Play Therapy with Vinoja Rajapaksa
I am a Play Therapist based in Surrey, UK. I have worked for over 5 years and completed over 200 hours of clinical experience by working therapeutically with Children aged 4 to 11. I am a member of Play Therapy UK (Reg. No: 2021005120). My degree, BSc in Psychology equips me with a deeper understanding of human behaviour and the psychological factors that can affect children’s development. I have a valid Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance and an up-to-date DBS clearance.
Vinoja's Background
Vinoja holds a degree in Psychology which equips her with a deeper understanding of human behaviour and the psychological factors that can affect children’s development. As a Certified Therapeutic Play Skills Practitioner who has being working in the Special Education Needs (SEN) sector for more than 5 years, she has a wealth of knowledge and experience of working with SEN children.
Play Therapy, which Vinoja specialises in, utilises tools like clay, sand, art, and role play to help children articulate their emotions in a non-verbal manner. This therapeutic approach is particularly effective for children who lack the emotional vocabulary to express their feelings. Recent studies demonstrate that Play Therapy leads to significant improvements in 77% to 84% of children, particularly those dealing with anxiety, trauma, bereavement, and other emotional challenges. For more information on how Vinoja can help children in navigating these difficulties, you can reach out via email at hello@vinojarajapaksa.co.uk
Accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA)
Vinoja Rajapaksa is a member of Play Therapy UK (PTUK) and she is listed in the PTUK Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists (Reg. no: 2021005120) accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) for Health and Social Care, an independent body accountable to the Government.
The PTUK Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists is a public record of therapists who have met standards in training, supervision and continuing professional development with the commitment to work to PTUK’s ethical framework.
What is Play Therapy?
Play Therapy is a type of therapy where play and art materials are used as the main way for people to express themselves.
Using play in therapy helps people to express themselves in their own way; especially if they are struggling to understand how they are feeling, or are finding it hard to put their experiences into words. Play Therapy can be a particularly helpful approach for children in need of therapeutic support. Using play means that the child can explore their thoughts and feelings in creative and dynamic ways, without having to use words to articulate themselves. In Play Therapy sessions, children explore their own creativity and express themselves using media such as: drawing and painting, water and clay, sand tray and miniatures, guided imagery and relaxation techniques, drama and puppetry, poetry, movement and music.
Reference: https://playtherapy.org.uk
Vinoja's Play Room
Vinoja’s Play Room is a safe space for children to express themselves through play. It allows the child freedom to safely test boundaries and be in the control seat in a room full of toys. This can sound counterproductive to parents at first.
Why would I allow my child who already has issues with challenging behaviours, control based anxiety and poor ability to follow instructions to be in the control seat of a therapy session? Don’t they need more structure and a lesson in compliance? Shouldn’t you be teaching them something?
Children do need structure, and they definitely need an adult to guide them in responsible and safe ways of being, along the way ;learning what it means to follow societal rules and expectations. Similar to learning how to drive, there is only so much we can learn through someone explaining how to do it. Without experiencing actually driving there are many skills we couldn’t learn. This is especially true of children and adolescents, it’s hard to learn the “logical reasoning” part of their brain is yet to develop fully.
Experiential learning is held elsewhere in the brain, so Vinoja’s Play room is a great space to learn what can happen when big feelings or challenges arise.
Work Experience
Special Educational Needs (SEN) has four broad areas: Communication & Interaction, Cognition & Learning, Social, Mental and Emotional Health. I have more than 5 years of experience of working covering all these areas with SEN Children. I have the passion to assist them in processing and articulating their feelings and emotions through Play.
St. Mark's Catholic
Primary School
At St. Mark’s CPS, I had the opportunity to use my years of studies and experience in practice. Using play, I have improved the communication, expressions and feelings of SEN children.
My initial goal as a Trainee Play Therapist will be to build a safer environment for my clients and to have a deeper understanding about their background. Then I apply theories I learned to assist them further to process difficult life experiences. With play therapy sessions at St. Mark’s CPS, I helped my clients to lead and freely explore their feelings.
Catholic Primary School
As a practitioner I strive to provide a safe environment and build a good therapeutic relationship and respect their confidentiality for the child to feel comfortable. Through the child’s choice of creative medium, I would adopt a non-judgmental and a non-directive approach to provide insight and reflection to further their understanding about themselves. I highly take importance in safeguarding matters. I believe in working together with the SENCO, teachers and parents will be able to help the child to achieve their full potential.
As an experienced early years SEN TA, my priority is to support the child’s wellbeing and learning. I thrive to understand their individual needs and use innovative ways to engage them in their learning. In my day-to-day life, I am highly alert to identify their triggers and work closely with the team to help to manage their challenges. I am determined to find ways for the child to self-regulate and will confidently provide my view as an experienced early years SEN TA. I was promoted to cover two subjects due to my excellence in working with the early years group.
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Stay in touch
Drop us a message to know more information on how Vinoja can help children in navigating these difficulties. You can also e-mail on