Play Therapy Intervention: Excavating Hard Things

Children with big behaviors have often experienced hard things that leave them with disjointed images, intrusive sense memories, sudden attachment ruptures, and overwhelming feelings of terror or helplessness.

After these scary experiences, a vacuum of silence often remains. Caregivers are unavailable or so steeped in their own shame or other big emotions that they do not provide structured stories to their children. These children need interventions that help bring the hard story in the room and that build a coherent narrative.