ABSTRACT
The need for play therapists to have an understanding of the impact of overwhelmingly frightening experiences on a child's developing brain and nervous system. Jay, had been removed from the care of her birth parents and referred for therapy due to experiences of abuse and neglect, including family violence. In playing out her traumatic past in her initial session, Jay inadvertently triggered the same fear response that was present at the time of the original traumas, causing her to become overwhelmed and stuck in her play. The play, art and expressive therapies are increasingly recognised as approaches through which traumatic experiences stored in the body and mind can be accessed and integrated. Fight, flight or freeze behaviours can be conceptualised as operating across a hyper-arousal continuum. An individual who is not traumatised tends to remain within the mid-section is able to modulate between states of mild hyper-arousal and dissociation in response to daily stress.
