103. Supporting Parents in Becoming External Regulators

A fundamental question of your practice as a play therapist, might be - “How do I support parents/caregivers in becoming the external regulator for their child?” With this mantra in mind to “treat the parent/caregiver how you would love the parent/caregiver to treat the child,” Lisa Dion tackles this very topic of how to support parents/caregivers in becoming their child’s external regulator.  In this Lessons from the Playroom episode, you’ll learn: How to support parents/caregivers when they themselves do not already have a template for regulation, or they don’t know how to do it well, or perhaps their own internal disorganization is activating their child’s disorganization and dysregulation.  How to help the parent/caregiver come to see that all behaviors are designed to support regulation (their child’s and their own). Four things you can do to help support and set the parent/caregiver up for success in becoming the external regulator for their child.  What to do if the parent/caregiver is not quite ready to develop the skills of being the external regulator.    *