Child & Adolescent Therapist

Mali is a qualified Child-Centred Play Therapist, registered with the British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT). She holds an MA in Play Therapy from the University of Roehampton and a BA (Hons) in Early Childhood Studies from Middlesex University.

With over ten years of experience supporting children across a wide range of settings including schools, an NHS bereavement service, charities, and early years environments. Mali offers a warm, empathetic, and attuned approach to helping children express and process their inner worlds through play.

Mali creates a safe, creative space in which feelings and experiences can be explored symbolically and at the child’s own pace. Her therapeutic approach is child-led, relational, and grounded in empathy, patience, and respect. She works collaboratively with families, schools, and other professionals to ensure that children are understood and supported both inside and outside the therapy room.

Mali supports children who experience difficulties in managing their feelings. Some of these feelings may relate to:
• loss/bereavement
• separation/divorce
• trauma
• abuse
• neglect
• adoption
• illness
• disabilities
• neurodiversity
• low self-esteem
• bullying
• attachment difficulties
• anxiety and mood disorders

Her MA research, “Who is playing now? A playful discovery of children and their dissociated self-states,” reflects her interest in the ways play can help children integrate and make sense of complex trauma and dissociation.
Having worked in both mainstream and special educational settings, Mali understands the diverse needs of children and the importance of flexibility and creativity in therapy. She brings a thoughtful, reflective, and grounded presence to her work, creating a space where children can feel seen, safe, and empowered to grow.

How I work:
If you are interested in hearing more about my work, to ask any questions, or to share your concerns, I offer a free consultation on the phone.

If you decide that you would like to go ahead, I require an initial parent/carer assessment meeting, to acquire further information and see if we both think this will be an appropriate intervention for your child. This meeting will be around 60-90 minutes. Also, please note that your child should not be present at this meeting.

If we both agree after this meeting to go ahead, then I will meet with your child the following week, for their first session. This will also act as an assessment session to make sure that the child is willing to engage and consent to attending the therapy.

I will then meet with your child consistently, each week on the same day and at the same time. I will also meet with parent(s)/carer(s) after every 6/7 sessions to review how the process is going.