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- What is it? - asked the child to the Play Therapy therapist.-  It can be whatever you want it to be, - replied the Play Therapy therapist.-  And what is this? - continued the child.-  It can also be whatever you want it to be. Here you decide what it is, - replied the Play Therapy therapist.After a moment's thought, the child says:-  It's a jet plane with eight remote-controlled missiles ... - and points to a small plastic shape that adults would call a fat tube rather than anything else. Play Therapy gives the child the opportunity to discover himself in a non-judgmental way. For the therapist has one important rule, not to label the object, the child's creation in front of the child. This is because our adult label could deprive the object, or the child's creation, of its attributes, which the child needs for something. In the Play Therapy office, there are plenty of these materials, the form of which depends only on the child. Clay, plasticine, pastry, sand, water, paints, crayons - these are therapeutic tools that stimulate the imagination to create anything. Two balls of clay for one child are mum and dad, for another it's almost a snowman, and for a third child it's a teddy bear's eyes.... Making meanings belongs only to the child. Creative materials without an initial form are used because of their ambiguity. Some children use them to express contentment, joy, happiness. Other children use them to express hostility, resentment towards others. Creating something from formless (in other words: creative) materials, gives the child the chance to project his or her fear, jealousy, anger and a whole host of other negative emotions, into something inanimate, and therefore safe, because outside the child. Taking this a step further, the next stage in the child's therapy is to work on the created but inanimate object in order to fix it. This involves repairing negative emotions towards the created object. This can be seen when, for example, during a session the child throws plasticine or doughballs on the floor, bangs clay with a plastic hammer, hits sand with an open hand with all his strength, then the object changes shape and the child gives it another new shape. This often resembles a catharsis, followed by a sense of relief, purification, and then often a new idea for solving the problem. Anything can be anything - a child's creation can be a symbol of a relationship, a person, a situation or an emotion experienced. Therefore, the products of the child's work should not be interpreted. The therapist's curiosity that leads to interpretation is actually the therapist's need. It is the need "to know" what it is. This need to know what it is obscures the essential purpose of creative activity, which is for the child to gain insight into himself, into the emotions he is experiencing. The therapist who interprets actually strips the product of the child's work of its meanings, which form and develop during the creative process. Only the child has the key to them. This is why he or she feels so safe in creating them. As adults, we want to know.But is this the need of the child, our client?

I was once about 2-3 minutes late for a session. I was embarrassed because I didn't start at the session time. My almost 4-year-old client said almost with tears in his eyes: "You're the one who doesn't live here !" his reaction was not only an expression of concern about my absence. It was also an expression of the fact that he expects to be stable, ready and always there when he is. In my experience, a child's sense of security is built on feelings of stability, immutability and predictability. Predictability gives a sense of control, or an attitude of "I know", "I understand". This, in turn, gives a sense of empowerment "I can". Stability must therefore be about both the materials and the therapist ..and the rules. Stability of the materials concerns both their presence, i.e. the child has access to the same materials at each session. It also concerns the location of the materials in the Play Room: their place is the same in each session. It is interesting to note that in the UK approach, toys are only bought once a year: at Christmas. Throughout the year they are the same and unchanging. When something breaks it is worth fixing it as soon as possible. If you can't fix it, you have to buy identical ones. Here I am reminded of a client who, after two years out of therapy, came back and at the first session asked: "where are the ponies I always played with?". I might add that he was the only client who used these ponies. The stability of the therapist's attitudes, the predictability of his/her behaviour for the child are the basis of a secure therapeutic relationship, and it is a secure and trusting therapeutic relationship that is the basis of any therapeutic process. Without this, there is no progression in the therapeutic process. As the therapeutic relationship develops, the child opens up to new ways of seeing his or her problems, trying effective as well as ineffective ways of solving them. Child decides-child takes responsibility-child changes-child decides-and the circle goes on until the right solution is found.Stability of rules - it isalways the same Virginia Axline's non-directive therapy rules, the same rules regarding boundaries, the safety of the child and the therapist. Here, nothing changes and boundaries are introduced as soon as a situation arises that requires them to be reminded. Stability is something that, in the eyes of the child, sets Play Therapy apart from other activities in life. As adults, we do not even realise how much the world changes every day in the eyes of a child. Often we ourselves make changes that ruin a child's sense of security. The result is withdrawal in some children and aggression in others. Through stability in Play Therapy, the child regains control of themselves, regains a sense of being in control of their life. The child becomes a person and not a tool in the hands of other people.

