Blog | A Mind 2 Play

Sep 10
1 min

Time to Talk WF

https://www.timetotalkwf.co.uk/post/be-the-light-world-suicide-prevention-day-event-1 This short film released on World Suicide...

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Renetta (Netty)

Sep 5
1 min

Boundaries please!

I saw something today that, again, made me sigh with a kind of sadness. A parent claiming their child is their best friend and it made...

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A reflective practice group at your school?

Renetta (Netty)

Jun 26
2 min

A reflective practice group at your school?

Hi, my name is Renetta Neal, I am a qualified Creative Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor trained in integrative ways of working with...

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Fun and Games: How Playtime Can Strengthen Attachment Bonds

Renetta (Netty)

Jun 25
6 min

Fun and Games: How Playtime Can Strengthen Attachment Bonds

Intro Playtime is a fundamental part of childhood that allows children to learn, grow, and explore the world around them. There is...

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Renetta (Netty)

May 11
4 min

Reflecting on reflecting!

I have often heard people say that we learn from experience, but it is not the experience itself that teaches us but the thinking we do...

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Renetta (Netty)

May 1, 2022
2 min

Changing our self-talk

I believe that always trying to be positive can be toxic but then so can always being negative! I started reading a book called coffee...

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Renetta (Netty)

Apr 18, 2022
2 min

Free play for all!!!!!

The importance of free play has been lost under the pressure to reach high academic success. But what is the cost to a child’s cognitive,...

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Renetta (Netty)

Apr 12, 2022
1 min

A little thought about thinking!

I am a thinker, I like to think, actually I absolutely love to think. Not all my thinking is useful though and sometimes I think myself...

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Renetta (Netty)

Jan 2, 2022
1 min

Ready for adventures!

Out for a walk with my Grandson yesterday and we both looked to the sky, my Grandson said he saw a phoenix in the clouds so I took a...

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Renetta (Netty)

Nov 2, 2021
2 min

The unsayable - show not tell.

When people ask me what I do for a living I tell them I get paid to play, but what I do is so much more than that. Play and creativity...

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The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog by Bruce D. Perry and Mia Szalavitz

Renetta (Netty)

Nov 2, 2021
1 min

The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog by Bruce D. Perry and Mia Szalavitz

I was fascinated by the thinking about the brain and how early trauma can affect the growth of the brain. I knew that we weren't born...

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Blame my brain! (or is that just an excuse?)

Renetta (Netty)

Oct 17, 2021
1 min

Blame my brain! (or is that just an excuse?)

I don't think we can ever read too many books about the brain. This book really got me to thinking about the young people I work with. ...

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Supervision and reflective practice prevents compassion burnout

Renetta (Netty)

Sep 30, 2021
1 min

Supervision and reflective practice prevents compassion burnout

Supervision is not just about monitoring and checking that my work is ethical, safe and appropriately focused on the client, it is also...

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Renetta (Netty)

Aug 30, 2021
1 min

The 8 Principles of Play Therapy

I am re-reading Play Therapy by Virginia M. Axeline. Though some of it is a little out-dated the 8 principles of Play Therapy are a good...

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Renetta (Netty)

Jul 19, 2021
1 min

Something personal:

I will be fifty next year and have only just started to feel comfortable in my skin. I still have moments when I look in the mirror and...

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Why I think play in therapy is important

Renetta (Netty)

Jul 14, 2021
2 min

Why I think play in therapy is important

I was asked yesterday how play in therapy works. I have got so used to play as a communication that I found it hard to explain. Often...

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Renetta (Netty)

Jul 6, 2021
1 min

Let there be mess!

As a counsellor I believe when we allow children and young people to engage in messy play we are metaphorically showing them that we can...

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Renetta (Netty)

Jul 2, 2021
2 min

Hard reads but fascinating learning!

This month I have been working on myself rather than thinking of anyone I am working with. This has lead me to a couple of books I feel...

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Michael Rosen's Book of Play: Why Play Really Matters, and 101 Ways To Get More Of It In Your Life

Renetta (Netty)

Jun 18, 2021
1 min

Michael Rosen's Book of Play: Why Play Really Matters, and 101 Ways To Get More Of It In Your Life

I love, love, love this book! As a child and adolescent counsellor who uses play, role-play and arts to provide therapeutic interventions...

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Renetta (Netty)

Jun 14, 2021
1 min

The Learning Triangle - Heather Geddes

This morning I was thinking about what children and young people might have missed out on in the past couple of years with schools having...

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