Holly's Haven

28/06/2025

How Play Therapy Can Help Children with PTSD:

When children experience trauma, their feelings often live in the body and in play—long before they can be put into words. Play therapy provides a safe, consistent space where children can express and process what they have experienced without the pressure to talk.

In child-centred play therapy, we don’t ask children to relive their trauma. Instead, we offer them the freedom to play it out at their own pace, in their own way—helping to restore a sense of safety, choice and connection.

Through the therapeutic relationship and symbolic play, healing begins.

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28/06/2025

Play Therapy is a structured, evidence-based, trauma-informed modality which is grounded in neuroscience, child development, play development, developmental psycho-pathology, including attachment theory, mental health, social and emotional wellbeing, disability and trauma and therapeutic theory.

It is not ‘just playing’ it is the child natural form of language for working through their experiences, complex emotions, trauma, grief, anxiety and behavioural challenges.

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03/06/2025

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT) is committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion for all and ensuring that no individual or group of individuals is discriminated against in the planning and delivery of any of our activities. We therefore aim to ensure that the values of equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded in everything we do, as an organisation as an employee or a member.
With acceptance, equality and celebration we interact, communicate, practice and strive to be inclusive.

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27/05/2025

Children who visit a Play Therapist are likely to have experienced some form of trauma. This could be a one-off trauma or cumulative.

When the trauma is cumulative in nature, happens early in life and by adults who the child relies upon to survive, it can affect the child's brain development. This disordered brain development can cause a child to expect all adults to be scary and dangerous. This fear impacts their ability to make relationships with others whom they come into contact with.

In Play Therapy, a considerable emphasis is placed upon the therapist's ability to create a safe, permissive environment where children are able to express themselves freely through the play.

It's through this relationship that the therapist shows nurture towards the child, engages and shows interest in what the child does, and enjoys having conversations with the child.

Through these interactions the child begins to learn that some adults are safe and can be trusted to keep them so. These safe adults become like a lighthouse in a storm for the child, until the child can generalise these experiences to other adults in their lives.

26/04/2025

In Play Therapy, children are given the space to express what words cannot always reach.

Through play and creative expression, they can explore their feelings, thoughts and experiences in a safe, supportive environment — at their own pace, in their own way.

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26/04/2025

Children often can't put their feelings into words, but they can express what’s happening in their world through play.

Because children's language development often lags behind their cognitive development, play becomes their primary way of processing emotions, experiences and relationships. In play therapy, we meet children where they are—allowing them to explore and make sense of their world in a safe, developmentally appropriate space.

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26/04/2025

15/03/2025

Today is World Sleep Day. The theme this year is 'make sleep health a priority'.

We know that lack of sleep has a significant impact on our physical and mental health.

There are many ways to support healthy sleep such as:

- Consistent Sleep Schedule: go to bed at the same time each night.

- Relaxing Bedtime Routine:
Establish a calming routine before bed, such as taking a warm bath, reading a book, or listening to relaxing music.
This signals to your body that it's time to wind down and prepare for sleep.

Comfortable Sleep Environment:
Ensure your bedroom is dark, quiet, and cool (around 65 degrees Fahrenheit).
Use blackout curtains or an eye mask, earplugs, or a white noise machine to minimize distractions.

Limit Screen Time Before Bed:
Avoid using electronic devices (phones, tablets, computers) for at least 30-60 minutes before bedtime, as the blue light emitted from screens can interfere with melatonin production, a hormone that regulates sleep.

Avoid Caffeine Before Bed:
Caffeine is a stimulant that can interfere with sleep, so avoid it in the afternoon and evening.

Regular Exercise:
Engage in regular physical activity, but avoid strenuous exercise close to bedtime, as it can make it harder to fall asleep.

Healthy Diet:
Eat a balanced diet and avoid heavy meals or sugary snacks before bed, as they can disrupt sleep.

Don't Use Bed for Activities Other Than Sleep:
Associate your bed with sleep and relaxation, rather than other activities like watching TV or working.

Don't Stay in Bed If You Can't Sleep:
If you're unable to fall asleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something relaxing, then return to bed when you feel sleepy.

15/03/2025

The window of tolerance is a concept from trauma-informed work that describes the optimal zone in which a child can experience and respond to stress, emotions, and external stimuli. When within this window, children can process their emotions more easily, think clearly, and respond to situations.

When a child experiences too much stress or overwhelming emotions, they may go outside of their window of tolerance, either into hyperarousal (where they become overly anxious, reactive, or agitated) or hypoarousal (where they become numb, shut down, or dissociative).

The goal in therapy or emotional regulation work is to help children stay within or return to their window of tolerance, where they feel grounded and in control.

15/03/2025

There are lots of ways sensory overload can affect how we interact in the world have some here that might not be immediately obvious