When I ran Play Therapy for many years, I never spent a penny on advertising. All I had to do was open the door to the therapy room during the break, and immediately a child would appear in the doorway curious about what was inside. And the child was followed by a parent.... In the kindergartens it was the same, but instead of a parent there were more children who necessarily wanted their "Special Hour", or Play Therapy session. And once they had had at least one Play Therapy session, they mostly asked when they could come again. The Play Therapy room is clearly different from other child therapy spaces: it is bright and cheerful. There is access to water. Ideally, there should be a sink with running water in the room. The room is not necessarily always tidy. More often than not, children find something of interest as soon as they enter. All things are arranged in such a way that they are within the child's reach. Every Play Therapy room looks different. Despite this, the types of toys, creative materials are the same all over the world.In each Play Therapy room you will find:- different kinds of vehicles: cars, trucks, emergency vehicles, aeroplanes, trains, boats,- toy telephones - preferably two of the same kind (for non-direct conversations),- movement therapy materials: ropes, pompoms, sashes, fans,- musical instruments,- puppets, large and small, aggressive and shy animals,- dress-up accessories: like a crown, policeman's hat, wizard's hat, wand...,- a doll's house,- accessories for regressive play: dummies, baby bottles,- accessories for dynamic play, expressing anger: foam swords, guns, foam balls, Boo bag...., boxing bag/cushion,- books with therapeutic stories using metaphors,- blankets and pillows,- tray or large container for 'dirty play',- sandbox with blue bottom and blue sides for sandbox therapy,- miniature figures for sandbox therapy: people, animals, plants, buildings, crystals, stones...- creative materials: paints, crayons, papers, clay, plasticine, pastry, markers. The number of toys is not important. What is important is that they are SAFE FOR THE CHILD. The most important thing, in turn, is that the child has freedom of choice, for it is the child who will project his or her feelings onto the toys in a way that he or she chooses for himself or herself. As you can see, the therapist also has freedom of choice when shopping . One last important thing: it is better to collect toys than to just collect them.

Accepting a child during a Play Therapy session is not just about tolerance. It is also about allowing the child to be themselves in a safe and informed way. Accepting the child as he or she is - is with a Play Therapy therapist an active and conscious action and attitude, not a passive toleration. I wrote tolerance because acceptance is often confused with tolerance. Acceptance is consent, acknowledgement, permission. Tolerance is forbearance, leniency, liberality and compliance. The very synonyms show two different attitudes. It is therefore useful to clearly separate them and to clarify what they mean in clinical practice when treating a child. Accepting the child as he or she is- means a real commitment on the part of the therapist in the form of not judging the child's feelings, accepting all the child's feelings regardless of their pole. This is not easy, as parents mostly punish children for their negative emotions, instead of showing how children can do this safely, in a socially acceptable way. The Play Therapy therapist accepts emotions as they are, because the most important thing is that they are there. This attitude creates a sense of understanding and support for the child as they are. The Play Therapy therapist does not reward the child for positive feelings and behaviour, because then acceptance disappears. Nor does he punish the child for negative feelings. The child's negative behaviours are used to express something we often do not understand, as our first reaction to these behaviours is usually a 3F (fight, flight, froze) response. The Play Therapy therapist is aware of this and uses the emotions that arise within themselves to better understand the child's feelings. He is able to separate his own emotions from those of the child. Accepting the child as he is also means accepting the meanings, the names the child gives in play. We already remember that when the Play Therapy therapist says "it can be