I am a 24 year old Psychology Honours graduate currently training as a Play Therapist for children.
I am passionate about working with children and enhancing their wellbeing and development and have wanted to work with children in a therapeutic capacity for as long as I can remember. During my Psychology Honours year, while researching which field I wished to specialise in, it was the field of Play Therapy that gripped me most. Research shows that children have not yet developed the ability to communicate effectively through words and it is play that is their main medium of expression. Play Therapy thus uses various techniques to provide the child with an opportunity to express themselves more openly and freely, using mediums that are more accessible to them at their stage of development and can be used to help children with a range of social, emotional, behavioural and mental health problems.
In order to fund my University Degree I took out student loans as my family was not in the financial position to pay the fees required. I then proceeded to au pair in the UK for 6 months in order to raise the money required to cover the fees of the first level of my Play Therapy course which I am due to complete within the next few months. During this first level of training, I have been working as a volunteer Therapeutic Play Practitioner for a local Not for Profit organisation/ Counselling centre. Here, I have been treating children from a variety of backgrounds (most of which are underprivileged) and with a variety of difficulties. During my time here I have been deeply saddened by the high rates children in need of therapy, especially those from underprivileged communities, whose families cannot afford to meet this need, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to volunteer at an organisation that provides these children and families with the help they need and deserve.
Unfortunately the first level of training that I am soon to complete only allows me to treat children with a certain level of difficulties and trauma. This has been limiting and has hindered me from helping as many desperate children and families as I would have liked too. However, if I can complete the second course and undergo the next level of training I will obtain the knowledge, skills and experience required to treat children regardless of their level of difficulties (social/ emotional/ behavioural/ mental health) and regardless of the degree of trauma that they have experienced.
For this reason I am looking for funding or donations for the fees required for the second Play Therapy course which will further my qualifications (as I do not have the financial means to cover the cost of the course). This course will allow me to help children and families in a greater capacity, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds and communities.
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