Pondering Play and Therapy Podcast

Epizode

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  EP77 Therapeutic Journeys: Q&A with Listener Becky Webb 24.07.2026 1h 2min

  Philippa and Julie close the UK summer term with a Q&A episode featuring listener and play therapist Becky Webb, who shares her career path and asks about working therapeutically during family transitions and around bereavement. They discuss moving beyond blanket rules about waiting for stability or set time periods, focusing instead on assessment, goals, and providing supportive, relational therapy without necessarily doing deep trauma processing, while also supporting “big people” and o...
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  EP76 Gardens & Guidance: Finding Joy in Play Therapy; with Simon Kerr-Edwards 17.07.2026 1h 3min

  Julie hosts Simon Kerr-Edwards on Pondering Play and Therapy to discuss clinical supervision for therapists and school staff, plus Simon’s parent consultations. Simon, a Buckinghamshire-based practitioner, describes training first as a drama therapist, later completing a play therapy master’s at Roehampton after meeting Anne Cattanach, and moving from local authority and CAMHS work into independent practice. They explore why supervision is essential, how it differs from personal therapy, and ...
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  EP75 Behind the Lines: EMDR Therapy in Action; A Conversation with Matt Wesson 10.07.2026 57min

  In this episode of Pondering Play and Therapy, Philippa interviews Matt Wesson, former president of EMDR Association UK, EMDR Europe senior accredited trainer/consultant, and BABCP-accredited CBT therapist with 30 years’ mental health experience across the military, NHS, industry, and private practice. Matt explains EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) as an eight-phase psychotherapy developed for PTSD and now used for wider issues (e.g., phobias, social anxiety, depression li...
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  EP74 From Photocopiers to Pandemics - Managing Interruptions 03.07.2026 46min

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  EP73 Beyond Borders: Healing Through Play and Therapy with Steph Hunter 26.06.2026 53min

  Host Philippa interviews social worker, therapist, author, and international presenter Steph Hunter about her current work and career, largely supporting children in care and trauma-informed services. Steph describes preparing a Canada keynote, “Humanising Services,” through the international Children and Youth Care (CYC) Network, and discusses clinical supervision and training for children’s home providers, work with inpatient services, and association with Mark Finnis on restorative practic...
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  EP72 Beyond Words: The Role of Metaphor in Healing Trauma; A conversation with Tim Woodhouse 19.06.2026 1h 3min

  Julie interviews Tim Woodhouse of Tiptoes Child Therapy Services in northwest England, a multidisciplinary practice founded in 2010, named after Janusz Korczak’s quote about “standing on tiptoes” to reach children’s feelings. They discuss working with children affected by complex developmental trauma (including sexual harm, neglect, physical and emotional abuse, and broader ACE-related factors) and the key question of whether children replaying trauma in play therapy is helpful or harmful. Ti...
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  EP71 Empowering Futures: Playful Sustainability Education; An interview with Louise Robertson 12.06.2026 48min

  Philippa hosts an episode of Pondering Play and Therapy with guest Louise Robertson, founder of The Sustainables Academy (nominated for the Earthshot Prize in 2025) and a lecturer at Aberdeen University, formerly a teacher and head teacher. Louise explains how the colourful “Sustainables” characters provide a playful hook to help children, educators, parents, and communities understand complex sustainability concepts across water, air, and land, encouraging mindful choices, reduced waste, and...
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  EP70 Play Interruptions Explored: From Parenting to the Therapy Room, and the Moments in Between. 05.06.2026 53min

  Philippa and Julie explore how interruptions shape children’s play and emotional wellbeing, from everyday endings like mealtimes, bedtimes and school bells to more harmful breaks when adults are distracted, unwell, or inconsistent. They discuss how predictable routines can help children tolerate frustration, while unexpected or repeated disruptions can affect a child’s sense of value and trust, especially for children with instability, multiple moves, or experiences like COVID-related shutdow...
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  EP69 Understanding Attachment: Tools for Families and Therapists; A Conversation with Viv Norris 29.05.2026 1h 1min

  Julie welcomes Viv Norris, founder and CEO of the Family Place on the Welsh borders, supporting adoptive and other families across Wales and parts of England, and co-founder of Theraplay UK. Viv traces her path from intense residential therapeutic work with adolescents, through music therapy training and clinical psychology, into 20 years in the NHS and later fostering and adoption services. She explains why she built an independent, team-based service centred on carers, group supervision and...
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  EP68 Post-COVID Childhood Anxiety, Insights for Parents and Therapist; A Conversation with Mandy Jones-Fischer 22.05.2026 52min

  In this episode of Pondering Play and Therapy, host Philippa welcomes back Chicago-based child therapist Mandy Jones to discuss how COVID continues to affect children and families five to six years on. Mandy shares what she’s seeing in her practice with mostly under-8s, especially “COVID babies” now entering or finishing kindergarten: higher baseline anxiety, difficulty with transitions, separation distress, shutdowns or big behaviours, and heightened concerns about germs and mess. They explo...
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  EP67 Sarah Naish on Fostering, Therapeutic Parenting and More. 15.05.2026 52min