whatever you want it to be"-he is simultaneously saying I accept your world and I accept it as it is. Accepting the child as he is also means accepting what the child plays with. That is why, in addition to "polite toys", the Play Therapy office also has materials for expressing anger, fear, hatred, hostility or sadness. Soldiers, guns, foam swords, Boo , masks, clay, sand, etc. give the child the opportunity to express negative emotions in a way that is safe for the child and the therapist. When the child feels accepted by the Play Therapy therapist, he or she then expresses his or her feelings without fear, e.g. a 7-year-old takes a dummy in his or her mouth and lies down on a blanket and starts to talk like a baby. The child does not have to say: "I feel like a little baby, I need my mum, I need to calm down, I need to rest". This is often what adults expect a child to say about their emotions. In this particular situation, the Play Therapy therapist can say: 'it looks like you need to rest, you need to calm down as much as you can'. The therapist understands the child's behaviour, accepts the emotions and reflects them to the child in a way the child can understand. The child begins to understand him/herself and his/her needs, and seeks to meet them in a constructive rather than destructive way.Accepting the child as he or she is has many other aspects that Play Therapy students can see and experience during the Play Therapy experiential training. As you can see, accepting the child as he or she is - is the basis for the child discovering his or her true Self.

Reflecting the child's feelings in Play Therapy is a new, conscious way for the child to experience emotions. The Play Therapy therapist uses every opportunity during the session to build the child's sense of insight into their emotions. This allows the child to experience their emotions consciously in a natural and safe way. And it is absolutely not about the child naming them. This is unnecessary for the child's development. The Play Therapy therapist's reflection of emotions serves several important functions for the child. First of all, it shows the child that the therapist understands them, accepts and respects all feelings, that the therapist does not judge which feelings are important and which are unimportant. They all matter because they belong to the child. The Play Therapy therapist is in the child's world, giving the child and his or her world conscious attention: listening to what the child says and feeling the emotions of the child's play. Everything matters to the therapist, who reflects the emotions: the child's verbal messages, the speed of the movements, the force of the strokes, the pressure, the space in which the child moves, the speed of speech and movement, the fluidity of the movements, the type of play, the colours, the materials chosen, the facial expressions, the eye contact, the touch, the type of toys. What the child does and what they don't do. Everything says something about the child's emotions, even silence or stillness. The Play Therapy therapist reflects all the emotions he feels, that he observes in the child. It is easy to reflect emotions that are positive. Negative, aggressive, regressive emotions are mirrored by the Play Therapy therapist just as much as positive emotions, because he is aware of his own reactions to these emotions. Through training, the Play Therapy therapist deepens his or her self-awareness. When a therapist working with children does not have the right training, his or her reflection of the child's negative emotions is severely limited, as it is reduced to unconscious reactions to the threat he or she sees in the child's behaviour. The result is that the child's expression of emotions is inhibited, creating a false Self. Reflecting verbally is the easiest to learn. A Play Therapy therapist can also mirror without words. Reflecting without words is safe for the child and more understandable. The therapist is able to do this by being completely in tune with the child. This is what is taught in training. This is why I encourage you to start a training course to make your therapy sessions with children an extraordinary journey of self-discovery for the child. Nothing interests a child more than knowing themselves and understanding themselves. This is probably why young children enjoy looking at themselves in the mirror so much...

