Welcome to the Posity Play Therapy information guide. We understand that finding the right support quickly is vital for your family, which is why we provide immediate availability with no waitlist at our Blackburn clinic on Fridays. Because we prioritised the intake form process to streamline your journey, we can get your child into a session without the stressful delays common in healthcare.
Play therapy is a specialised, evidence-based approach to children’s counselling that supports social, emotional, and behavioural development. Specifically, it can help children understand and manage their emotions, build confidence, process difficult experiences, and develop healthy coping skills.
If you are ready to bridge the gap between home and the clinic, you can jump straight into our online intake form to secure your child’s spot.
Start Your Intake Form!Play therapy is a form of counselling for children that uses play rather than relying on talking. It can help children understand and manage their emotions, build confidence, process difficult experiences and develop healthy coping skills.
Who Might Benefit from Play Therapy?
Play therapy may be suitable for children experiencing:
- Anxiety or excessive worries
- Big emotions or emotional outbursts
- Difficulties managing frustration
- Low self-esteem or confidence
- Friendship or social difficulties
- School-related stress
- Grief and loss
- Family separation or divorce
- Changes within the family
- Trauma or adverse experiences
- Behavioural concerns
- Difficulties expressing feelings
- Emotional regulation challenges
Who Provides Play Therapy at Posity?
Play therapy is provided by mental health accredited social workers and occupational therapists who have completed specialised post graduate training in child counselling.
“If families would like more information about a therapist’s qualifications, please direct them to the therapist’s profile or offer for a clinician to discuss this with them.”
FAQ
Is play therapy just playing?
No. Although play is used within sessions, play therapy is a structured therapeutic intervention guided by specific clinical goals and therapeutic principles.
How is play therapy different from occupational therapy?
Occupational therapy typically focuses on helping children participate in everyday activities such as self-care, learning, emotional regulation, social participation and sensory processing. In contrast, play therapy focuses primarily on emotional wellbeing, relationships, self-expression and helping children process thoughts, feelings and experiences through play. Therefore, some children may participate in both services if appropriate.
How is play therapy different from psychology?
Both services support emotional wellbeing. However, psychologists often use talking-based approaches, whereas play therapy uses play as the primary medium for communication and therapeutic change. As a result, some children engage more comfortably through play than through traditional talking therapies.
What happens in a session?
Sessions are 45 mins and may include creative activities, imaginative play, role play, storytelling, sand play, art activities, games, and therapeutic conversations. Generally, activities are selected based on the child’s needs and therapeutic goals. Furthermore, parent consultation is offered, at minimum, every 6 sessions.
Do parents attend sessions?
This depends on the child’s age, goals and therapist recommendations. Specifically, some sessions may involve parent participation, whilst others may focus on individual work with the child. Additionally, parent consultations are incorporated throughout therapy.
How many sessions will my child need?
This varies for each child. Nevertheless, evidence suggests up to 26 sessions is most beneficial. Therefore, the therapist will work with families to understand their concerns and discuss recommendations following the initial assessment and goal-setting process.
Is play therapy funded by NDIS?
Yes. Play therapy is funded through NDIS where it relates to the child’s disability-related goals and plan funding. However, eligibility depends on individual circumstances. Consequently, families should discuss funding arrangements with our administration team.
What age is play therapy suitable for?
Play therapy is commonly used with children aged approximately 2 to 12 years, although suitability ultimately depends on the individual child and presenting concerns.
How do I know if my child needs play therapy?
If a family is unsure, administration staff can say: “It may be helpful to book an initial consultation so one of our therapists can better understand your child’s strengths, challenges and goals. Then, they can discuss whether play therapy is likely to be a good fit.”
If You Are Unsure
If a family asks a question that is outside your role or requires clinical advice, please say: “That’s a great question for one of our therapists. Therefore, I’d be happy to arrange for a clinician to discuss that with you.”
Northern hub
Bundoora Clinic
Eastern hub
Blackburn Clinic
Our Clinical Framework for Positive Change
We provide individual, child-led play therapy in a safe and nurturing environment. Because children communicate naturally through play, our sessions are tailored directly to your child’s developmental needs and grounded entirely in evidence-based practice. Furthermore, we work collaboratively with caregivers and other allied health professionals to support meaningful, lasting change at home.
No Diagnosis Required to Start
We welcome self-referrals from parents, guardians, and support coordinators alike. Consequently, your family can access early child counselling pathways immediately without navigating complex medical systems or waitlists.
Start Your Intake Form!
Supporting the Wellbeing of Melbourne Communities
We believe that effective therapy starts with a deep understanding of the environment where our participants live, learn, and grow. Specifically, Posity is woven into the unique fabric of Melbourne’s diverse landscape, from the heritage-listed canopy of the East to the fast-growing corridors of the North. Our presence in these regions is rooted in a long-term commitment to providing accessible, high-quality NDIS support that respects local history and community values.
Bridging Northern and Eastern Melbourne Regions
Melbourne is a city of distinct characters, and we pride ourselves on understanding the specific needs of every pocket we serve. By strategically positioning our clinics, we ensure that world-class Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and specialised NDIS housing solutions remain within reach for all Victorian families.
- In the Northern Corridors: We support the vibrant, resilient families of the Whittlesea and Darebin areas. Moreover, we are proud to contribute to the health landscape of an area defined by its history of industrial growth and its current transformation into a premier educational and medical precinct.
- In the Eastern Heartlands: We lean into a legacy of community and natural well-being. While serving the established residential spaces of Whitehorse, Manningham, and Boroondara, we provide care that mirrors the peaceful, family-oriented nature of these leafy suburbs.
Our overarching objective remains remarkably straightforward. Specifically, we want to help every Melburnian achieve meaningful individual goals while building a life defined by genuine, lasting independence.
How Play Therapy Can Help Your Child
Our practitioners guide children to resolve emotional and behavioural difficulties. Consequently, young participants develop critical problem-solving skills, allowing them to express complex thoughts or feelings safely and clearly.
Learn more!Targeted Youth Intervention Pathways
Our youth programs focus heavily on self-care routines, emotional filtering, and community confidence. With this intentional structure, local teenagers acquire the practical resilience necessary to conquer academic milestones independently.
Learn more!Building Connected Family Relationships
We actively support caregivers to respond confidently to their child’s emotional needs. Through collaborative coaching, parents strengthen parent-child dynamics and build connected, resilient home environments.
Learn more!Playful Pediatric Skill Building
Younger children master interactive play patterns and learning habits inside our friendly clinical spaces. Because these sessions feel entirely like games, children willingly discover how to regulate responses naturally.
Learn more!Reducing Anxiety and Emotional Overwhelm
Every session introduces creative outlets that lower stress levels and maximize emotional regulation. From sand play to storytelling, children build lasting self-esteem, confidence, and independence within our care.
Learn more!Functional Adult Capacity Progress
Grown individuals navigate mental health changes or functional goals inside a mature therapy environment. Therefore, our expert case managers smoothly implement lifestyle adaptations that immediately upgrade household safety standards.
Learn more!Flexible Digital Telehealth Hub
Families access our complete clinical team remotely from any comfortable setting via secure streaming technology. Since virtual consultations completely remove travel fatigue, children remain deeply attentive throughout the entire interaction.
Learn more!Mobile Community Therapy Delivery
Clinicians visit regional schools, workplaces, and local parks to teach essential real-world independence tactics. Additionally, this approach guarantees that sensory progress transfers naturally to the actual spaces participants navigate daily.
Learn more!Who Can Access Our Specialized Play Therapy?
We deliver play-based therapy for children aged approximately 2 to 12 years who may be navigating specific developmental challenges, including:
- Developmental trauma, family violence, abuse, or chronic neglect
- Family changes such as parental separation, divorce, grief, and loss
- Medical procedures, chronic illness, or major life transitions like starting school
- Anxiety, worry, stress, or aggressive, angry, and challenging behaviours
- Social difficulties, selective mutism, attachment issues, or shyness
- Developmental delays, neurodivergence (Autism, ADHD), and Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)
Trusted Clinical Insight
Our practitioners undergo rigorous academic training and continuous professional development cycles. Furthermore, we pair every participant with a highly empathetic specialist who completely understands their unique journey.
Customized Strategy Maps
We completely reject generic treatment templates in favor of personalised milestone frameworks. Therefore, your care blueprint addresses your exact household aspirations, physical limits, and lifestyle preferences perfectly.
Modern Accessible Hubs
Our dual clinic setups sit perfectly positioned across the metropolitan north and eastern transport channels. Because these properties feature welcoming layouts, participants explore our inclusive facilities completely free of anxiety.
Inclusive Family Collaboration
Our team works closely with parents, local teachers, and general practitioners to maintain uniform developmental environments. Specifically, this interconnected dynamic maximises physical milestone retention rates dramatically over time.
Rapid Regional Clinic Access Details
Our Leafy Eastern Facility
Find our welcoming eastern practice located smoothly at 88 South Parade, Blackburn VIC 3130.
Our Vibrant Northern Facility
Find our modern northern practice located smoothly at 553 Grimshaw Street, Bundoora VIC 3083.
Premium Comfort Layout Features
Both physical locations offer generous driveway parking allocations alongside close links to primary train lines. Additionally, you will enjoy wide wheelchair-friendly entry tracks, tactile navigation boundaries, and open therapy zones tailored for all physical capabilities. Simply view our live digital tracking map to calculate your exact transit duration from home.
Getting Started With Your Registration
Simple Sequential Steps
- Submit your details online to record your core therapeutic goals.
- An intake manager contacts you swiftly to confirm your appointment time.
- Attend your initial clinical evaluation block to initiate active care.
Looking for an OT near me with NO waitlist?
We have immediate availability across Melbourne. Grab your spot today. Check our clinic and mobile service maps below to see if we cover your suburb!
Northern Melbourne | Bundoora Clinic
Fast-track your care. Our northern mobile teams and Bundoora clinic offer immediate availability with a strict no-waitlist policy. Find your suburb on our map below.
Eastern Melbourne | Blackburn Clinic
Skip the queues. Get immediate availability for NDIS clinic sessions or mobile home and school visits across the eastern suburbs. No waitlist! Start therapy this week.