Description
Children seeking asylum and refuge often arrive in therapeutic spaces carrying complex and layered experiences of loss, displacement, uncertainty, and survival. Alongside these challenges, many also bring profound resilience, creativity, and adaptive strength. Within the playroom, their stories may emerge symbolically, indirectly, or sometimes not at all in verbal form, requiring therapists to remain highly attuned to non-verbal communication, cultural context, and the protective functions of silence and play.
This Continuing Professional Development (CPD) webinar offers a reflective and compassionate space to deepen understanding of the experiences of children seeking asylum and refuge, and to consider the specific role of play therapy in supporting their emotional wellbeing. The session will explore the impact of trauma, migration, separation, and systemic uncertainty on children’s development, relationships, and sense of identity, while also acknowledging the importance of hope, continuity, and cultural identity in the healing process.
Participants will be encouraged to reflect on their own clinical responses, assumptions, and emotional experiences when working with this population, including the importance of cultural humility and relational safety. The training will focus on how play therapy can provide a non-threatening and developmentally appropriate medium for expression, regulation, and meaning-making, particularly when language and narrative are fragmented or insufficient. Emphasis will be placed on developing culturally sensitive, responsive, and ethically grounded practice that honours each child’s unique story.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this webinar participants will be able to:
Develop a deeper understanding of the lived experiences and specific challenges faced by children seeking asylum and refuge.
Recognise the impact of displacement, trauma, and uncertainty on emotional, relational, and developmental functioning.
Understand the therapeutic potential of play therapy in supporting expression, regulation, and healing for refugee and asylum-seeking children.
Reflect on personal responses, assumptions, and emotional reactions when working with this client group.
Apply principles of cultural sensitivity, humility, and responsiveness within therapeutic practice.
Develop confidence in adapting play therapy interventions to meet diverse cultural and linguistic needs.
Recognise the importance of safety, trust, and relational consistency in work with displaced children.
Explore how play can support identity, continuity, resilience, and meaning-making in the context of loss and migration.
Strengthen ethical awareness when working within complex systemic and safeguarding contexts.
Why Attend?
Working with children seeking asylum and refuge requires not only clinical skill but also emotional presence, cultural awareness, and a capacity to sit with uncertainty and complexity. These children may not always tell their stories directly, yet their experiences are often present in their play, relationships, and ways of being in the world.
This webinar provides a thoughtful and grounded space for practitioners to deepen their understanding and confidence in working with displaced children, supporting them to offer therapeutic environments that are safe, attuned, and responsive to both trauma and resilience.
