ABSTRACT
FirstPlay Therapy® is an attachment-based, parent-child model that combines first-play activities with therapeutic storytelling implemented by trained practitioners who model, guide, facilitate, and supervise parents to provide attuned touch to their infants and children to build healthy attachment relationships. FirstPlay® is an adapted Developmental Play Therapy (DPT) model. Infant massage techniques have also been adapted into the FirstPlay® model to promote infant mental health and parent-child attachment. Because FirstPlay® is a play therapy parent-child model, it is supported by the foundations of Family Play Therapy, Intergenerational Family Systems Theory, and Filial Therapy. Infants can sense the mood of their parents-especially when parents are anxious, upset, and stressed. Infants are the most vulnerable population when it comes to touch. Central to the success of FirstPlay® as an intervention is the therapist receiving comprehensive training and supervision leading to a certification. Thus, when empathy and attunement are present in the parent-infant relationship the foundations for a healthy and secure attachment are created.
