Woven Roots Therapeutic Practice

25/02/2026

🌿 Interoception and Emotional Regulation — Key Insights for Supporting Children

A recent feasibility study explored whether an interoception-based intervention could support emotional regulation for children in a special education classroom. The findings offer important implications for therapists, educators, and anyone supporting neurodivergent or traumatised children.

✨ Interoception is foundational for emotional regulation
Interoception is our ability to notice and interpret internal body signals (e.g., heart rate, hunger, tension, breathing). This internal awareness plays a central role in understanding and responding to emotional experiences.

✨ Regulation differences often reflect body awareness differences
Children who experience differences in noticing or interpreting body signals may move into states of overwhelm without clear warning cues, which can lead to meltdowns, shutdowns, anxiety, or behavioural responses that are sometimes misunderstood by adults.

✨ Body-focused approaches can strengthen regulation capacity
A 7-week intervention focusing on noticing sensations in different body parts (without directly teaching emotions) led to improvements in both interoceptive awareness and emotional regulation capacity.

✨ You don’t always need to teach emotions directly
Interestingly, the programme did not explicitly teach emotion words or coping strategies — yet emotional regulation improved. This suggests that supporting children to understand their bodies may naturally support emotional development.

✨ Applicable across diverse neurotypes
Positive changes were seen in children with mixed learning and developmental profiles, including autism, learning differences, and emotional needs.

✨ Why this matters
Many behaviour-focused approaches target outward actions rather than underlying nervous system processes. Supporting interoception addresses foundational mechanisms rather than just surface behaviours.

🌱 Key takeaway:
To regulate emotions, children first need opportunities to recognise and understand what is happening inside their bodies.

📚 Reference
Mahler et al. (2024). An Interoception-Based Intervention for Improving Emotional Regulation in Children in a Special Education Classroom: Feasibility Study. Occupational Therapy in Health Care.

25/02/2026

🌿 The “Too Much” and “Not Enough” Paradox in Autistic and Neurodivergent Experience

One of the powerful ideas I’ve been reflecting on in the neurodiversity journal is how autistic and neurodivergent children often live within a nervous system paradox:

At the same time as feeling too much, they can also feel not enough.

✨ Too much-ness
• Sensory overload
• Social overwhelm
• Being misunderstood
• The enormous energy spent coping, masking, and “seeming okay”
• Feeling that something needs to stop or change right now

✨ Not enough-ness
• Not enough energy or resources
• Not enough understanding or support
• Not enough sense of safety or solidity in the body
• Not enough predictability or protection

From the outside, behaviour may look inconsistent or confusing — but when we understand this paradox, it makes sense.

A child can be:
👉 overwhelmed and depleted
👉 overloaded and under-supported
👉 coping hard and running out of capacity

And this often shows up clinically in play therapy. These experiences are frequently communicated through symbolic play themes.

📚 Reference
Daniel, S., Mahler, K., Ray, D. C., Sharp, K., Clairy, K., Inderbizen, S. M., Laurent, A. C., Fede, J. H., & Delafield-Butt, J. T. (2025). Sensory-processing informed autism practice for child-centred therapists. Research in Neurodiversity.

25/02/2026

🌿 Sensory Stability in the Therapy Room — Practical Guidance for Therapists

This journal article offers helpful reminders for anyone working with children — particularly neurodivergent children or those with trauma histories. It explores sensory-processing-informed autism practice within child-centred therapy, highlighting the importance of “sensory stability” in the therapy environment as a key foundation for regulation, engagement, and relational safety.

When a child’s nervous system is already working hard, the environment itself can either support regulation or increase overwhelm. Small adjustments can make a significant difference.

