We Talked About Freeze… Now Let’s Talk About Fawn
The fawn response can be summed up, for the most part, with people pleasing. When fight, flight and freeze responses won’t keep us safe, we try to keep the threat happy or make ourselves likeable. We often learn this response in relationships as children, trying to keep an adult or peers satisfied with us so they won’t belittle us, hurt us or brush off our feelings.
Emotional Regulation: Where Did That Meltdown Come From?
The better regulated your child is, the more easily they can move from disappointed to happy, from play to school and even from contentment to disappointment. Healthy emotion regulation means being able to shift across the whole range of feelings without feeling too much or too little. A big piece of learning healthy emotion regulation is recognizing what “regulated” really looks like.
Theraplay: Tools for the Connection Dance
Theraplay therapists create a space where your child can learn that you are a safe, trustworthy parent, and in this space, you can discover the ways your child is able to receive your love and direction in that moment. In Theraplay, this happens by having fun! Research has shown us that adults and children learn best through games, where everyone is having fun.