Pondering Play and Therapy Podcast

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 explor...

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...

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 ...

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 q...

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 ac...

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 w...

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 independen...

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, shutd...

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...

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 h...

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 diff...

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 careg...

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 wo...

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 shar...

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 pa...

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,...

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...

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 durin...