Play As Therapy in Armstrong Creek | Not a business

Play As Therapy

Locality: Armstrong Creek

Phone: +61 457 726 777

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24.01.2022 Im learning more and more that knowledge really is power Ive been on a HUGE learning curve about child development, brain development, the necessity of a good enough carer in every childs life from birth to adulthood and that it really does take a village to raise a child. Education should be available for parents & carers before conception. We have birthing classes but what about those vital times after a baby is born and brain development is at its greatest? Attun...ement, mirroring, healthy touch are all imperative for healthy development. Just like kids, we cant assume parents are just going to know what to do with a developing newborn. Wouldnt it be great if we could explicitly teach, discuss and model strategies around this. As I share info about play with all ages, beginning with infants, feel free to share this page with parents, carers and educators who you think will be interested or benefit. This is NOT about self promotion and I dont profess to know it all (far from it!) but I do believe spreading the word is a good start See more

23.01.2022 Why is play the most appropriate way to engage and facilitate therapy with children? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reJpo-GaopM&feature=youtu.be

15.01.2022 Since starting my journey on the Play Therapy road, I have learnt so much and so much of it I wish I hadve known before as a parent and as an educator. Ive started this page to share snippets of my learning and hopefully to start discussions around this incredibly important work. You wont get lengthy posts but hopefully what I do share will spark an interest, educate and inspire. Ill keep things as user friendly and practical as possible.

13.01.2022 When I mention that I am studying Play Therapy, many educators associate this directly with Development Curriculum. It is important to distinguish between the two. This short video explains the work of the Play Therapist. https://vimeo.com/226218077

11.01.2022 Much of the early work in learning about play therapy has centred around brain structure and development, as early as conception. A simple model of the brain involves dividing it into 3 parts, otherwise known as the triune brain. The tree parts are: Brainstem: survival brain Limbic System: feeling brain Neocortex: thinking brain.... The brain develops hierarchically from the lowest and simplest part (survival brain) to the larger more complex part (thinking brain). Daniel Siegel is a name synonymous with teaching about all things brain. He has many youtube clips and a facebook page with many excellent resources for parents, educators, clinicians- anyone really with a brain (pardon the pun lol :) Below is a link to Dr. Siegels explanation and demonstration of the hand model of the brain which allows us to link the abstract to the kinesthetic/visual. I hope you find it useful. See more

01.01.2022 NEUROPLASTICITY Neuroplasticity= the brains ability to rewire or reorganise itself in response to a stimulus. In this post I draw on the work of Nadine Burke Harris. I highly recommend her book: The Deepest Well: Healing the lifetime effects of childhood adversity.... There are some critical times in a humans development when experiences, or lack of, results in irreversible changes. There are also sensitive periods when the brain is particularly responsive to a stimulus in the environment, but unlike the critical periods, the window for change doesnt close. For example, there is a sensitive period when it is easier to pick up another language or languages even. Critical and sensory periods are times of maximal neuroplasticity. The past several decades in neuroscience research shows that prenatal & early childhood offer special windows of opportunity. It is important to understand that there are 2 types of neuroplasticity: SYNAPTIC & CELLULAR Synaptic: the change in strength of connections in the brain. These are lifelong. Cellular: change in number of brain cells talking to each other. In the first years of life, 90% of brain development occurs before the child turns 6, with the rest stretching out to 25 years of age. Babies are born with an over-supply of brain cells and the brain goes through a pruning process. The brain cells that are not used get pruned whilst the ones that are used grow and strengthen. Brains are always changing in response to experiences. The growing and changing of neurons & synapses can happen in response to injury, exercise, hormones, emotion, learning and even thinking. Our experiences both positive and harmful determine which brain pathways are activated and continue to strengthen over time. EARLY EXPERIENCES LITERALLY SHAPE THE BRAIN. Early adversity (can be identified by ACEs but more on that next post) activates the the brain pathways associated with vigilance, poor impulse control, increased fear and inhibition of executive functioning...BUT...early identification of these allows us to intervene in times of high level synaptic and cellular plasticity. Hormones (testosterone, oestrogen, oxytocin) play a huge role in these windows of opportunities for rewiring the brain: during adolescence, pregnancy & new parenthood. These times are considered to be additional sensitive periods. It is proposed that the most effective way to rewire the brain is to implement early interventions that help to prevent the stress response system from becoming dysregulated and to support practices that buffer the stress response, including adequate sleep, exercise and meditation.