Once an unruly student who broke many of the rules about activities on a Play Therapy training course said that he did so because he did not feel safe. After a while he added: "I realised that freedom occurs when I feel safe, and I feel safe when there are clear boundaries". The same is also true for children in the Play Therapy process: a child's autonomy develops when there are clearly defined, fixed and unchanging boundaries . Boundaries are not rules written on a piece of paper and hanging on the wall. They are an active process that accompanies their creation and respect. Boundaries define a therapeutic relationship for the child, a relationship that becomes unique because it is predictable and safe. In this relationship, the child decides and takes responsibility for himself, his choice, and this gives him, in effect, a sense of agency. The boundaries are about the duration of the therapy session, which lasts 45 minutes, warning the child of 5 minutes until the end of the session, 1 minute until the end of the session and counting down loudly the last 10 seconds until the end of the session. Boundaries relate to the name of the session: it is always 'The Special Hour'. Boundaries are about confidentiality, which is discussed with the child and presented in a way that is practical and accessible at the child's level. Boundaries are about toys, the use of creative materials, eating in the session, coming and going from the session, bringing different objects from home, gifts, the child's safety, the therapist's safety, etc. During Play Therapy training, therapists assimilate these principles into practice as the training provides them with the opportunity to experience these boundaries in the role of client, therapist as well as observer. Boundaries are for the child and for the therapist. With them, the therapist creates a predictable environment for the child, in which the child can experience the therapeutic relationship as warm, friendly, safe. Only such a relationship creates in the child a sense of experiencing something unique in his or her development: an authentic experience of self, one's own freedom, creativity, emotions without fear of rejection when experiencing them. For the therapist, boundaries provide a sense of competence, physical and psychological security. They allow the therapist to focus on the whole child, as an autonomous person, and not just on correcting what the referrers have reported to therapy. The therapist thus ceases to be a tool in their hands and becomes a person in relationship with the child. Relationship psychology has put it beautifully: "In a relationship with someone we become someone". Nothing to add, nothing to take away.

Imagine a situation where your supervisor comes to you and communicates that you are to be ready to leave for Bangladesh in two hours. What? You have a thousand questions: Why me? Why? What am I going to do there? How long will I stay there? Who will take care of me in this place that is foreign to me?Doubts such as: I don't know the language; strange people and a completely different culture; the time change? - These are just some of the questions and doubts you may experience in such a situation. The child feels the same way when he goes to see a Play Therapy therapist or psychologist for the first time. However, the child's feelings are not as clear to the child. Instead of confusion, uncertainty and fear of the unknown, the parent may see anger, resentment or even aggression from the child. This is why the Play Therapy clinic is the first place to go? parent. He or she has the opportunity to get to know the office, the materials, the therapist who will conduct the interview and then the observation or therapy of the child. The therapist, in turn, has the opportunity to get to know the parent, to experience the feelings that arise in the relationship with the parent whose child comes to the practice.What happens when a child enters Play Therapy for the first time? 99% of children feel excited and start to play, sometimes all at once and sometimes they get straight into the process. What does the Play Therapy therapist do during this time? First of all, he or she BELIEVES in the child's potential to develop, the child's potential to solve problems.   The therapist's attitude is best described by the 3W rule: watch, wait & wonder. Under these conditions, a child's very first visit to Play Therapy creates a sense of uniqueness and importance. The therapist does not need to smile at the child, nod or praise to make the child feel valuable or special. The child feels this through the attitude of the therapist, who at all times actively applies all 8 principles of Virginia Axline's non-directive therapy.If the practice is in a school or nursery, the children will quickly recognise it and the person of the Play Therapy therapist will be familiar to the children. From my experience in Play Therapy therapy in several kindergartens, I know that for children the Play Therapy room in the kindergarten is a magical place where they want to be invited, where they want to stay and discover themselves. Then a visit to the Play Therapy room becomes a journey to the country we have always wanted to visit. A Play Therapy session is called a "Special Hour". - not without reason ;-)

