clear layout, and safety. She emphasizes that quality over quantity matters, and that therapists should choose resources they feel congruent and comfortable with. Beyond the physical setup, Kylie reminds listeners that the therapist’s presence—through empathy, consistency, and unconditional positive regard—is central to creating a safe and healing space.
In this episode of the Play Therapy Circle podcast, Kylie Ellison reflects on the importance of play as a child’s natural language of communication. She highlights how play therapy, particularly Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT), provides unique insights into children’s inner worlds, allowing practitioners, parents, and caregivers to understand emotions and experiences that children cannot yet express in words. Kylie emphasizes the value of observing play without rushing to interpret or fix, instead creating safe spaces where children feel seen and heard. She encourages adults across communities—therapists, educators, and parents alike—to trust the process of play and recognize it as a powerful tool for growth, healing, and connection.
In this episode of the Play Therapy Circle podcast, host Kylie Ellison explores the differences between directive and non-directive (child-centered) play therapy. Kylie highlights the benefits of both methods, noting that directive strategies can be useful for short-term goals and measurable outcomes, whereas non-directive approaches build trust, resilience, and deeper emotional exploration. She emphasizes that regardless of method, the therapeutic relationship remains the foundation of effective play therapy practice.
This episode is a little longer than your commute to work or your lunch break - but it an important one not to miss. Join Kylie as she explores the therapeutic relationship as the foundation of child-centered play therapy and why building trust, safety, and connection with children, especially when rapport doesn’t come instantly, is more crucial to therapeutic outcomes than any specific technique. Kylie discusses the elements of this relationships such as following the child’s lead, being authentic, and fostering relationships not only with the child but also with parents and caregivers, as these relationships are essential for creating a safe, supportive space for healing and growth.
In this episode, we dive into why the therapist is the heart of child-centered play therapy. It’s all about the therapist being real, showing up as their true self, and creating a space where kids feel safe, seen, and heard. Kylie discusses the importance of embodying the three core tenets of CCPT, empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard, highlighting they aren't just buzzwords, they are a therapists superpowers in the playroom. So to all Play Therapists out there - take a deep breath, trust the process, and remember: your presence matters more than perfection!
This episode explores the historical roots and evolution of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT), emphasizing its foundations in psychodynamic psychotherapy, particularly the work of Anna Freud and Melanie Klein, who introduced play as a means to access the unconscious mind and build therapeutic alliance. Join Kylie as she shares her personal journey of integrating these psychodynamic insights with traditional CCPT principles, highlighting how concepts like transference, countertransference, and attachment theory enrich clinical understanding and enhance therapeutic effectiveness.Don't forget to share out podcast, follow us and write a review. We would love to hear from you.
Join host Kylie Ellison in this enlightening episode as she delves into the essence of Child-Centered Play Therapy. Drawing from her 10 years of experience in the field, Kylie provides a thorough overview of this distinctive therapeutic modality, perfect for both seasoned therapists and beginners alike. Whether you're new to the field or deepening your practice, this conversation offers insight, reflection, and inspiration for your journey as a play therapist.
Don't forget to share out podcast, follow us and write a review. We would love to hear from you.
Welcome to The Play Therapy Circle, a space for soulful, thoughtful conversations at the heart of play-based healing.
Hosted by Kylie Ellison, therapist, clinical supervisor, and play therapy trainer, this podcast invites you into a nurturing circle of reflection, curiosity, and growth. Each episode offers thoughtful, soulful conversations about the power of play-based therapy, attachment, emotional regulation, and therapeutic presence.
Whether you’re a practicing therapist, student, or simply passionate about the healing power of play, The Play Therapy Circle offers heartfelt insights, real-world wisdom, and gentle encouragement for showing up with compassion for your clients, and for yourself.
New episodes drop regularly, weaving together clinical expertise with soulful connection.
Please note that this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only.
It does not provide therapeutic advice, and listening does not create a client–therapist relationship.
All views expressed are my own, and any case examples shared have been de-identified to protect privacy.
If you’re seeking personal support, please reach out to a qualified mental health professional in your area.
