Welcome, Haere mai!
APTE (Arts & Play Therapy in Education) is a not for profit organisation dedicated to supporting the mental, emotional and social health of vulnerable young New Zealanders. They work to bring professional arts and play therapy services into communities and primary schools in the Auckland region. As well as offering direct support to children, they also run training workshops for school staff and teachers.
They use creativity, play and the arts because they are the natural language of children. They offer us a window into the unique world of a child and create valuable opportunities for connection, communication and expression.
With the right support children who’ve experienced adversity early in life can have the opportunity to experience a sense of understanding, belonging, and positive transformation.
Would you like to know how we can support you with a range of therapeutic services for children?
Our highly qualified team of professionals can help you with :
- Direct work with children
- Professional development and supervision
- Support for parents and carers
Has your family experienced change that seems to be negatively affecting your child? Do you have concerns over your child’s behaviour, emotional experiences, or social relationships? Read more…
Are you a professional who works with children who’ve experienced trauma? Are you looking for ways to support the emotional and social development of the children in your care? Read more…
Are you a leader or community member who sees the negative social, cultural and economic impacts of ignoring the emotional needs of vulnerable children? Read more…
Our News
APTE Intern: Angelee
This semester, we had the pleasure of working with a new intern, Angelee Verdieu! "I'm a study abroad student from Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. I'm a second semester junior at Boston University [...]
Park Estate School welcomes APTE
Last year, with the major support of Hugo Trust and the help of many generous donations, we launched our first official project taking arts and play therapy into Park Estate School, Papakura. We worked [...]
Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School welcomes APTE
"The arts are not an outpouring of emotion. They are a disciplined form of enquiry and expression through which we organise our feelings and ideas about experiences." - Sir Ken Robinson APTE (Arts & [...]
How does Art Therapy help children?
It's great to see evidence being published on the effects of art therapy on a child's learning! http://www.baat.org/About-BAAT/Blog/98/Arts-Therapies-Can-Help-Pupils-Become-Effective-Learners
A therapy room that comes to you!
Therapy Throwback.... In 2015 Anna-Michele and Lucy crossed paths in Bristol and took a trip to Oxford to visit the lovely Sophia Giblin, founder of Clear Sky Children's Charity. This play therapy service started [...]
APTE goes back to school
Yesterday Anna-Michele and I presented a workshop to the Arts Therapy students at Whitecliffe college. It was exciting and inspiring to see the number of people interested or already working with children in school [...]
” The arts are not outpourings of emotions. They are disciplined forms of inquiry and expression through which to organise feelings and ideas about experiences.”
– Ken Robinson
