Theraplay with Jess

03/03/2026

Denmark is taking a major step by moving to end the “cry it out” method for babies after a nationwide study revealed potential harms. Over 700 psychologists warned that this sleep training practice could negatively impact brain development and parent-child attachment. The findings emphasise the importance of responsive caregiving during the early stages of life for healthy emotional and cognitive growth.

The study examined the effects of letting babies cry for extended periods and found links to elevated stress levels and possible long-term impacts on brain function. While some parts of the U.S. continue to recommend the method, Denmark’s decision reflects growing concern among experts about the risks versus the benefits of this approach. Advocates of alternative sleep strategies stress nurturing and gradual methods to promote better sleep without compromising developmental outcomes.

This move is sparking viral attention globally among parenting and health communities. It highlights a shift in understanding early childhood care and the need for policies informed by psychological research. Parents and caregivers are now encouraged to explore safer, evidence-based sleep strategies that support both healthy brain development and secure emotional bonds with their children.

03/03/2026

Margaret Lowenfeld reshaped child psychotherapy through play-based methods that remain influential today.

Remembered as a q***r pioneer, her techniques helped children express thoughts and feelings they couldn’t put into words.

Discover her story: https://www.bps.org.uk/blog/margaret-lowenfeld-q***r-pioneer

01/03/2026

Under the gentle glow of the Worm Moon, we gather to root down before we rise 🌱
As the earth begins to warm and the soil softens, nature reminds us that growth starts beneath the surface. Just like the tiny worms preparing the ground for spring, we explored how grounding our bodies and calming our breath creates space for new beginnings.
Our seasonal “Root to Rise” practice wove together:
✨ Nature-themed flows
🌬️ Gentle breathwork
🌿 Mindfulness moments
🌙 Moon meditation
💫 A soothing guided relaxation
When children connect to the rhythms of the seasons, they learn that growth takes patience… and that even unseen work matters.

13/02/2026

Healing from the Hut - Winter Ed.
In the hut, I am reminded that emotional winters serve a function. Therapy provides a protected space in which a child’s inner world can be explored safely. It can be thought of as a relational “beach hut”: consistent, sturdy and contained. Within this secure structure, trust develops. However, it does not take much to unsettle that sense of containment…

Gratitude to Auntie Jacquie Tizzard whose hut it is

Read more by clicking the link in comments ⬇️

07/02/2026

🌊 Because we all know I love an ocean metaphor… I made a blog post about supervision as an Ocean.
🌊 If you’re a helping professional who holds the emotional weight of this work, this might resonate.
Read the full post via the link in comments 💛.

31/01/2026

🧘🏼‍♀️ Children’s yoga at its very best ✨
🌕 Snow Moon magic ❄️
Breath • move • strengthen • connect • laugh • relax

For themed Kids Yoga poses and games, click the link in the comments.

05/01/2026

🌊 If happiness is an ocean…

The waves are hedonic happiness — joy, fun, excitement.
The depths are eudaimonic happiness — meaning, purpose, belonging.

Play gives us both.
Relational play brings laughter, connection, and delight.
Creative, purposeful play helps us feel capable, grounded, and whole.

Play isn’t frivolous — it’s how we build joy and meaning.

More reflections from on happiness in the blog — link in bio 🌊✨

02/12/2025

🎄 Why don’t I decorate my therapy room for Christmas?

🎅🏼 Christmas can bring big feelings for little nervous systems. My latest blog explores why I keep my therapy room neutral in December and how we can help children ride the seasonal waves rather than be swept away. 🌊 Link in bio to read.

https://www.theraplaywithjess.co.uk

22/11/2025

Just came across this on my feed, what is your opinion? My view is that there are many people currently working in breathwork, sports, or running retreats who are positioning themselves as ‘therapy’ or ‘trauma-informed’ without the necessary training or understanding. Some are facilitating programmes without recognising the real risk of triggering dissociation, panic, or unresolved early memories in participants.

Initiating deep emotional processes, such as inner child work, within a group setting is highly risky when the facilitator lacks appropriate psychological and therapeutic training, and has no insight into participants’ developmental histories or needs.

In my work with adoptive families, I have seen first-hand how sensitive and complex early trauma can be—and how much specialist knowledge is required to support it safely.

22/11/2025

When I think about all the demands/expectations children navigate during a school day, (due to government standards meaning so much is crammed in) it makes sense that they might come home needing space and downtime. After holding so much together at school, I know I would need a break too.

Is demand avoidance the same as PDA? Is it something only autistic children experience?

Demand avoidance isn’t something that has been talked about for long. It’s only really since 2005 that clinicians have been describing a group of children for whom the demands of everyday life provoke extreme anxiety, thus (understandably) leading to avoidance. Pathological demand avoidance (PDA) is described as a profile of autism, and sometimes a diagnosis will be given of ‘autism with demand avoidance’, since PDA isn’t a formal diagnosis (which means it’s not in the diagnostic manuals).

I’m one of those people who had a ‘light bulb’ moment when I heard about PDA. It made such a lot of sense and described some behaviour which just seemed inexplicable. It felt like a seismic shift in how I understand some children and young people.

Knowledge is growing and expanding all the time, and one of the things which has changed for me over the last few years is that many people whose children are not autistic have got in touch with me to tell me that their kids are also demand avoidant. Parents of children with FASD, with ADHD, adopted/fostered children, traumatised children. Children with no diagnoses at all. Some of them seem to have been born demand avoidant, others have become demand avoidant after stressful experiences. The demand avoidant behaviour itself isn’t very different.

Why does this matter? Because I have met many children whose parents say ‘they aren’t autistic, so surely they can’t be demand avoidant? If it’s not demand avoidance, should I just be firmer and have stricter boundaries?’. Much of the information available only talks about autism, and doesn’t even consider that other children might also be demand avoidant. This means that those families are left out.

That’s why now I often talk about demand avoidant children (although I do also sometimes talk about PDA and I often talk about autism). Demand avoidance is a behaviour trait which is not exclusive to autistic people. It can be experienced by anyone, particularly at times of high stress. PDA is an autistic profile, and it include high levels of demand avoidance as well as other things. Demand avoidance, even a very high level of demand avoidance isn’t exclusive to PDA. I know this because I work with people who are not autistic as well as those who are.

So if you’re thinking that your child is demand avoidant, that doesn’t mean that they must be also autistic. If the description fits and you have a lightbulb moment – it just might be worth finding out more.

At the end of the month I’m talking about Helping your Demand Avoidant Child with Change. It’s about how to help children manage both planned and unexpected change. It’s for all parents of demand avoidant children – or even those who are just wondering, could this be us?

Lunchtime on Thursday November 27th. It is recorded.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/helping-your-demand-avoidant-child-with-change-tickets-1964030267400?aff=fb4

18/11/2025

BURNOUT - Written by a wonderful Psychologist 👏

Shared with permission from KTHC for informational purposes 😊 This section has been taken from my child’s NHS/RTC recommendations report (which was phenomenal)

20/04/2025

Serve and return interactions—responsive, back-and-forth exchanges between a young child and a caring adult—play a key role in shaping brain architecture. Wh...