When I talk to parents about their children's emotions during counselling, all I often hear are judgements about their children's behaviour, complaints, disappointment coming from parenting as a string of failures. "This is not how I imagined being a father", "Nobody prepared me to be a mother of such a child", " This child is cheating on me in front of my eyes"-these are just some of the statements. Somewhere the child himself and what he is like have been lost to the parents. The child also has difficulty finding himself, what is important to him, what makes him happy, what makes him uncomfortable and what gives him respite. The child has a problem in being himself and this is a sign that he needs therapy. At the beginning of the Play Therapy process, children's emotions are completely scattered, undifferentiated, confused. This is because these children have lost touch with themselves, with people, and often want to forget what has happened to them. And what has happened to them: frustration, disappointment, fear, guilt, rejection, jealousy, sadness, worry, embarrassment. Adults often only see the effect of these feelings: anger that erupts at the slightest opportunity, often for no apparent reason. The lack of differentiation of children's emotions and their generalisation every time provokes very intense negative reactions from the child. This is when the parents start to see that something is wrong and seek help from a therapist. At the beginning of the therapeutic process with children, the intensity of negative emotions is at its highest. Its strength requires the therapist to be consistent in their behaviour, to be persistent in setting boundaries, to protect the child and to protect themselves. During Play Therapy training therapists learn, among other things, how to protect the child and themselves during sessions. For example, they learn how to react and reflect the child's emotions during a dynamic play session in which the child tries to hit the therapist with a puppet, paint the therapist's nose.... Supervision helps the therapist to open their eyes to the person of the child, as the child's negative behaviour can obscure the true image of the child. During the process, children express and release more and more of their negative emotions in a direct way. Sometimes parents see a deterioration in their child's behaviour. The Play Therapy therapist accepts all emotions and accepts them. As a result, they become less and less intense and less and less govern the child's behaviour in an unconscious way. The child gradually gains conscious control over his or her emotions and, as a result, behaviour. In the final stage of the Play Therapy process, positive feelings begin to strengthen. The intensity of negative emotions becomes moderate. Children begin to see themselves in a more integrated way, as a whole made up of diverse emotions: negative and positive. Children begin to see themselves more realistically.It is worth remembering that knowing the names of emotions has little to do with emotional intelligence, with a real sense of self. A real sense of self is based on the real experience of one's own emotions as seen in a mirror, which at first is the therapist, and over time this mirror is in the child himself, who is able to look into it and see the real self. The child becomes independent of the opinions of others, but at the same time follows the rules of society without losing his or her sense of self as an independent and free person. The child begins to connect his emotions with their sources, and calms down as he consciously begins to control them. In Play Therapy, this is evident in the session where the child plays with his emotions in a game created by and for him. The child feels whole at their age level. The child achieves "psychic wholeness". And this is what I wish for every child and their parents.

"How do I explain to a 5-year-old child that his trial is confidential? -This is not possible! And will he even understand it? " - I heard from a therapist with several years of experience in therapeutic work with children. IT IS POSSIBLE AND EVEN NECESSARY IN CHILD THERAPY Confidentiality in a child's therapeutic process is like a nest for chicks, where they can safely develop naturally and when the time comes - fly out on their own wings. Confidentiality creates a sense of place for the child that is safe and serves their development. Without confidentiality there is no process. Without confidentiality there is no therapeutic alliance. Let's look at where these difficulties with confidentiality come from? When we talk about confidentiality, the first association is mainly about confidentiality relating to adult matters. We know the definition of the word, but one used by adults. This is the first dead end, as there are no words to adequately describe for a child what 'confidentiality' is and what it is for. The second obstacle is - the parents: how to keep the child's process confidential with the parents, especially those who ask the child after the session: how was it ? what did you do ? They pay, they demand? The therapist must also set boundaries for them and explain the importance of confidentiality. Another obstacle is the teachers and the management of the institution where the therapies are carried out: whether and how to share information? with whom? to what extent? The lack of Polish regulations causes chaos and, as a result, abuse of children. There is a lack of clearly defined circulation and scope of shared information regarding the child in therapy. The entry of RODO in May 2017 will probably not change much regarding the confidentiality of the child's process. Another obstacle (the smallest one) is the child's age and developmental level: different strategies are needed at different levels. One is definitely not enough.   As you can see, the confidentiality of the child's process is the responsibility of the therapist towards the child, towards the parents, towards colleagues. You will find out, among other things, how to protect the child's process and how to communicate to the child what the confidentiality of his or her process is - at the Play Therapy training course , to which I warmly invite all those who want to help children in a conscious manner. Our job as child therapists is to protect the child. Confidentiality is a great gift from us therapists to the child , it is a gift that perhaps the child has never received before from anyone, not even from his parents, and is not aware of it, because only fusion with others and not autonomy has determined his value in the eyes of others and his own.

