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Exclaiming “jelly and ice cream!” in a series of different voices, picking compliments for someone using words beginning with the letters of their name, and pulling funny faces in a game of ‘follow the leader’.
Jessica Weidel certainly delivered on her promise to deliver an interactive online session for the Action Trauma Network! On 14th March, Certified Theraplay® Therapist, Trainer and Supervisor Jessica Weidel LMHC joined us live from Washington in the USA to deliver one of our most popular webinars to date.
Developed over 50 years ago, Theraplay® is a dyadic child and family therapy, designed for professionals to support healthy attachment between child(ren) and caregiver(s). They describe it as “a child and family modality of play therapy for building and enhancing attachment, self-esteem, trust in others, and joyful engagement”.
Therapists guide and support parents/caregivers and children in activities and games which range from fun to challenging to tender and nurturing.
Jessica delivered an engaging presentation on attachment and trauma which included a basic introduction to the modality, clinical video examples of treatment, and interactive group activities. This blog summarises the key takeaways of this value-packed webinar.
Therapists guide and support parents/caregivers and children in activities and games which range from fun to challenging to tender and nurturing.
Jessica delivered an engaging presentation on attachment and trauma which included a basic introduction to the modality, clinical video examples of treatment, and interactive group activities. This blog summarises the key takeaways of this value-packed webinar.
Video 1: Theraplay® founder Phyllis leads a session with a young boy and his mother
This snippet depicted a physical play activity, followed by some sensory work, sharing a bag of crunchy snacks. It provided a demonstration of the following characteristics of the approach:
Our delegates’ observations of the session included:
“Physical, involving a lot of contact”
“Therapist invites Mum to participate”
“Sensory, body-focused, physical”
“Child and parent seem to be having fun”
“Senses are engaged”
“Sitting on the floor”
The science of Theraplay®
Some of the key foundational theories underpinning the approach:
Theraplay®’s four dimensions of healthy attachment
Structure
In a healthy relationship, a parent/caregiver provides the following for a child and the child receives regulation from that structure:
How practitioners support structure:
Engagement
Characterised by physical connection, such as touch and eye contact, engagement shows the caregiver can understand and reflect what the child is feeling. Using social engagement provides:
How practitioners support engagement:
Nurture
Physical touch including soothing actions allow the child to develop and experience feelings of:
How practitioners support nurture:
Challenge
In a healthy relationship, an adult understands where their child is developmentally and how to help them grow. E.g. holding your hands out and using encouraging words to help a child take their first steps. Challenge fosters the following for children:
