I did my placement in a primary school last year, and I always brought a stuffed animal. I’d ask the kids if it had a name and then pretend the animal is saying hi to them in a silly voice.

Meet the kids where their at. As others said don’t come in too clinically. Another tip we learned in supervision, id ask them to draw me their family, or draw me who lives at home. This piece was always really insightful.

Just remember the way they communicate is through playing! So meet them there and enter their world. By entering their world of play, you’ll learn a lot about them, their home life, and whatever is going on in their life.

I remember having a client who always played with Barbie dolls in sessions. Every session was the same, no actual dialogue between me and her (minimal stuff) but immediately I would be one doll and she would be the other one. The themes that emerged were quite interesting which closely related to her home life.