Talking through tough times without words

PLAYING, talking to dolls, crashing cars, drawing houses or rockets, painting trees and making a mighty mess are so much part of what kids do that these are the simple things that we take for granted.
It’s hard to imagine a child who doesn’t know how to play or another who might be scared to make a mess or spill some paint. Drawing, playing and creating things use a part of our brain that we often put to one side while everything else in our lives takes over the rest, often blocking out hurtful memories and painful emotions and experiences.
Art and play therapy are increasingly being used to help people, children especially, as a way of unlocking hidden emotions and to help channel and communicate feelings that are for many too difficult to express through words.
While sitting and chatting with Sonya Joyce in her bright, colourful and cheerful  therapy space that is filled with bottles of paint, teddies, dolls and crafts, it’s hard to imagine that some children arrive here weighed down inside with painful memories and experiences – some more severe than others.

Read the full feature in this week's edition