  Philippa welcomes Sarah Naish, bestselling author of The A–Z of Therapeutic Parenting, adopter of five siblings, foster carer, agency founder and keynote speaker. Sarah explains how the book grew from real-life notes and emails into a practical guide that helps carers understand fear-based, trauma-driven behaviour and respond with firm, fair boundaries, nurture, curiosity and linked logical consequences rather than punishment. They discuss how therapeutic parenting differs from “gentle parent...
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  EP66 Pondering Play and Mess with Ellen Dempsey 08.05.2026 1h 7min

  In this episode of Pondering Play and Therapy, Julie speaks with newly qualified play therapist Ellen Dempsey about her Roehampton University dissertation, “Oh, What a Mess,” exploring messy play and therapeutic presence. Ellen shares how her own preference for tidiness created tension, shame, and distraction in the playroom when children used sensory materials, and how supervision and an embodied messy-paint exercise helped her reconnect with the felt experience behind her topic. Using quali...
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  EP65 Exploring Family Ties, Childhood, Therapy and Sibling Bonds: With Philippa and Julie 01.05.2026 1h 3min

  Siblings, Roles, and Therapy: Connection, Conflict, and the “Pie” of Attention Philippa and Julie explore sibling relationships through personal experiences and clinical work, discussing how children take on roles (e.g., “good child,” eldest organiser, protector) and how grief and major life events can reshape sibling bonds. They reflect on how siblings can remember the same childhood events very differently, how play and shared memories can build belonging, and how conflict may reflect deve...
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  EP64 Bridging Childhood Trauma and Therapeutic Practices; A conversation with Sarah Dillon. 24.04.2026 53min

  Philippa Kelly speaks with Sarah Dillon, consultant psychotherapist and head of therapeutic services for True Fostering and Safer Fostering, about how her own childhood in and out of foster care shapes her child-centered, trauma-informed work. Sarah explains why children react strongly to birth family contact, how sibling conflict can stem from trauma bonds, unmet needs, shame, and difficulty holding dual attachments, and how caregivers can use empathy, visuals (like her “pie” analogy), and c...
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  EP 63 Inside Sheffield Children's Hospital; Play, Therapy and Healing; A conversation with Joanna Blundell Jones 17.04.2026 59min

  Julie welcomes clinical psychologist and Theraplay practitioner Joanna Blundell Jones, who works at Sheffield Children’s Hospital in paediatric oncology/haematology and supports patients across their cancer experiences, often especially during and after treatment, with flexibility around timing and session numbers. Joanna shares how play shows up in her own life (gospel choir, board games), how during treatment therapeutic work sometimes focuses on containment and helping families “get throug...
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  EP62 When Adults Push Back - Therapy Resistances; 27.03.2026 1h 5min

  Philippa and Julie continue their conversation on resistance, focusing on the adults around a child—parents, carers, and professionals—and how “putting the brakes on” can be protective, necessary, or linked to safeguarding concerns like hidden compliance. They explore how mandated therapy, ongoing assessments, shame, fear of judgment, and the realities of trauma-informed parenting can fuel pushback, and share examples from TheraPlay and play therapy, including parents declining therapy after ...
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  EP61 Magic, Mindfulness and Mimes. Transformative play with Marneta Viegas 20.03.2026 51min

  Philippa interviews Marneta Viegas, founder of Relax Kids, which began 25 years ago as the UK’s first company offering children’s relaxation and mental health tools. Marneta shares her performing arts background, years as a children’s entertainer and mime performer, and how she noticed children increasingly struggled to sit still, listen, and concentrate. A breakthrough came when she introduced visualisation at parties and began transforming fairy stories into meditations, leading to her firs...
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  EP60 Understanding Resistance - A Deep Dive into Child and Therapist Dynamics 13.03.2026 53min

  Philippa and Julie introduce the first episode in a two-part series on resistance, focusing here on children and young people in therapy (with a follow-up episode planned on resistance from parents, carers, and other professionals). Drawing on their different approaches—TheraPlay (more adult-led) and child-centred play therapy (more child-led)—they explore what resistance can look like: refusing or tweaking an activity, avoiding certain play areas, repeated toilet breaks, zoning out, overly c...
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  EP59 Exploring Therapeutic Life Story Work with Katie Wrench 06.03.2026 50min

  In this episode of Pondering Play and Therapy, Philippa talks with Katie Wrench, a social worker, psychotherapist, head of service at BUSS, and an author. Katie discusses therapeutic life story work, explaining its importance for children who have experienced disruption, particularly those in foster care or adoption. She emphasises the need to help children develop a coherent narrative of their journey, integrating their fragmented memories to understand their identity and relationships bette...
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  EP58 Exploring the Journey to becoming a Clinical Psychologist. A conversation with Oliver 27.02.2026 49min

  In this episode of 'Pondering Play and Therapy,' host Philippa welcomes Oliver, a trainee clinical psychologist. They discuss the extensive and multifaceted training path for clinical psychologists in the UK, which includes clinical placements, research, and academic work. Oliver explains the importance of evidence-based practice, the variety of therapeutic approaches like CBT, DBT, and CFT, and the practical challenges faced during training. He shares his diverse experiences working in acute...