Healing Power of Play Course
Healing Power of Play Mini Course
A One-Hour Introduction to Understanding Children Through Play
Children do not always have the words to tell us what they are feeling, but they are always communicating through their behaviour, their bodies, and their play.
This one-hour mini course introduces the core ideas behind The Healing Power of Play: how early experiences shape the nervous system, how stress shows up in children, and why play is one of the most powerful tools for regulation, connection, and growth.
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Welcome
Welcome to The Healing Power of Play — an online course exploring child development, nervous system regulation, and the transformative role of play in helping children heal and thrive.
Created by play therapist Eileen Russell, this course offers practical strategies and research-informed insights for parents, carers, and professionals supporting children’s emotional wellbeing.
Welcome to The Healing Power of Play — an online course exploring child development, nervous system regulation, and the transformative role of play in helping children heal and thrive.
Created by play therapist Eileen Russell, this course offers practical strategies and research-informed insights for parents, carers, and professionals supporting children’s emotional wellbeing.
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Why are the Needs of Children Rising? Part 1
Why are more children struggling with anxiety, school refusal, sensory challenges, and emotional regulation? Across homes and schools, nervous system dysregulation is becoming more visible.
This section explores the underlying causes through child development, primitive reflexes, sensory processing, and the healing power of play helping adults respond with understanding and regulation-based support.
Why are more children struggling with anxiety, school refusal, sensory challenges, and emotional regulation? Across homes and schools, nervous system dysregulation is becoming more visible.
This section explores the underlying causes through child development, primitive reflexes, sensory processing, and the healing power of play helping adults respond with understanding and regulation-based support.
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Why are the Needs of Children Rising? Part 2
Children’s emotional and developmental needs are rising, with 1 in 6 children in the UK experiencing mental health challenges. Anxiety, ADHD, family stress, trauma, neurodiversity, diet, and screen use all impact nervous system regulation and focus.
This section explores why children’s nervous systems are under strain and how understanding these influences helps us respond with connection, safety, and practical support.
Children’s emotional and developmental needs are rising, with 1 in 6 children in the UK experiencing mental health challenges. Anxiety, ADHD, family stress, trauma, neurodiversity, diet, and screen use all impact nervous system regulation and focus.
This section explores why children’s nervous systems are under strain and how understanding these influences helps us respond with connection, safety, and practical support.
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Decline in Play
Play is not optional — it is essential for healthy child development and nervous system regulation. The decline in free, outdoor play and language-rich experiences like nursery rhymes and reading is impacting children’s emotional wellbeing, resilience, and self-regulation.
This section explores why child-led, messy, and imaginative play remains critical for learning, confidence, and long-term emotional development.
Play is not optional — it is essential for healthy child development and nervous system regulation. The decline in free, outdoor play and language-rich experiences like nursery rhymes and reading is impacting children’s emotional wellbeing, resilience, and self-regulation.
This section explores why child-led, messy, and imaginative play remains critical for learning, confidence, and long-term emotional development.
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Childhood Trauma
Childhood trauma and experiences that leave a mark can shape a child’s nervous system, stress responses, and emotional regulation. Not all impactful experiences are dramatic, even smaller, repeated stresses can influence development.
This section explores how early and generational experiences are stored in the body and how understanding them helps us respond with empathy, connection, and regulation-based support.
Childhood trauma and experiences that leave a mark can shape a child’s nervous system, stress responses, and emotional regulation. Not all impactful experiences are dramatic, even smaller, repeated stresses can influence development.
This section explores how early and generational experiences are stored in the body and how understanding them helps us respond with empathy, connection, and regulation-based support.
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Birth Experience
Birth experiences and early life events can significantly influence a child’s nervous system development, emotional regulation, and behaviour. Complicated births, assisted deliveries, and stress during pregnancy may leave lasting effects on regulation patterns.
This section explores how early experiences shape development and how connection, support, and play can promote healing and resilience.
