Play Therapy Services for Children and Families

Welcome to PolyPlay Therapy

Our Vision

At PolyPlay Therapy, we understand that children do not grow or heal on a fixed timeline. Development, regulation, and emotional wellbeing are not linear processes, and meaningful change cannot be forced or rushed.

Rather than offering quick fixes or guaranteed outcomes, therapy works by creating the right conditions for growth to emerge naturally.

In the playroom, children are offered a safe, predictable, and emotionally attuned space where they can explore their inner world through play, relationship, and sensory experience. Through consistent, responsive, and child-led therapeutic support, children begin to feel safe enough to express themselves, test boundaries, revisit unmet needs, and develop new ways of relating to themselves and others.

Change often happens quietly and indirectly — not always in the moment, and not always in ways that are immediately visible. A child may show new confidence at home, increased flexibility at school, or a greater capacity to manage big feelings weeks after a session that appeared “simple” or “calm.”

This is because healing and development are guided by the nervous system. When a child feels safe, connected, and understood, their system becomes more flexible and open to learning. Therapy does not command change — it invites it.

By focusing on emotional safety, co-regulation, and play-based connection, we support children to build resilience, self-awareness, and regulation at their own pace. Over time, these internal capacities create the foundation for lasting growth across home, school, and community settings.

Meet the Play Therapist

Cecile Liu (MChildPThy, MEd)

“We don’t need to know exactly how this will turn out.
We need to make sure the child has enough safety, play, and support to meet whatever comes.”

Cecile is a registered play therapist with APPTA (Australasia Pacific Play Therapy Association) and PTPA (Play Therapy Practitioners Association). With a Master’s degree in Child Play Therapy from Deakin University and a strong foundation in Early Childhood Teaching (Master qualified), she brings over 15 years of experience working closely with children and families.

Cecile has extensive experience supporting children who have faced complex trauma (relational and developmental trauma), neurodevelopmental disorders (including ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder), learning difficulties, anxiety, and attachment issues. She works collaboratively with families to provide guidance, reassurance, and practical strategies, ensuring children feel empowered to navigate their world with confidence.

Cecile is deeply committed to walking alongside children and their families on their journey of healing and self-discovery, offering the unconditional support, validation, and therapeutic play they need to thrive.

A Letter to Parents

“Therapy works because it creates conditions, not guarantees.”

Therapy is not a mechanical process.
(Do X → get Y.)

It is an ecological one.

Nothing is forced.
Nothing is promised.
Change is invited.

Therapy is like tending soil, not fixing a machine.

You don’t “make” a plant grow.

You:

prepare the soil
ensure water and light
protect it from harm
allow time

Whether growth happens today, next month, or much later is not fully in anyone’s control.

In therapy, we create:

emotional safety
relational consistency
attuned presence
permission for play, regression, messiness, and silence

Growth emerges when the nervous system is ready.

The nervous system cannot be commanded,

You can’t tell a child:

“Calm down”
“Feel safe”
“Trust me”
“Use your skills now”

Safety is experienced, not instructed.

Therapy creates conditions where:

the body learns it can settle
co-regulation becomes possible
the child discovers regulation through a relationship

There is no guarantee of when —

but there is a strong possibility of if the conditions are held.

Play is the doorway, not the destination

We don’t use play to extract outcomes.

We use play to:

externalise inner states
practise power and agency
revisit unmet needs safely
integrate sensory and emotional experience

The breakthrough moment is often:

unplanned
subtle
noticed only in hindsight

Because it wasn’t engineered —

it was allowed.

Guarantees create pressure; conditions create safety

When therapy promises outcomes:

children feel evaluated
parents feel anxious
therapists feel performative

Pressure activates defensive systems, not healing ones.

Conditions quietly say:

“You don’t need to perform.
You don’t need to be different today.
You are welcome exactly as you are.”

This is where real change happens.

Change is often indirect

Some of the most meaningful therapeutic shifts show up:

at home, not in the playroom
weeks after a “quiet” session
in relationships, not behaviours
in capacity, not compliance

Conditions allow integration —

not just symptom reduction.

Especially true for trauma and neurodivergence

Traumatised and neurodivergent nervous systems are:

protective
adaptive
context-sensitive

They don’t respond well to:

linear plans
rigid expectations
“skills first” models

They respond to:

predictability
relational safety
permission to be as they are

Therapy doesn’t override the system.

It befriends it.

Exploring Many Paths to Connection and Growth through play and play therapy

5/707 Mount Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds, Victoria 3039

Welcome to PolyPlay Therapy

Our Vision

Meet the Play Therapist

Cecile Liu (MChildPThy, MEd)

A Letter to Parents

Therapy is like tending soil, not fixing a machine.

The nervous system cannot be commanded,

Play is the doorway, not the destination

Change is often indirect

Especially true for trauma and neurodivergence

PolyPlay Therapy Hub acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land we work and play on. We honor their connection to culture and Country and pay respect to Elders past, present, and emerging. We are committed to inclusion, respect, and understanding in all we do.

Exploring Many Paths to Connection and Growth through play and play therapy

5/707 Mount Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds, Victoria 3039

Welcome to PolyPlay Therapy

Our Vision

Meet the Play Therapist

Cecile Liu (MChildPThy, MEd)

A Letter to Parents

Therapy is like tending soil, not fixing a machine.

The nervous system cannot be commanded,

Play is the doorway, not the destination

Change is often indirect

Especially true for trauma and neurodivergence

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

PolyPlay Therapy Hub acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land we work and play on. We honor their connection to culture and Country and pay respect to Elders past, present, and emerging. We are committed to inclusion, respect, and understanding in all we do.

This website uses cookies.