"The child sees himself in his mother's eyes" -these are the words of D. Winnicot, which may already orient some of you to the way you think about the role of parents in Play Therapy. It is worthwhile to devote part of the therapy work and supervision to the parents, even though the Play Therapy sessions are child-only. The very first contact with the child's parents gives the therapist an opportunity to assess: how I feel about my relationship with these parents. The interview with the parents, gives a unique opportunity to talk about the child's problems, but also provides an important source of information about the parents' expectations. These should be made clear. If a parent enters the Play Room for thefirst time and says: "but you have lots of toys here, I would like to play myself". - then we can assume that our cooperation will go well. The parent is open to being themselves.It is useful to show parents the variety of therapy materials and emphasise the fact that each child is looking for his or her own medium to express emotions. The variety of Play Kits creates opportunities for each child to express emotions freely and safely. In the United States, Play Therapy sessions are recorded. In the UK approach, which covers more than 30 countries worldwide, recording Play Therapy sessions is prohibited due to the confidentiality of the child's process. Thus, there is no equipment to record the session that we need to familiarise the parent with. The parent is involved in the child's therapy by attending evaluation meetings. These meetings take place every 6-8 sessions with the child, but not in exchange for the child's session. You can find out what, among other things, a Play Therapy therapist discusses during evaluation meetings at the Play Therapy training . When parents will know: What Play Therapy is, How Play Therapy differs from ordinary child's play, How Play Therapy works, What are the aims of Play Therapy, What neuroscience brings to children's therapy through Play Therapy - then they will become enthusiastic about their child's therapy process through Play Therapy. Through evaluation meetings, they will have the opportunity to understand their child's emotions and behaviour. Gradually, they will stop judging their child. Instead, an understanding of the child's behaviour and feelings will emerge. They will also begin to see that the family has an impact on what happens to the child, that it is not just a problem of the child sent to therapy. They will begin to see that their own fears, feelings of inferiority, lack of strategies to deal with negative emotions can be the source of the child's difficulties, who, defending himself, presents various symptoms that worry them. It is very often the case that the parent consciously recognises the need for their own therapy and perceives this as the best investment in their relationship with their child and with themselves. If you think that the parents get in the way of therapy, or that they are often the source of the child's difficulties, this is certainly a topic for supervision of your clinical work. For this is the first manifestation in the therapist of thinking of herself as a better mother/better father for that child. There is unfortunately no place here (I am thinking of the therapeutic alliance) for the real mother/father of the child.

