Polyvagal Theory in the Playroom
| BRENT MOORE, PHD, MBA, LCPC, RPT & REBECA CHOW, PHD, LCPC, RPT-S
mental health disorder, but only about 20% of those children received care from a mental health provider (CDC, 2022). Current research shows that
C requests for emergency child and/or teen counseling
services have increased by 40% from the previous year (Chatterjee, 2022). Increases in children needing mental health support raises the need for play therapists to be aware of the importance of regulating the autonomic nervous system in the playroom while treating mood disorders. As children grow older, the likelihood of being diagnosed with
20 | PLAYTHERAPY | Spetember 2022 |
www.a4pt.org
hildren and teens are approaching three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and mood disorders and the demand for play therapy services are at an all-time high. Prior to COVID-19, 1 in 5 children were diagnosed with a
a mood disorder steadily increases (Ghandour et al., 2019), and for many it shows in the playroom as the client is trying to respond and recover from daily challenges through the actions of the autonomic nervous system. Although full criteria for a mood disorder may not be met until later in life, many children and teens will visually depict aggressive and anxious play themes in the playroom, which demonstrate links to mood disorders (van Praag, 1986).
For mental health professionals, strategies, interventions, and techniques are tethered to theory, which informs how one practices the art of therapy. Mental health training programs tend to focus on interventions or techniques rather than the importance of being
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