If you’ve been considering bringing your child to Play Therapy for the first time, or you’re preparing for their first session, the question of how to talk about Play Therapy to your child has probably crossed your mind. We are sure that you want this to be a good experience for your child, and you also want to be honest about what Play Therapy is really about—it’s not a bad thing, and it doesn’t mean they have something “wrong” with them! How to communicate all there is to know about starting therapy can be daunting, so this is why Gabi has created a social story for her new clients, for those who would benefit from a more visual and structured explanation of Play Therapy.

The Real Work is so excited to celebrate the licensure of our amazing teammate, Gabi Rookard, LCSW!! Learn more about Gabi here!

It is often more helpful to “talk” to the feeling part of the brain rather than the thinking part! We can do this by providing reflections to our children. So what are reflections? Reflections are when you simply state what you think your child is experiencing or feeling. You can think of yourself as a mirror to the child as you simply reflect what you feel or observe. (This is easier said than done!) Reflecting your child’s feeling is often (but not always) enough to help regulate your child’s nervous system. Children become regulated when they feel seen and “feel felt” by a safe adult. Here are a few examples of reflections you can make:

Remember to focus on providing your child with information that is truthful, honest and straightforward, while also developmentally appropriate. This means you do not want to “sugar coat” what you tell them about divorce (“Mommy and daddy are living away from each other for a little while”) but instead should be direct (“Mommy and daddy are getting divorced. Divorce means we will no longer be married. We will not be getting back together.”) However, this does not mean that you need to give them every detail or bring them into adult conversations or topics.

Struggling to connect with your child, and worried that this is affecting your relationship and their health and wellbeing? Research in the field of attachment gives you six things you can do starting now with your child daily in order to build resilience.

Resources for parents of kids with neurodevelopmental differences

Children’s books about death, loss, and divorce to friendship, bullies, and mental health.

This Self-Check was created by Rebekah Springs based on literature around healthy parenting and common stressors experienced by parents, drawn on from the Infant Mental Health program’s coursework at Portland State University.

It all begins with an idea.