DREAM together, Cambridge (2026)

10/06/2026

Today, is World Play Day, 🤸‍♂️

For me, play isn’t just play...

It’s hide and seek. “Can you find me?” “Can you see me?”

It’s “watch this!” and “copy me!”, "Follow me" , are you with me ?

Its the "this is what the world feels like for me"

or "lifes too heavy, lets escape for a little while"...

It’s the pillow fights, the food fights, the chasing, clapping, laughing, messing about..

It’s the giggle that suddenly turns into crying or farting 🤣

Things feel a bit lighter.

A bit easier.

Play is where connection happens, where we let go, explore, discover...

It’s closeness, then space, then coming back together again.

At its heart, play says: “I’m here. You’re here. We’re okay" 😊

It helps children make sense of things they can’t put into words yet.

It also helps adults get a glimpse of what’s going on for the child inside.

But for some children, play is hard.

If they’ve had tough or unsafe experiences, play can feel risky.

They might want control.

They might repeat the same thing over and over.

Or they might not really play at all.

That’s not because they don’t want connection.

It’s because safety is tricky and Joy may feel too overwhelming.

This is why play matters so much.

It helps with regulation, connection, and calming together.

It can create small glimmers of Joy when Lifes serious stuff feels too much...

Its hope ☀️ in the dark.

It’s how we find each other again.

Happy World Play Day 🤸‍♂️🤗☀️😋

02/06/2026

All the Ways We Mother 🤍

I was recently asked to become a godmother to my brother’s child, whose christening is coming up soon.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a godparent is someone chosen to offer ongoing support, care, encouragement, and presence in a child’s life as they grow.

I am already godmother to other children, and I have many children in my family and friendship circle who I love to encourage, celebrate, and care for in different ways.

I am not a mother myself, (I hope too be one day) but there is a grief in that which I am learning to name more honestly.

At the same time, through my work supporting children, families, parents, and carers, I have come to see that mothering is often bigger than biology.

The longer I do this work, the more I see what mothers carry.

Love. Responsibility. Hope. Joy. Grief. The weight of trying to get it right. The weight of things never meant for them to carry alone.

And still, so many women keep showing up.
Not perfectly. But courageously. I find myself thinking about my own mother too, and the mothers I work alongside, and my friends who are mothers.

As children, we experience our mothers in one way. As adults, we begin to see them more fully. We come to understand that they have their own stories, losses, and histories that shaped them.

There is something tender in that shift.

The relationship changes. Gratitude deepens.

I was a child once. I am still somebody’s child.

Like all of us, I carry what I have been given by the people who came before me.

Perhaps what moves me most is the importance of naming it all.

Naming what mothers carry.

Naming their strength.

Naming their losses.

Naming their love.

Because in all sorts of imperfect and beautiful ways, love continues through us.

📸 Steven Creamer Photography

01/06/2026

One Step at a Time: Reflections from the Snuggles & Fred Family 😊

At the start, the Snuggles & Fred family described feeling "at the end of our tether" like they were trying to stay afloat in rough seas, with little understanding of what was happening or where to turn for help.

Over time, through reflection, support and a willingness to try things differently, there were lots of lightbulb moments.

Some of the learning that made the biggest difference:

💙 PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) helped them move from reacting to understanding.

🎈 Play and regulation matter. Simple activities such as throwing a ball, keeping a balloon in the air or sharing a few minutes of playful connection helped their son feel calmer and more connected.

🧩 Behaviour is communication. Looking beneath behaviour with curiosity helped things make more sense.

✅ Choices build a sense of safety and control. Small choices often reduced anxiety and power struggles.

🤝 Repair matters. They learned they wouldn't always get it right, and that being honest, taking responsibility and reconnecting afterwards often strengthened trust and connection.

🌱 Parents need compassion too. Therapeutic parenting isn't about perfection. It's about noticing, repairing, learning and trying again.