Here are some key considerations across the sensory systems:

✨ Auditory (sound)
• Keep background noise low where possible
• Reduce unpredictable or sudden sounds (e.g., electronics buzzing, hallway noise)
• Consider whether simple environments or noise-reducing headphones may help
• Use a calm, steady vocal tone — our voices are part of the sensory environment
• Supplement verbal instructions with visual supports if helpful

✨ Visual (sight)
• Avoid harsh, bright, flickering, or fluorescent lighting where possible
• Keep lighting warm and low initially, with options to increase if needed
• Reduce visual clutter and overly busy décor
• Be cautious with LEDs, strip lights, or strong colour contrasts
• Provide a contained “safe space” (e.g., tent, den, cosy corner) if available

✨ Haptic (touch)
• Respect individual differences in comfort with touch — preferences vary widely
• Avoid initiating physical contact unless appropriate and welcomed
• Offer textures, tactile toys, playdough, or fidget items to support embodiment
• Provide choices so children feel control over sensory experiences

✨ Olfactory (smell)
• Keep the room well ventilated and neutral in scent
• Avoid strong perfumes, air fresheners, or scented products
• Recognise that smells can either soothe or overwhelm depending on the child

✨ Proprioceptive & Vestibular (body awareness and movement)
• Provide access to movement and deep pressure options (weighted items, cushions, soft seating)
• Offer different body positions — floor, chair, beanbag, enclosed spaces
• Movement and body input often support emotional regulation and organisation

✨ The therapist is part of the environment
Our pacing, presence, tone, and nervous system state are powerful regulators. Sensory stability is relational as well as physical.

Ultimately, sensory-aware environments communicate:
“You are safe here. Your body is welcome here.”

— which is foundational for therapeutic work.

📚 Reference
Daniel, S., Mahler, K., Ray, D. C., Sharp, K., Clairy, K., Inderbizen, S. M., Laurent, A. C., Fede, J. H., & Delafield-Butt, J. T. (2025). Sensory-processing informed autism practice for child-centred therapists. Research in Neurodiversity.

25/02/2026

Sensory processing differences are incredibly common in neurodivergent children.

Research suggests many autistic children — and children with ADHD — experience sensory input more intensely than their neurotypical peers. This can affect attention, regulation, comfort, and participation in everyday environments.

What can look like behaviour is often a nervous system response.

Understanding sensory needs helps us respond with curiosity and support rather than correction.

📚 Tomchek & Dunn (2007)

24/02/2026

🌿 Sensory-Informed Autism Practice in Child-Centred Therapy — Key Insights

I’ve been reading a the new paper exploring how child-centred therapists can better support autistic children by understanding sensory processing and nervous system regulation. It offers practical, neurodiversity-affirming guidance that aligns closely with relational and play-based work.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

✨ Most autistic children experience sensory differences
• Over 90% of autistic children have sensory processing variations across the eight senses (including interoception — the sense of internal body signals).
• These differences can significantly impact regulation, behaviour, learning, and relationships. 

✨ Dysregulation is often the baseline — not the exception
• Many autistic children live with chronic nervous system activation (hyper-arousal or shutdown).
• What may appear as behaviour is often a nervous system response to sensory overload or confusion. 

✨ The “double empathy” perspective matters
• Communication differences between autistic and non-autistic people are bidirectional — not deficits within the autistic child.
• Therapists need to reflect on their own neurotype assumptions and biases. 

✨ Five areas for sensory-informed therapeutic adaptation
The paper proposes practical areas therapists can adjust without losing non-directive principles:
• Creating sensory-stable therapy environments
• Adapting voice, movement, and interaction style
• Using behavioural empathy rather than assuming emotions
• Supporting interoceptive awareness through playful mindfulness
• Helping children develop personalised feeling vocabularies 

✨ Emotion labelling isn’t always helpful
• For some autistic children, traditional emotion labels can be confusing or even harmful if they don’t match lived experience.
• Observing and reflecting behaviour (“your hands are moving fast”) can be more accurate and validating than naming feelings. 

✨ Interoception is central to regulation
• Understanding body signals — hunger, tiredness, overwhelm, pain — is foundational to emotional regulation and wellbeing.
• Therapy can gently support this awareness through play and curiosity. 

