Understanding neurobiology is important when working with children who have experienced trauma and attachment disruptions.
How does the brain develop?
Our brains develop bottom up and inside out. Babies aren't using their cortex when they are in-utero or just born. Their brain is concerned with learning how to regulate body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, sleep, appetite an satiety. What happens when the babies brain is flooded from stress hormones that have crossed the placenta?
Research says:
"Exposure of the developing fetus to excessive levels of stress hormones in the womb can cause mood disorders in later life and now, for the first time, researchers have found a mechanism that may underpin this process, according to research presented April 7 at the British Neuroscience Association Festival of Neuroscience (BNA2013) in London " Retrieved November 13,2018 from Science Daily.
Understanding when trauma happened can assist the Play Therapist to integrate interventions that Regulate, relate and reason. MPTI will share examples of these interventions that can be utilized at each stage of the therapy process.