Tijen O'Neill

I provide play therapy at the Surrey Therapy Practice on Thursday afternoons and Saturday mornings. 

I am a child-centered play therapist and provide a safe and trusting environment for children to express themselves and make sense of their life experiences through the metaphors of play. My background is in education, and I have over 15 years of experience supporting children and their families in schools. Play therapy is a proven effective approach in supporting a child’s emotional health and is an intervention for children with a variety of difficulties promoting empowerment, increased self-esteem and resilience.

My therapeutic experience with various client groups between the ages of 4 and 11 include bereavement, separation and loss, attachment difficulties, anxiety, neglect, abuse, trauma and neurodiversity. Children can choose from a variety of toys such as playdough, sand, Lego, paints and puppets to express themselves. It is through the play and the therapeutic relationship that we build, that healing can occur.

My core theoretical model is person-centered, and I am predominantly non-directive. I am informed by several theoretical approaches including psychodynamic, attachment theory and systemic theories.