Into the dark!

Well here we are past the Autumn Equinox and at the point where our clocks have fallen back an hour and the darker days begin. Lately the weather has been blustery, grey and damp but Autumn is delighting us with bright colours on the trees and in hedgerows in a final burst of glory to see us into the colder days.

The end of the harvest and the start of this the darker half of the year begins with Samhain, a cross quarter day marking the md point between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, a time to honor our ancestors, celebrate the gathering of the harvest and prepare for the coming of winter and the dark days. It's the time when it's believed the veil between this world and the spirit world is at its' thinnest, a time for spiritual insights and transformation. Fire is an important part of ritual and celebration, with colours reflected in the flaming autumn leaves.

It hardly seems any time since COOPTs' face to face two day Certificate of Best Practice in Outdoor Play Therapy held at the Family Garden in Exeter towards the end of September. We had eleven participants and were blessed with dry weather which continued into a third day when our colleagues Leone and Matt ran an additional stand alone day on Bushcraft skills suitable for play therapists. We were delighted to see that most of the participants on this were friends from our previous Best Practice courses. Great to know they are not only practicing outdoors but also keen to develop new skills.

Over the coming months, COOPT will be reflecting on the past year and beginning to plan for 2026. We anticipate running our online Certificate of Best Practice in Outdoor Play Therapy during the Spring tho there are no dates as yet. Other possible topics include a rerun of a day on Archetypes in Play Therapy and The relationship of Embodiment, Projection and Role play to Sensory, Constructive and Narrative Play. If there are any other particular areas you would like training on, please e mail us at cooptuk@gmail.com