Theraplay® informed practice uses practitioner guidance to create playful and caring child-adult interactions that foster joyful shared experiences. These activities build attunement and understanding of each other – replicating early relationship experiences that are proven to lead to secure attachment.

Theraplay® informed interactions focus on four essential qualities found in healthy parent-child relationships

Structure: The adult, the leader in the relationship, creates organization and predictability for the child which communicates safety

Nurture: The adult provides caring that can calm and soothe the child in a manner that makes them feel good physically and emotionally.

Engagement: The adult is present in a manner that the child experiences being seen, heard, felt, and accepted

Challenge: The adult supports the child in the acquisition and mastery of new skills, enhancing the child’s sense of competence and confidence

With the support of the Theraplay® informed practitioner, parents learn to play with their child in a way that establishes felt safety, increases social engagement, expands arousal regulation, and supports the development of positive self-esteem for both the child and the parent.

Theraplay® is typically suitable for children aged between 2 and 12 however this can be modified for younger and older children.

The sessions are generally structured as follows-

Session 1: Intake- an initial meeting will be held with the parent/s in order to gain their understanding of Theraplay®, ensure that Theraplay® remains appropriate and to gain more information regarding the parents, family and the presenting issues.

Session 2: Structured observation of the parent and child informed by the Marschak Interaction Method: This allows the Theraplay® practitioner to properly formulate a treatment plan and assess the existing strengths and difficulties within the parent/child relationship.

Session 3: A parent feedback and demonstration session: providing the parent/s with feedback from their MIM and preparing them for their first Theraplay® session with their child.

Following these initial meetings, Theraplay® can then begin in earnest. This will proceed with Theraplay® informed sessions with both the parent/s and child. After three Theraplay® sessions, an independent session with the parents will then be held to reflect on the progress and any issues within the home. Theraplay® will then proceed following this pattern, with three Theraplay® sessions followed by a parent session.

It would be estimated that most families would require a total of 25 sessions (including the initial preparation sessions) and subsequently may require 2-3 ‘top-up sessions’.

Theraplay® addresses the underlying relational disconnect that feeds a wide variety of presenting problems. It is an essential tool to ensure that every client has a secure base of attachment

Group Theraplay® can occur within the format of groups of children (nurture groups) or family groups (multiple adults and children)

The MIM is a structured technique for observing and assessing the relationship between an adult and child. It observes the strengths and needs of the adult, child and relationship

Theraplay® is a registered service mark of The Theraplay Institute, 1224 W. Belmont Avenue, FL 1, Chicago, IL 60657, USA