Play
A child's main language, and one of the most reliable indicators of how they are.
How it shows up
Children don’t talk about what’s hard — they play it out. A repeating motif in play after a divorce or a loss says more than the question »how do you feel«.
What we do with it in therapy
Working with a family, we watch the play and I help parents read what the child is communicating through it. In adults too, the loss of playfulness is often one of the first signs that things have been too hard for too long.
See also
Solitude
Time without others which — unlike loneliness — is chosen and often needed.
Cortisol
The hormone that keeps the body on standby over the long term — useful in a burst, burdensome as a constant flow.
Schema therapy
An approach working with deep patterns formed in childhood, and with the ways we defend against them.
