Projective identification, Freud’s calamities of childhood, fear in the absence of protection and connection, rebuilding the protective shield, the window of tolerance, these are core concepts that are critically important to those working in the field of early childhood trauma. During this workshop, we will connect these concepts to young children’s play during Child-Parent Psychotherapy, and we will explore ways that we can partner with parents to help them to understand and respond to what their children may be sharing and asking for through the modality of play.

Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
1)    Name the four calamities of childhood and recognize when they may show up as core themes in children’s play.
2)    Understand the concepts of projective identification and recognize how chaotic play that seems to have no logical meaning may be connected to this concept.
3)    Define what is meant by a port of entry in CPP.