ABSTRACT
Creating experiences for emotional and relational safety is an integral part of trauma integration. Without a felt sense of safety, children have a much harder time approaching the uncomfortable thoughts, feelings and body sensations that are held inside. Nature has the remarkable ability to create safety for trauma integration as it has the capacity to be both an external regulator for a child’s activated nervous system, as well as safely access the stored trauma in the child’s body. Whether nature is incorporated into the play room or the play therapy session occurs outside, nature is also able to offer therapists a range of creative interventions from which to work from. As medical trauma is often a neglected topic, this chapter offers several case examples of intervening with nature related to medical trauma challenges. The use of nature huts, child’s symbolic play in nature, nature photographs, and nature journaling as ways to help regulate children and their families as they process the traumatic medical experiences is explored. In each example, nature is shown to be an integral part of the treatment process as it held, supported, rocked, and ultimately created the safety needed for deep integration and healing.