Birth experiences and early life events can significantly influence a child’s nervous system development, emotional regulation, and behaviour. Complicated births, assisted deliveries, and stress during pregnancy may leave lasting effects on regulation patterns.
This section explores how early experiences shape development and how connection, support, and play can promote healing and resilience.
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Primitive Reflexes
Primitive reflexes form the foundation of child development, shaping movement, sensory processing, and emotional regulation from early pregnancy. When these reflexes do not fully integrate, they can impact behaviour, coordination, learning, and attention.
This section explores how primitive reflexes develop and how play, movement, and sensory experiences support nervous system integration and resilience.
Primitive reflexes form the foundation of child development, shaping movement, sensory processing, and emotional regulation from early pregnancy. When these reflexes do not fully integrate, they can impact behaviour, coordination, learning, and attention.
This section explores how primitive reflexes develop and how play, movement, and sensory experiences support nervous system integration and resilience.
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Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can shape a child’s brain, nervous system, and emotional regulation. Even repeated everyday stress can impact attention, behaviour, and development.
This section explains what ACEs are and how safe relationships, connection, and play help children build resilience and support healing.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) can shape a child’s brain, nervous system, and emotional regulation. Even repeated everyday stress can impact attention, behaviour, and development.
This section explains what ACEs are and how safe relationships, connection, and play help children build resilience and support healing.
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Understanding Brain & Nervous System Development
Children’s brains are still developing, often not fully maturing until around age 25. When overwhelmed, children shift into survival mode, making it difficult to listen, reason, or regulate emotions.
This section explores brain development, nervous system regulation, and how connection, co-regulation, and play help children move from survival to safety.
Children’s brains are still developing, often not fully maturing until around age 25. When overwhelmed, children shift into survival mode, making it difficult to listen, reason, or regulate emotions.
This section explores brain development, nervous system regulation, and how connection, co-regulation, and play help children move from survival to safety.
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play and the road to recovery
Children can move from calm to overwhelmed very quickly. What often looks like sudden behaviour is actually a child’s nervous system responding to stress or past experiences stored in the body.
In this video, Eileen explains why children escalate quickly and how understanding the nervous system helps adults respond with calm and connection.Children can move from calm to overwhelmed very quickly. What often looks like sudden behaviour is actually a child’s nervous system responding to stress or past experiences stored in the body.
In this video, Eileen explains why children escalate quickly and how understanding the nervous system helps adults respond with calm and connection.
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Play as the Road to Recovery
Play is the natural language of children and one of the most powerful ways they process experiences and regulate emotions.
In this video, Eileen explores how play supports healing, resilience, and healthy brain development.Play is the natural language of children and one of the most powerful ways they process experiences and regulate emotions.
In this video, Eileen explores how play supports healing, resilience, and healthy brain development. -
Simple Therapeutic Techniques
Child emotional regulation, therapeutic techniques for children, nervous system support for children, play therapy strategies, supporting children’s wellbeing.
Child emotional regulation, therapeutic techniques for children, nervous system support for children, play therapy strategies, supporting children’s wellbeing.
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Play Therapy
Play therapy for children, child emotional wellbeing, therapeutic play, child mental health support, play therapy benefits
Play therapy for children, child emotional wellbeing, therapeutic play, child mental health support, play therapy benefits
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Thank you for joining Healing Power of Play training session online.
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What You'll Learn
Why behaviour is communication
How early reflexes and sensory development shape learning and emotions
Why some children’s brains and bodies are working much harder than others
How anxiety, clinginess, withdrawal, or overwhelm are often signs of stress
Simple, practical ways to use play to support regulation and connection
Grounded in 17 years of therapeutic practice and neuroscience-informed understanding, this course will help you see children differently with curiosity instead of judgement, and connection instead of correction.
Whether you are a parent, educator, or professional working with children, this short introduction will give you a new lens: one that recognises that children are not “being difficult” they are often having a difficult time.
When we understand what is happening underneath, we can respond in ways that help children feel safe, regulated, and ready to learn.
Because play is not just something children do. Play is how children heal.