Özet:

Most children experience stressful life events while growing up which may compromise emotional and physical development and may have long-term effects on their mental health. These negative experiences include, but are not limited to maltreatment, growing up in a chaotic family environment, domestic violence, loss, natural disasters, terrorism, war, and refugee conditions. Multiple factors including the child's age, temperament, resilience, and family support and coping determine whether the child develops difficulties including trauma symptoms. Children experience and give meaning to traumatic life events in their own unique way. Initial assessment should be family-centered and the developmental level of the child, risk factors and functional impairment should be assessed. In order to fully understand risk factors related to early interpersonal trauma, cultural, socio-economic and social factors that shape the caregiver-child relationship should be thoroughly assessed. TraumaPlay, developed by Goodyear-Brown (2010 2019), offers a developmentally sensitive approach by using the facilitating power of play. The therapist acts as a safe base and container for the child, and treatment takes place through this healing relationship with the trusted therapist. Through sensitive and carefully timed interventions, the traumatized child is helped in working through feelings of loneliness, abandonment, maltreatment, and loss. The safe space provided by the therapist offers a milieu to drain the toxicity of disturbing memories and rediscover hope.

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