Sixth Session: With control, he kicks a ball toward me. After regulating himself the ball play going as we discuss his bad feelings about himself. We talk about what triggers these feelings, how hopeless he feels, and his challenges cognitively. I imagine he thinks that if we can ask the right question and apply the right strategy, his problem will be solved, and he will feel better. Discouraged and disheartened, he tells me nothing is working.
Seventh Session: Tom starts this session sitting on the physioball, gently bouncing while we toss a soft ball between us (all initiated by Tom). He tells me he had a bad night: “I threatened to kill my Dad. I not helping him talk or doing it right. Brilliantly, he gets me to feel the insecurity and powerlessness he feels. I use my felt sense of his “I’m not doing it right. No matter what I do I don’t get it right. I feel experience. Naming my experience out loud seems to help the play develop. His play evolves as he creates a variation on his ball toss game. He throws the ball toward me at random. I never know when the ball will come. I imagine this is like his emotional meltdowns; he never knows when they are coming, and he cannot prepare for them, so they overpower him. I avoid asking questions that will bring him into cognition and away from feeling into his experience. I trust that
if I can help him stay with his felt sense, he will become more self- aware and intentional in his play. He uses movement to regulate as he tells me the story of his bad night again.
While the shame is still present, there have been little shifts. Tom is moving more, inventing and initiating movement games. He is more spontaneous and trusting of himself to play and move in a way that will help him meet the challenges he faces. He climbs into the hammock swing, his whole body cocooned inside. He continues with the ball toss game; only his hands emerge outside the hammock to catch the ball. He tosses the ball back to me at random. I often miss with more effort and a greater range of movement. He is held safely inside the hammock, which allows for whole-body movements and gentle tactile input while providing a sense of containment. From inside the safety of the hammock, he verbally tells his story again. In this verbal telling, his body can tell the story at the somatic level. The nonverbal, sensory elements are now free to be felt, expressed, and inside the hammock by the physical movements accompanying the story. Both the therapist and the hammock provide holding and containment, allowing Tom to process an overwhelming experience while staying regulated and within his window of tolerance. Somatic and play therapists know that words are not enough and words alone do not facilitate empowerment and integration, especially when you are 7.5 years old.
22 | PLAYTHERAPY March 2025 |
www.a4pt.org
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