✨ Child-centred therapy can be powerful when adapted
• Sensory-informed adaptations can deepen connection and reduce dysregulation while preserving the child’s autonomy and agency. 

💭 What resonates most is the reminder that behaviour is communication — and that regulation, safety, and connection must come before interpretation or intervention.

📚 Reference
Daniel, S., Mahler, K., Ray, D. C., Sharp, K., Clairy, K., Inderbitzen, S. M., Laurenti, A. C., Fede, J. H., & Delafield-Butt, J. T. (2026). Sensory-processing informed autism practice for child-centred therapists. Research in Neurodiversity, 2, 100015.

24/02/2026

24/02/2026

There is a concept in public policy called ‘administrative burden’.

It describes something many people experience but rarely have language for — the hidden effort involved in accessing support, services, or rights.

Administrative burden isn’t just about forms. It includes three types of cost:

• Learning costs — understanding eligibility, processes, and requirements
• Compliance costs — completing tasks like paperwork, evidence gathering, appointments, printing, or submissions
• Psychological costs — stress, stigma, fear of mistakes, feeling judged, or navigating power imbalances

One of the most important insights from this research is:

People don’t just experience policies — they experience the process of accessing them.

And that process itself can shape outcomes.

When systems assume high levels of organisation, literacy, executive functioning, time, and energy, barriers increase — particularly for disabled, neurodivergent, chronically ill, or socially disadvantaged populations. Even when individuals are fully eligible, complexity alone can reduce access.

This isn’t about personal capability.
It’s about structural design.

Understanding administrative burden helps shift the narrative from:
“Why is this so hard for me?”
to:
“This system is demanding significant cognitive and emotional resources.”

compassion while navigating systems often begins with recognising the invisible load people may be carrying.

📚 References

Moynihan, D. P., Herd, P., & Harvey, H. (2015). Administrative burden: Learning, psychological, and compliance costs in citizen–state interactions. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 25(1), 43–69.

22/02/2026

Vicarious Resilience: When Trauma Work Changes Us — and Strengthens Us

Professionals who work closely with trauma — therapists, social workers, counsellors, and helping professionals — are often aware about the risks of burnout and vicarious trauma. And these risks are real. Empathically engaging with painful experiences can affect our bodies, emotions, and worldview.

However, research also highlights something equally important: vicarious resilience.

Through meaningful therapeutic relationships and witnessing clients’ survival, growth, and healing, practitioners often develop increased resilience, perspective, and personal meaning. Rather than only being impacted by the work, many professionals experience:

• A deeper sense of purpose
• Greater emotional awareness
• Personal and spiritual growth
• Stronger professional identity
• Renewed appreciation for human resilience

Protective factors that support this process include clinical supervision, collegial support, reflective practice, humour, spirituality, and ongoing learning.

The research also reminds us that stress in trauma work does not exist only within the individual practitioner. It occurs across multiple layers:

• Within the therapist themselves
• In the therapeutic relationship
• Within organisational systems and expectations

When supportive networks and reflective spaces are present, the same empathetic engagement that creates vulnerability can also become a source of strength.

Reference
Pack, M. (2014). Vicarious resilience: A multilayered model of stress and trauma. Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, 29(1), 18–29.

18/02/2026

Sonny Jane Wise describes visual stimming in a way I hadn’t previously seen conceptualised. It refers to repetitive or sensory-seeking visual behaviours that help regulate the nervous system. This might include watching moving objects, focusing on patterns, lights, colours, spinning items, or repetitive visual motion. Rather than being “distracting” or something to stop, these behaviours often serve an important purpose.

For neurodivergent children and adults, visual input can help calm the nervous system, increase focus and attention, reduce overwhelm, provide predictable sensory feedback, and support emotional regulation.

