Nested Hearts

20/04/2026

The Neurosequential Model of Ther**eutics teaches us that behaviour reflects the part of the brain that is most active in that moment.

So when a child is dysregulated, reasoning and consequences won’t reach them.

Play Therapy allows us to respond in a way that matches the child’s developmental state:

• sensory support when overwhelmed
• relational connection when seeking safety
• gentle reflection when ready

This is not lowering expectations.

It is aligning support with how the brain actually works.

When we meet the child at their level, we give them the best chance to grow.

19/04/2026

This is such a good reframe of Autism!

Autistic people are often identified once we hit a crisis - often burnout, meaning our suffering is often seen as Autistic traits. Imagine if we were actually understood based upon neuro affirming ideas of what it means to be Autistic and not based upon the pathologising medical model.

16/04/2026

I’m a trauma therapist, and I spend a lot of time thinking about how children come to feel safe, especially when the world around them feels unpredictable.

In this webinar, I talk about a research study where babies were placed in front of a “visual cliff”. It looked like a drop, but it was actually safe.

What the researchers found was that the babies did not decide based on what they could see. They looked at their mothers. If their mother looked calm, they crossed. If she looked worried, they stopped.

Children use the adults around them to work out whether they are safe.

This is one of the reasons I often suggest that the starting point is not only about the child. It is also about us.

When children are very distressed, it is easy for all of us to feel overwhelmed. But when we can stay alongside them, without becoming frightened of their feelings, it can change how safe things feel for them.

I sometimes think of this as being like an anchor in a storm. You cannot stop the storm, but you can help the boat to stay steady.

I will be talking more about this in my webinar on April 30th, along with other ways we can support children when they have had frightening or overwhelming experiences.

Helping Your Autistic Child with PTSD
Thu 30 April, 12pm
Recording available for 30 days

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/helping-your-autistic-child-with-ptsd-tickets-1985569311260?aff=fb4

Please share if you know parents who might find this helpful.

Image: “Visual Cliff Experiment” (Gibson & Walk, 1960), reproduced via NIH Open-i (PMC4569749). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

16/04/2026

One week to go! So excited for this training on Bundjalung land!

Sometimes healing begins by coming together.

Join us for a deeply held gathering on Country where story, connection, and the body’s wisdom guide the way forward.

Recreating Songlines from Trauma Trails brings together Indigenous knowledge, Somatic Experiencing® and collective healing in a shared space of learning and reflection.

📅 24 to 26 April 2026 from 5pm
📍 Lake Ainsworth, Bundjalung Country

Guided by Prof Judy Atkinson, Dr Carlie Atkinson, Dr Peter Levine, Maggie Kline and Ashley Dargan.

This is more than a workshop. It is a space to listen, reconnect and remember what healing can feel like.

Register here
https://restoringresilience.com.au/recreating-songlines-from-trauma-trails/

09/04/2026

Oxytocin is often referred to as the ‘bonding hormone’, but through a neuroscience lens, it is central to how children experience safety, trust and connection.

When a child feels seen, soothed and understood, oxytocin is released. This has a direct impact on the nervous system, helping to reduce stress responses and support a shift from survival states into connection and engagement.

Oxytocin supports:

• The development of secure attachment relationships
• Emotional regulation through co-regulation
• A reduction in fear and threat responses
• Increased capacity for trust, curiosity and social connection

When early attachment experiences have been inconsistent or disrupted, children may not easily access these states of safety. Instead, their nervous system may remain primed for protection, showing up as hypervigilance, withdrawal or controlling behaviours.

Play Therapy offers a relational, neuroscience-informed space to gently shift this.

Through consistent, attuned interactions, the therapist provides repeated experiences of safety. Over time, this can support oxytocin release and help reshape the child’s internal working model of relationships, as described by John Bowlby.

In the playroom:

• Attuned responses communicate safety at a nervous system level
• Predictable sessions build trust and reduce uncertainty
• Play enables connection without reliance on verbal processing
• The ther**eutic relationship becomes the foundation for change

This is not just emotional support. It is biological.

It is .

It is the brain and body learning, through experience, that connection can be safe.

08/04/2026

Mastery play is one of my favorite things to witness in the playroom.

When a child builds the same tower over and over — knocking it down, starting again, tweaking it each time — something really important is happening beneath the surface.

They're figuring out that they can *do* things. That they have power. That persistence pays off. For kids who've felt out of control in so many areas of their lives, this matters more than we can say.

Our job? Just be there. Resist the urge to help, to fix, to speed it up. Let them lead.

That smile when it finally stays standing? That's not just pride in a tower. That's a kid discovering what they're made of. 💛

Photo: My daughter playing in my play room, consent to share.

* *

02/04/2026

I once had a student ask me a brilliant question:
“Why does play therapy feel so hard? Why does my body react so strongly in sessions?” 😥

And the truth is—there is a real difference between working in a play-based ther**eutic way with a child and working in a more cognitive, verbal way with an adult.

When working with adults in a cognitive-based approach, therapists primarily engage:
🔹 Auditory processing (listening to words)
🔹 Visual processing (reading facial expressions, body language)

And yes, talk therapy can be deeply emotional, but it remains more contained within those two primary channels.

Now, bring in play.

When you’re in a play therapy session, your entire sensory system is engaged:
✔️ Auditory – Listening to what the child says, but also what they don’t say.
✔️ Visual – Tracking facial expressions, body language, and the symbolic layers of play.
✔️ Kinesthetic – Physically engaging in the play, moving through the space, feeling the intensity of the moment in your own body.

Play therapy doesn’t just put you in the observer’s seat—it puts you inside the experience.

It’s no longer just about what’s being said—it’s about what’s being felt, enacted, and embodied.

This is why play therapy can feel so intense. You are not just witnessing the child’s process—you are physically inside it.

So if you’ve ever felt like:
💭 “Why does this feel so real in my body?”
💭 “Why do I feel like I’m absorbing so much energy in a session?”
💭 “Why does play therapy sometimes feel bigger than talk therapy?”

Now you know why.

💡The Essential Reminder: Tend to Your Own Somatic Experience

We cannot ignore the somatic toll of being inside the play. Just as we teach children to listen to their bodies, regulate, and integrate—we have to do the same for ourselves.

Here’s your gentle reminder:

🌿 Take time to ground yourself after sessions.
🌿 Check in with your body—where do you feel the play lingering?
🌿 Move, breathe, release what needs to be released.

Because play therapy is different. It requires more of us—and that means we must take care of ourselves at a deeper level, too.

Much love on the journey 💜

Lisa

02/04/2026

silence. peace. regeneration.

31/03/2026

Today is Trans Day of Visibility, a day to celebrate trans lives, stories, and resilience. Sending lots of love and support to the trans community. You are seen, you are valued, and you are loved just as you are. 💙💗🤍💗💙

On Trans Day of Visibility, we celebrate the incredible contributions of trans people in shaping our communities, cultures, and movements.

TDOV is a reminder that trans people have always been at the heart of movements for equality and justice. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the resilience, beauty and contributions of the trans community.

Now more than ever, it’s vital to uplift trans voices.

We stand proudly with our trans community: today, tomorrow, and every day.

31/03/2026

More than 3000 people have signed a survivor-led petition to keep sexual assault counselling notes private, after an investigation by news.com.au this week revealed that r**e survivors routinely have their private counselling notes subpoenaed, and these notes are then shared with offenders and their...