Anna Outside Play Therapy

Anna Outside Play Therapy A Holistic Approach to Children's Mental Healthcare, providing Play and Creative Arts Therapies.

Before Outdoor Play TherapyA child experiencing high anxiety and dysregulation may:remain in a constant state of “fight,...
05/06/2026

Before Outdoor Play Therapy

A child experiencing high anxiety and dysregulation may:

remain in a constant state of “fight, flight, freeze, or shut down”
struggle to feel safe in the classroom environment
become overwhelmed by noise, demands, transitions, or social pressure
find it difficult to access thinking, learning, memory, or concentration
avoid tasks or appear oppositional when actually anxious
have frequent emotional outbursts, meltdowns, or withdrawal
struggle to identify or communicate feelings
disconnect from bodily sensations (“I don’t know what I’m feeling”)
show low confidence and a fear of getting things wrong
become highly controlling or rigid in order to feel safe
experience poor peer relationships or social isolation
spend much of the school day in survival mode rather than learning mode
feel shame about being “different,” “naughty,” or “bad”
have limited opportunities for felt success or mastery
struggle to trust adults or seek support

After Consistent Outdoor Play Therapy Support:

feel safer and calmer within their nervous system
recover more quickly from emotional overwhelm
recognise early signs of anxiety within their body
use movement, sensory experiences, or nature-based strategies to self-regulate
increase tolerance for challenge, uncertainty, and transitions
access curiosity, creativity, and playfulness again
improve concentration and readiness for learning
engage more consistently with classroom activities
build trust in safe adults and relationships
develop language for emotions and bodily sensations
feel more connected to themselves and others
experience increased confidence through manageable risk-taking and mastery outdoors
show improved flexibility and resilience
reduce survival-based behaviours such as shutting down, aggression, avoidance, or control
feel a greater sense of belonging and competence
begin experiencing school as a place where they can cope, participate, and succeed

develop an internal sense of:

“I can notice what I’m feeling, I can get support, and I can recover.”

~Nurturing Confident and Empowered Young People ~ Anna

Outdoor Play Therapy gently rebuilds connection to adults, self and environment simultaneously.The therapist does not re...
04/06/2026

Outdoor Play Therapy gently rebuilds connection to adults, self and environment simultaneously.

The therapist does not regulate the child alone.
Nature does not regulate the child alone.
The child does not regulate themselves alone.

Regulation emerges through the interaction between:

a safe relationship
a responsive natural environment
increased body awareness
freedom to play and express
shared experience

It's more than a 'calming activity' it's a foundational development of skills that raises self awareness and leads to confident and empowered young people.

Outdoor Play Therapy offers the environment that becomes a 'co-therapist' in the therapy process.This offers a lasting e...
03/06/2026

Outdoor Play Therapy offers the environment that becomes a 'co-therapist' in the therapy process.

This offers a lasting element of therapy that goes BEYOND the time spent alongside a highly-trained Outdoor Play Therapist and builds a life-long connection to the natural world.

That connection is KEY to emotional regulation. Modelled and facilitated by an Outdoor Play Therapist, then a skill taken into adult life.

A safe nervous system doesn't have to permanently scan for threats, but can lean on the connections forged with themselves, others and with nature to take them through and experience their emotions looking in, rather than being swept up by them.

Facilitated time in nature is the medicine to those learned anxieties and traumatic experiences.

03/06/2026

Masking is often praised as 'coping' or 'being resilient'.
But for many children and young people, it’s about survival.
This quote speaks to what it costs when someone hides who they are just to get through the day.

Masking is when a child or young person hides parts of themselves to fit in, stay safe, or avoid negative reactions.
It can look like forcing eye contact, suppressing stims, copying others, staying quiet, people-pleasing, or holding it all together until they’re home.
Masking isn’t a choice made lightly — it’s often a response to environments that don’t feel accepting or safe. Over time, it can be exhausting and emotionally costly.

If you’d like practical ways to support a child who is masking at school and crashing at home, my Masking Toolkit is designed to help parents and educators understand what’s happening beneath the surface and how to support nervous system recovery. Link in comments below ⬇️ or via Linktree Shop in Bio.

Did you know that leaning in and listening to our body's "little messages" (as I like to call them) is a crucial part of...
02/06/2026

Did you know that leaning in and listening to our body's "little messages" (as I like to call them) is a crucial part of self-regulation?

I hear lots of adults use the term 'dysregulated' but they don't always know how to achieve regulation and what skills are needed to to be able to do this or what it looks like. (Hint: it doesn't mean calm).

And actually as adults we often need another person to talk to or dance with to regulate and feel more comfortable about a situation.

But in order to develop these skills, children first need to be able to notice and witness their bodily sensations - these are our first warning flags that something's amiss. (This is where an Outdoor Play Therapist comes in).

We process millions of bits of information per second, but only 1% of them pass through our conscious awareness. Which means our bodies are going through so much more than we could ever comprehend.

The first place to pick up on 'data' or information that feels uncomfortable comes from there. The tummy aches, headaches and worries all come from that discomfort and show us the messages that they're aware of but not always why.

