‘It is in playing and only in playing that the individual child or adult is able to be creative and to use the whole personality, and it is only in being creative that the individual discovers the self’.

D.W. Winnicott ‘Playing & Reality’, 1971,

The play theorist Brian Sutton Smith asks, what is the opposite of play? Many of us would answer, work. Smith says it is depression. Since beginning my exploration into the illusive nature of play over the past four decades, I have discovered its far-reaching benefits not only to human development from birth throughout the life cycle, but also to its intrinsic qualities that lend themselves so generously to healing trauma.

In this workshop we will explore the essential qualities of play through our own experiential work and underpin our findings with theories on play. Drawing on our own experiences of play, we will identify the different stages of play found in the developmental play paradigm that is just as relevant to adults as it is to children.

We will look at play as the wellspring of all other creative endeavours.

We will also explore direct practical exercises that participants may take into their own therapeutic practices.

Every aspect of the day will be by invitation to participants, thereby demonstrating one of the fundamental qualities of free play – that it can only be entered into willingly by choice. I will offer a range of activities and provide the materials for these which will include fabrics, objects and art materials.

We will have opportunity to work as a whole group, in smaller groups, in pairs and individually. I would also encourage participants to bring their own notebooks as time will be given for personal reflection as well as for recording the activities themselves.

I will be drawing on material from my own book Playful Awakening – Releasing the Gift of Play in Your Life and I will bring copies for participants to purchase if they so wish.

I hope the day will be enlightening, helpful, heart-warming and fun for all.

Facilitator Profile:

Di is a play therapist, Buddhist psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and was a dramatherapist for over thirty years. She has worked in the NHS, NSPCC, and has been a freelance practitioner for over three decades. She has taught at Terapia Child & Adolescent Psychotherapy training in London for fifteen years on the subjects of play therapy, dramatherapist and working with child sexual abuse. She holds MAs in Buddhist Psychotherapy and Creative Writing and has written non-fiction and fiction for many years. Her book, ‘Playful Awakening – Releasing the Gift of Play in Your Life’ (2017, JKP) explores her lifelong passion for play in all areas of human endeavour and in the field of healing in particular. Her co-edited book, ‘One Tree, Many Branches – The Practice of Integrative Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy’ (2024, Phoenix) illustrates the diversity and skill of Terapia-trained psychotherapists. She has recently published her first novel, ‘Red Threads’, a story about forced adoption and the lasting psychological effect this has on the adoptee and the birth mother.

Price: CaPPP Members Early Bird £65.00, CaPPP Members £70, Non-members £75.00

Spaces are limited to 25 and must be booked in advance by Wednesday 14th February

Registration & refreshments: 9.30 to 10.00 refreshments will be available throughout the day and are included in the price.

Lunch: Bring your own lunch or take advantage of one of the many cafes in the area.

Venue: Quaker Meeting House, 300 Gloucester Road, Horfield, Bristol BS87 8PD