about me

Hello! I'm Adeline Chang (she/her)

I’m passionate about working with young ones, to process challenging experiences and evolve into healthier, more self-confident versions of themselves.

Children often internalise highly critical / unhealthy messages of themeselves without us knowing. These beliefs can feel like absolute truth for our kids, and they come to shape their entire world.

I’ve been in the same shoes:

“I don’t belong” – I felt constantly like my friends fit together in a way that I did not.
“I don’t need love” – I was happy being the listening ear for friends; I didn’t have anyone I trusted to talk to, but I believed I was different.

As a result of this, I only realised I needed friendship after I hit my early 20s! It might sound unbelievable, but that’s just how strong my inner messages were.

Working with kids in child-centred play therapy provides the opportunity to challenge unhealthy beliefs without needing to talk about them. Instead, we use the medium of play to process their feelings, needs, and experiences, and change these beliefs from the inside-out.

How my passion developed

The starting point was teaching in a special education school,

where I worked with children with autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities. Their no-holds-barred honesty sometimes hurt, but also impressed and touched me.

I began recognising that children spoke a different language. One filtered not by words and cognition, but via play and actions.

This lesson continued to repeat itself. Week after week, the kids I led in forest school showed me the power of becoming confident and resilient at their own pace, supported by a nurturing environment. Similarly, my piano kids could not be rushed in growing their love for the instrument, but they could and were stifled when pressured. When I shifted focus back to fostering their personal connection and respecting their uniqueness, they softened and blossomed.

When I completed specialist training in child-centred play therapy, all the pieces fell into place. The set of skills to support children in a clinical setting are different, but the underlying principles remain the same. Respect, nurture, trust – and the evidence shows that these are effective at making the change we seek for our children.

I'm commited to serve kids and families, and to keep growing.

Advanced Clinical Training in Child Centred Play Therapy (Aus)

Master of Counselling

PGDip Counselling Psychology

Certified EFT Practitioner (EFTi)

I continue to undertake supervision with one of the longest-standing leaders in the field of child-centred play therapy, Dr. Bill Nordling.