Building a therapeutic relationship with a child is like stacking dominoes vertically: one mistake and all the cubes topple over; one wrong reaction from the therapist and the power of the relationship disappears. And we start all over again, but already with a different experience, wiser. Children forgive mistakes if the therapist is able to admit them and apologise, in fact, in this way he expresses respect for the child. The first sessions with the child are particularly important for the therapeutic process, as they form the foundations of the process. This is where the therapeutic relationship has its roots. Knowing and being able to put into practice Virginia Axline's 8 KEY PRINCIPLES OF NON-REACTIVE THERAPY is fundamental to each stage of the process. I will therefore briefly remind you of them: Create a warm and friendly relationship with your child Accept the child as he or she is Create a feeling of consent in the child Reflect feelings in such a way that the child achieves insight into his/her feelings and behaviour. The choice is up to the child and the child is responsible for his/her choice The child directs, the therapist follows Don't rush your child's treatment Create boundaries that serve to anchor the child in reality and in building a sense of responsibility for the relationship being created. Donald Winnicott greatly valued the above principles of non-directive therapy. He also affirmed that a profound psychotherapeutic process can take place without interpreting what the child is doing. In practice, Virginia Axline's non-directive therapy principles create a unique climate that a child can only experience in the Play Therapy office. The child feels respected, the child has choice, the child has insight into all their feelings, positive and negative. The child feels that what they do is up to them and thus only they are responsible for their choices. In Play Therapy, the child will not hear the answers to the questions he or she poses to the therapist, because the therapist will create an environment in which the child will find the answers and become aware of his or her own feelings. Thus, when a child asks: "what is it?" -therapist will answer: "you are curious about what it is?" or: "you are interested in the name of it. It can be whatever you want it to be. It's up to you."  This is not easy, because as adults we intuitively answer children's questions. The Play Therapy therapist's discipline in applying the 8 key principles of therapy results in the child experiencing a sense of freedom, autonomy, a sense of self-understanding, a sense of themselves as a person capable of discovering themselves and others. The therapist's discipline is the result of the therapist's self-awareness, which the therapist develops intensively during training and during clinical work supervised by a Play Therapy supervisor. As you can see, it is Virginia Axline's principles that form the basis of an effective psychotherapeutic process with the child. It is important to know them and, above all, to follow them at every moment of the session regardless of the child's mood or ours, regardless of the child's problems or our own childhood and present problems. Building a therapeutic relationship with children during Play Therapy sessions with strict application of non-directive therapy principles quickly creates the kind of developmental climate for children that they need to discover and understand themselves and the world around them. In Play Therapy International, students first learn non-directive therapy, and after mastering it, theylearn directive therapy, in which they are able to create the conditions for a trusting and safe relationship with the child based on respect for the child and his/her needs. Here, it is the child that counts, not just the problem.

Being a Play Therapy therapist is not just about knowing the therapeutic tools. If the therapist focuses mainly on them, then he depersonalises himself in the therapeutic relationship with the child. This is already a serious problem that the therapist has to face in supervision or even in his own therapy. Being a Play Therapy therapist means being open and extraordinarily sensitive to the child's life.The therapist loves children, loves to play with them and is able to enter the child's world without fear.The Play Therapy therapist is in the world of the child's feelings and thoughts, he is in the world of the child's wishes and plans. He follows the child. If a therapist is not able to answer the question after a session with a child: what did I learn from this child today during his Play Therapy session? - this could mean, among other things, that he or she was not in the child's world, witnessing the child's process, let alone being a creator of it. It could also mean that the therapist was, for example, focused on interpreting the child's play, pursuing his own goals. To be in the child's world the therapist must have respect for the child, must accept the child and must believe in the child's potential. RESPECT for the child is a core value of the Play Therapy therapist. ACCEPTANCE OF EVERY CHILD'S EXPRESSION- creates a climate for the child to express themselves in a safe and authentic way. THE THERAPIST'S BELIEF IN THE CHILD'S UNIQUE POTENTIAL TO DIRECT THEIR LIFE-is the basis for the child to believe in their own potential, to trust their feelings and to trust themselves. As you can see, the Play Therapy therapist must be present first and foremost as a person, in a relationship with whom the child also becomes a person. Becoming a Play Therapy therapist is an active process of consciously becoming a person in relationship with the child, a person who is not afraid to entrust the child with responsibility for his/her choices, because he/she believes in the child's potential to develop, to solve his/her problems. The Play Therapy training process is therefore not a training. It is an active process of the therapist getting to know himself, getting to know his inner child, who has grown up somewhere, who has had his ups and downs, and who now decides who this therapist is, who is there for the child and who is responsible for what the child-client discovers in himself during therapy. And this is a great responsibility.