Play Therapy Base

05/08/2026

We finished of the summer with a messy play workshop today. Look at all the creating our children, parents, carers and siblings did.

04/08/2026

Local event for families.

🌈✨Follow the Yellow Brick Road to a magical family afternoon✨🌈

Join us for a Wizard of Oz-themed family event on Friday 7th August, 1:00–3:00pm at Dalkeith Community Garden (opposite St Mary's Church).

🧙‍♀️ Enjoy FREE games and activities for the whole family, all organised by our amazing young volunteers!

Come along for an afternoon of fun, adventure, and a little bit of Oz magic. Everyone is welcome!

📍 Dalkeith Community Garden (opposite St Mary's Church)
📅 7th August | ⏰ 1:00–3:00pm

For more information, contact [email protected].

24/07/2026

With the support of the Bank of Scotland Empower Grant funding our families have access to family workshops.

24/07/2026

Did you know? You can support Play Therapy Base just by signing up as a supporter on easyfundraising.org.uk

Then just shop as you usually do online through the app.

Thank you for your support it really does make a big difference in our services ability to run year to year.

07/07/2026

Thankful for our community supporters

01/07/2026

Nice way to explain window of tolerance to children (and adults). We all have days where its too much or too little whether you are 3 or 60. We just need others to recognise and make space for this.

🪟 What is your Window of Tolerance? 💚

Have you ever had a day where your feelings felt too big? 😡😢😰

Or maybe you felt so tired or switched off that you didn't want to do anything at all. 😴💙

Everyone has something called a Window of Tolerance. This is the place where our brain and body feel calm enough to learn, play, think and enjoy being with other people.

Sometimes we go above our window, where everything feels too much.

Sometimes we go below our window, where we feel low, tired or disconnected.

The important thing to remember is...

🌟 It's okay to move out of your window. It happens to everyone.

What matters is learning what helps us feel safe and supported so we can find our way back.

That might be:
🧸 Taking slow breaths
🏃 Moving your body
💧 Having a drink of water
💬 Talking to someone you trust
❤️ Being kind to yourself

At BAPT, we help children understand their feelings, recognise what their body is telling them, and build the tools they need to feel safe, confident and emotionally regulated.

Because every feeling is welcome, and every child deserves support to find their way back to their window. 💚

03/06/2026

20/05/2026

Children we support at PTB explore their personal loss and bereavement in their own way though the childs natural language of play.

Children experiencing loss and bereavement often do not process grief in the same way adults do. Their feelings may appear through behaviour, play, anger, withdrawal, clinginess, physical complaints or changes in school presentation rather than words alone.

Play therapy offers children a developmentally appropriate way to explore overwhelming emotions safely. Children naturally communicate through play long before they can fully explain complex feelings verbally. Through symbolic play, creativity, sensory experiences and the therapeutic relationship, children can begin to process confusion, sadness, fear and changes in their world.

Play therapy works because it meets children where they are developmentally, allowing them to express feelings at their own pace without pressure to “talk about it” before they are ready. A safe, attuned therapeutic relationship can help children feel understood, regulated and less alone in their grief.

For many children, healing begins not with finding the right words, but with feeling safe enough to play.

20/05/2026

Play Therapy offers children a safe protected space to process experiences.

Parental separation can bring huge emotional changes for children, even when adults are working hard to protect them. Children may experience anxiety, confusion, divided loyalties, sadness, anger or worries about stability and relationships.
Often, children do not yet have the language or emotional development needed to explain these feelings directly. Instead, emotions may show through behaviour, sleep difficulties, emotional outbursts, withdrawal or changes at school.
Play therapy is developmentally appropriate because play is a child’s natural language. Within the safety of the therapeutic relationship, children can explore feelings symbolically and indirectly through play, creativity and sensory experiences. This can feel far safer than direct questioning or expecting children to sit and talk about painful emotions.
Play therapy supports emotional regulation, understanding and resilience whilst helping children make sense of changes in their family relationships. Importantly, it provides a consistent, attuned space where children can feel emotionally held during times of uncertainty.

15/04/2026

Our children's board gathered the first week of easter the holidays. They had lots of ideas took many pictures and munched through a punnet of strawberries. We are excited to see their ideas and pictures come together.