As a highly-trained Outdoor Play Therapist, it's (one part of) my job to help them to tune into those tiny messages which leads to greater levels of self-awareness, and later that builds the foundation stones for regulation (and even later confidence).

Let's stop encouraging the disconnection from their bodies, by making them ignore the need for bathroom breaks, food and water or comfort. Noticing those needs are an important skill. We want to hone in on those messages, not ignore them.

Did you know that emotional regulation can't happen unless there's a certain level of self-awareness?We can give childre...
01/06/2026

Did you know that emotional regulation can't happen unless there's a certain level of self-awareness?

We can give children 'feeling thermometers' as much as we like, but until the young person has a connection to their internal selves it won't make any difference.

Yes, naming and labeling emotions is important - but there's far more to it than that.

Alongside a highly trained Outdoor Play Therapist, Nature gives us the opportunity and steadfast security to begin to build that self awareness.

Then when that connection is built, our young people can always come back to it right through to their adult lives.

What better way is there to manage the stresses of the modern world?

Here's me decompressing with my hands in a stream.

So pleased to have this article published on Substack. 🥰
01/06/2026

So pleased to have this article published on Substack. 🥰

Building AOPT has been YEARS in the making...I started my career teaching English to Nursery aged children in Poland, th...
31/05/2026

Building AOPT has been YEARS in the making...
I started my career teaching English to Nursery aged children in Poland, then as a Primary Teacher in the UK for over 12 years and now as an Outdoor Play Therapist.

My curiosity about children's mental health began in the classroom, particularly after the COVID pandemic, where it was obvious that it had enhanced the struggles I already saw.

I witnessed more and more children reaching out for individual emotional support, when we weren't trained to do that. (And I don't just mean a soft nurturing relationship that helps them come in in the morning, I'm talking deep rooted need that requires a highly-trained approach.)

I saw so many children not reaching their full potential because their confidence or self-esteem held them back from reaching it OR children who were just too traumatised from life experiences to even consider learning as important and even children who couldn't access teaching because their mental health blocked the path.

Seeing this, made me want to do more and BE more for these children. To be able to meet their needs on a 1 to 1 basis and help them to genuinely thrive. Make meaningful difference to those few.

With all that experience in mind, I began training as a Play Therapist and somewhere along that 3 year journey, I began to love the freedoms that delivering it Outdoors gives (cue even more training).

And now, I'm transitioning into delivering Outdoor Play Therapy FULL TIME from September. It's my deepest hope and wish to deliver sessions that make a life-long impact for the young people who come to me for support; taking the skills they learn into adulthood AND a connection to nature that will serve as a stress-relief into their adult lives.

I'm also working with the children's families and school professional's to enhance their expertise and to advocate for the child's mental health needs in every environment.

If you're tired of hearing how *enter your child's name here* doesn't 'fit' the mold. Here's a mindset shift for you...P...
30/05/2026

If you're tired of hearing how *enter your child's name here* doesn't 'fit' the mold.
Here's a mindset shift for you...
Perhaps they're just not in the right environment for them to thrive.

Moving children from survival mode to thriving takes the right adult in the right environment with the right training and experience to nurture that confidence and empowerment.

With a bespoke and tailored approach, your child learns that actually it's ok to be who I am today and these are my strengths, this is what I need help with - and with that self-awareness, comes healing, confidence, emotional regulation and empowerment.

Coming into the final half term of this acadmic year, I thought I'd do a mini re-introduction for all of the people who ...
29/05/2026

Coming into the final half term of this acadmic year, I thought I'd do a mini re-introduction for all of the people who have just joined in on the journey.

If you've been here from the start, you'll know that:
-I'm obsessed with the Outdoors (that's pretty obvious). I'm not just talking hikes, but collecting bits of nature to add into artwork, as well as the sensory regulation and freedom from expectations that it brings.
-I've been training to become an Outdoor Play Therapist for 3 years at Master's level (that's level 7). September I'm launching my Outdoor practice Woods Country Park and I'm taking clients already for those spaces.
-It's been a long journey that's meant a lot of studying, assignments and over 200 practice hours before getting to this point.
-BUT the reason why I've done this is because of the children that I get to work with on a daily basis.
-The transformation in each child is incredible to be a part of
and
-They don't have to sit and talk to be able to access highly-trained, ethically regulated, clinically supervised and creative psychotherapy sessions.
AND it's fun, it's playful and completely bespoke to each child.

I've seen first-hand too many children falling through the cracks of our current systems and Outdoor Play Therapy is there for them all.
From behaviour issues, to increasing communication, to becoming a more confident and empowered version of themselves.

Outdoor Play Therapy isn't a fix, it's equipping our already amazing children with the skills that they need for life.

If their interventions are the teaching them that there is something 'wrong' with them, then it's not the right approach.

~Nurturing Confident and Empowered Young People

Address

Worcester Woods Country Park
Worcester
WR52LG

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4pm
Tuesday 8am - 4pm
Wednesday 8am - 4pm
Thursday 8am - 4pm
Friday 8am - 4pm

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