Useful links
Many links and theories below and used in play therapy and helping us to understanding children.
Play therapy begins in quadrant 3 with any young person: the Non Intrusive responding. This is allowing the child to play through their own world view, not attempting to push any adult led agenda onto the child.
If a child speaks of things in the real world outside of the play, this brings it into Active Utlisation and allows the therapist to consider moving things into Discussion and Exploration at some stage.
In the Co Facilitation stage the therapist uses metaphor through story telling, creative visualisation to explore topics in the unconscious.
These are the fundamental principles of play therapy throughout all the quadrants above.
Polyvagal chart shows the fight, flight, freeze mechanism and how it can present in young people. There is now considered to be a fourth response of Fawn, where a young person gives in, people pleases and is compliant.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a vital tool to be able to explore where our young people might be at the point of therapy and think about what may or may not be in place to allow them to reach self actualisation at the top of the pyramid.
Upstairs downstairs brain - this helps us to think about where we need to meet a child.
Living with Neurodiversity – Autism Oxford UK Ltd
Neurodevelopmental CAMHS video links:
Helping a young person managing with anxiety
NDC- Pre-assessment Anxiety video - YouTube
Helping a child with emotional dysregulation
NDC Pre-assessment emotional regulation video - YouTube
Helping a child with challenging behaviours
NDC pre-assessment Aggression video - YouTube
Helping a child with self harming behaviours
Trauma and ADHD have a huge overlap and are often mistaken, this diagram (from Sunshine Support) helpfully shows how many things are in common between the two.
PACE model by Dan Hughes (Credit @creative.clinical.psychologist)
A widely effective tool for use with young people (or indeed anyone) who are dysregulated and needs connection to reframe.
Window of Tolerance by Dan Siegel
This theory describes the best state of 'arousal' or stimulation in which we are able to function and thrive in everyday life. When we exist in this window we are able to learn effectively, play, and relate to ourselves and others.
Trauma is stored in implicit memory (sensory memory, smells, sights, sounds) and in the body.
The importance of play.
We won't always remember the details of the experiences we have but what we do remember is how it made us feel.
It's also really important to remember, that even if a trauma occurs when a baby, we still remember it. We still have a functioning nervous system.
Play in therapy, including role play, story making, projective play with toys and art making give children a tool through which they can process their emotions and experiences.
Because the play is metaphorical, we create distance from the trauma. We reduce risk of overwhelm.
In other words, the child doesn't have to talk directly about their experience, but they can utilise characters, symbols and metaphors to express their story.
Play also stimulates the production of opioids and oxytocin, which give a sense of calm and safety and can have a long-term impact of reducing the stress response in the brain and nervous system (it calms the stress response reducing fight or flight responses).
Oxytocin also helps to build powerful relationships, supporting the child to build a positive and trusting therapeutic relationship.
In the therapeutic relationship, the child can experience connection with an adult who can validate, empathise with and understand their feelings and experiences.
They can learn to trust in others where trust may have previously been lost, allowing them to believe others too can be trustworthy. This enhances their potential of forming further social connections, which research tells us can lead to longer lives, better health and emotional wellbeing.
(Credit: a;kfhr)