Their reflection at the end was simple:

"We're taking it one step at a time. We still don't have all the answers, but we understand our son more. We don't feel like we once did, and we have tools we can keep coming back to."

Therapeutic parenting isn't about having all the answers. Sometimes it's about understanding a little more, connecting a little deeper and taking the next step together.

*Consent for picture of snuggles and Fred given.

30/05/2026

Today my heart is full ❤️

Today marked the end of a therapeutic journey with a beautiful family whom I have had the privilege of supporting for over two years.

Together, we have nurtured relationships with themselves and with one another through therapeutic play, acceptance, curiosity, empathy and connection.

As we celebrated today, there was a sense of balance, attunement, playfulness, and love all around.

Thoughtful endings matter. For children who have experienced loss, disruption, or relational wounds, a caring ending can become part of the healing itself.

When endings are held with warmth, reflection, and compassion, they offer an opportunity for integration trust, and hope.

Today we celebrated not just how far this family has come, but all they will continue to carry forward.

The ending of our work, not the end of caring.

Grateful to have been part of their journey and holding them warmly in my heart.

*Consent given for Photos.

29/05/2026

Softness grows where safety exists.

And for many frontline workers, leaders, carers, and helpers… softness and safety are often the first things sacrificed when living in survival mode.

I’m learning that nurturing ourselves is not selfish.
Rest. Safe people. Boundaries. Beauty. Slowing down. Receiving support.

Burnout does not only come from doing too much. Sometimes it comes from living too long without being emotionally held.

Beautiful things begin to grow when we are surrounded by people, spaces, and relationships that feel safe enough for us to soften too.

I’m really looking forward to sharing something nurturing and nourishing for frontline leaders who give tirelessly to others. It’s time that you receive the care, nurture, and nourishment that you so often offer everyone else.

This will initially be for front line leaders working in spaces that leave little room for rest and repair… and it’s something very special that’s coming soon alongside a wonderful lady.

Keep an eye out ☺️

27/05/2026

What Nature Teaches Us About Wounding & Return 🤍

Trauma can sometimes pull us into chasing understanding, seeking repair, or answers from the very people or places we were hurt.

When people or places hurt us, it can be deeply human to keep reaching for meaning, accountability, or change from them.

We can spend years chasing answers while the impact of what happened continues to move through us.

But healing does not always come from chasing the source of harm.

Sometimes it begins when we stop running, turn toward the wound, and offer ourselves what we were always hoping to receive.

Nature teaches us this quietly.

Trees do not chase storms.

Rivers do not argue with rocks.

Seasons do not rush becoming.

The sea does not ask permission to change.

Nature just is.

Nature doesnt ask us to be anything other than too just be.

It holds both light and shadow, growth and collapse, bloom and fall. It does not separate them. It moves in cycles.

And we are part of that same system.

Look at the back of a leaf for example..

Its veins branching, carrying life through pattern and connection.

Then look at the back of your hand.

The lines beneath your skin. The quiet map of everything you have lived.

Not so different.

As if nature wrote the same language twice.

One in leaf.
One in flesh.

Pause today if you can...

Take a look at your hand.

Find a leaf. Turn it over.

Notice what is shared.

And remember...

You have always belonged. Not outside of nature, but within it. In your body, in the earth, in the same patterns of becoming. ☺️

22/05/2026

Children Rely on Caregivers for Safety 🤍

When caregivers hurt rather than protect, children can experience relational and developmental trauma.

What We May See:

🌿 Relationships: Children may have trouble trusting others or forming friendships

🌿 Body: Sensitivity, coordination challenges, or heightened responses to sensory input

🌿 Emotions: Difficulty understanding their own feelings, recognising others’ feelings, or setting boundaries

🌿 Behaviour: Acting out, impulsivity, or using controlling behaviours

🌿 Cognition: Trouble with attention, planning, reasoning, or language

🌿 Sense of Self: Feeling unworthy, ashamed, or blaming themselves

🌿 Behaviours, such as lying, blaming, or controlling, often reflect attempts to manage overwhelming feelings or to feel safe.

