Healing from adverse childhood experiences through therapeutic powers of play: “I can do it with my hands”.

Abstract

Children who live through adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are likely to encounter negative health outcomes in adulthood. Using a qualitative retrospective approach, the authors explored how experiences with play and expressive and creative arts served as a protective factor for adults who were exposed to ACEs. Researchers recruited 10 adults aged 25 years and older who reported four or more ACEs on a modified ACE inventory (e.g., Pliske, 2020) and did not experience negative outcomes to well-being, such as behavioral, physical, or chronic health conditions. Participants completed a structured family history interview and a semistructured interview. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using grounded theory constant comparative methods. Participants noted that play and the arts provided a context for identity formation and integration of emotional and cognitive processing in relation to early trauma. Participants described how activating therapeutic powers of play, in the forms of selfexpression, indirect teaching (learning through metaphor), emotional catharsis, abreaction, stress management, self-esteem, and creative problem-solving (Schaefer & Drewes, 2014), attenuated the long-term impact of ACEs exposure. Play created a context for self-expression, self-care, and healing that promoted the development of posttraumatic growth following childhood trauma. Implications for intervention and social policy are discussed.

Are you and your dog competent? Integrating animal-assisted play therapy competencies.

“…Play therapists bear witness to some of the most depraving human experiences through the eyes of children. Animal partners assist play therapists in activating therapeutic powers of play to create long lasting change (Pliske, 2020). Although there is considerable training, time, and commitment to working with an animal partner, incorporating animals into the playroom can be incredibly rewarding for children and play therapists alike.…”

“…Although safety is a critical element of ethical HAIs, and dogs must be properly socialized and engage in sessions with behavioral control, a canine partner’s authentic expression of animal behavior and emotion can be expressed. A play therapist can gain a complex set of evaluative data regarding their child client or the session process through an unscripted and authentic reflection by the animal as a result of observing the child–animal interactions (Pliske & Balboa, 2019). The animal’s heightened senses to attend the internal state of the child or play therapist can be communicated through significant human–animal relational moments (Chandler, 2019) to the trained animal-assisted play therapist.…”