In play therapy, understanding visual stimming can shift our responses from correction to curiosity. Instead of asking how to reduce a behaviour, we can consider what the nervous system may be needing. Incorporating visual sensory experiences intentionally — such as movement toys, light patterns, bubbles, sand play, or creative materials — can support regulation in a safe and validating way.

When children feel permitted to regulate in ways that work for their brain and body, we often see greater engagement, flexibility, and emotional safety emerge.

18/02/2026

I’ve been exploring The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills by Sonny Jane Wise, and reflecting on how DBT-informed approaches can complement play therapy when working directly with neurodivergent children.

For many neurodivergent children, regulation challenges are not solely about motivation or behaviour. They are often linked to nervous system load, sensory processing, interoception, and emotional awareness developing in unique ways. Integrating DBT-informed strategies within play allows skills to be experienced rather than taught cognitively.

Mindfulness, for example, does not have to mean sitting still or focusing on breathing. It can involve noticing sensations while playing, tracking body signals during movement, observing thoughts through storytelling, recognising overwhelm during relational play, or practising compassionate self-talk through characters. When skills are embedded in play, learning happens through the body, relationship, and experience — not just language.

One DBT concept that can be particularly helpful is Wise Mind — the integration of emotional mind and rational mind. Through metaphor and play, children can explore head, heart, and body awareness, supporting self-trust, flexibility, and decision-making.

This integration can support emotional awareness, recognising early overload signals, flexible coping, intentional choices, and self-compassion over time.

Play therapy can draw on DBT approaches more directly at times, using additional scaffolding to help children gradually build a toolkit while still honouring their neurodevelopmental profile.



Image credit: PlantKindThoughts

18/02/2026

I’ve been exploring a sensory profile exercise from ‘The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills’ by Sonny Jane Wise, and the profile wheel stood out as a simple but powerful tool that can be used with neurodivergent clients.

One of the things I appreciate about this type of exercise is that it moves regulation away from “behaviour management” and towards nervous system understanding.

Many neurodivergent children, young people, and adults are not dysregulated because they lack coping skills — they are dysregulated because their sensory system is overloaded, under-stimulated, or working harder than others realise.

Mapping sensory experiences across areas like sound, touch, interoception, movement, and visual input can help clients:

• identify triggers earlier
• understand why certain environments feel exhausting
• recognise strengths as well as challenges
• develop personalised regulation strategies
• increase self-compassion (“my brain isn’t broken — it’s responding”)

It also creates a shared language between therapist and client, which can strengthen collaboration and reduce shame.

For therapists, this kind of directive activity can be particularly helpful when:
– clients struggle with emotional literacy
– regulation feels inconsistent or unpredictable
– sensory overwhelm contributes to meltdowns or shutdown
– interoceptive awareness is heightened or confusing

When clients understand their sensory profile, regulation often becomes more proactive rather than reactive.

A small exercise, but potentially a big shift in self-understanding.

If you work with neurodivergent clients, sensory mapping tools can be a valuable addition to therapeutic practice.

18/02/2026

One of the valuable ideas from Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform Our Health by Daisy Fancourt is that the benefits we get from art don’t come from it being purely comforting or purely challenging.

They come from tension.

The sweet spot is a balance between familiarity and complexity.

Too familiar → the brain gets bored.
Too complex → the brain feels overwhelmed.

But when something is just challenging enough, while still recognisable, our nervous system becomes engaged in a deeply regulating way — the pleasure of tension resolution.

This is true for:
🎵 Music
📚 Books
🎨 Visual art
🎭 Theatre
🧩 Creative play

And it is also true in therapy.

Growth often happens in that same space — where something feels safe enough, but new enough to expand us.

For children and adults, play naturally creates this balance. Creativity can reopen it.

We don’t heal only through comfort.
We heal through experiences that are safe — and stretching — at the same time. Enough “ease and challenge”.

Creativity is not a luxury.
It is part of how human brains regulate, learn, and transform.