What Thoughtful Caregiving May Look Like?

💛 Remain calm and steady
Need: Emotional safety. Anchor children with your calm presence before asking them to calm down.

💛 Introduce positive experiences slowly
Need: Trust and joy. Build small successes through play or shared activities.

💛 Move gently between challenge and calm
Need: Resilience and safety. Allow children to face minor frustrations while reassuring them that they are safe.

💛 Look beyond behaviours with curiosity and compassion
Need: To feel understood. Ask what the child is trying to communicate before correcting behaviour.

💛 Maintain consistent routines
Need: Stability. Predictable schedules help children feel secure and reduce anxiety.

💛 Support emotional literacy
Need: Safe expression. Help children name their feelings and express their needs safely.

💛 Use body and sensory activities
Need: Trauma processing. Movement or sensory play helps children regulate their emotions.

💛 Model boundaries and care
Need: Trust in relationships. Show warmth while maintaining clear limits.

💛 Celebrate small wins (when tolerated)
Need: Confidence. Acknowledge every step the child can take to reinforce growth.

💛 Take small, gentle, regular steps
Need: Gradual restoration of safety and connection. Consistency builds trust and allows children to recover over time.

🌿 BUT Fill your own cup first.

📸 Steven Creamer Photography

19/05/2026

The Dance of Intimacy 🤍

In the therapy room I often witness what I think of as the 'dance of intimacy'.

Not simple connection but a careful pattern shaped by loss and early abandonment.

Many children with care experience come from relationships where those meant to hold them could not always do so.

So closeness arrives with history already inside it.

The body remembers before words can explain.

Waiting that never came back.

Reaching that was not met.

Learning to survive connection without consistency.

So when a new caregiver appears, even a warm and steady one, trust does not arrive easily.

Instead there is movement;

A step toward connection

A step away

A checking of distance

A testing of safety

A pull in

A retreat out again

This is not resistance

It is the nervous system trying to understand what closeness means now.

In therapy and in work with caregivers and children, we slow this down and we explore in real time;

How close can you get?

How far away can you get?

Is there a place in the middle ?

What do these feel like in the body, does it have words, a shape, a colour?

What feels too much?

What feels just enough?

Because intimacy is embodied.

And in those small moments, something begins to shift.

A glance that lingers.

A foot that rests on the others leg.

A hand that holds a little longer.

A return after running out of the therapy room.

A small settling.

A small try in connection.

These are the early threads of trust.

Healing is not forcing closeness but making it safe enough that closeness does not collapse or overflood the system.

Caregivers become part of this rhythm
not perfect, but steady learning the dance rather than stopping it returning, repairing, staying present.

And slowly, over time, the body learns something new.
That closeness does not always mean loss.

That intimacy does not always end in abandonment.

That being held can be trusted.

This doesnt happen overnight.

It is years of relational repetition.

This take patience, care and love.

17/05/2026

"The children are always ours. Every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality."

- James Baldwin

🌏 🤲 💔

15/05/2026

A nourishing conversation this morning with Dr Debbie Amas from Anglia Ruskin University, reflecting on therapeutic, healing spaces and faces, creativity, research, evaluation and all the layers we continue learning from.

Grateful for relationships with people who bring deep wisdom, curiosity, and decades of experience, while still creating space to think together.

When we feel seen and witnessed, and when we offer that to one another, it feels a bit like a warm cup of tea on a slow morning.

Being alongside thoughtful, critical, compassionate colleagues matters deeply.

Sometimes you just know you're in the right place because of how it feels. 🌱

DREAM together

10/06/2026

02/06/2026

01/06/2026

30/05/2026

29/05/2026

27/05/2026

22/05/2026

19/05/2026

17/05/2026

15/05/2026

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