Healing From Adverse Childhood Experiences Through Therapeutic Powers of Play: "I Can Do It With My Hands"

Children who live through adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are likely to encounter negative health outcomes in adulthood. Using a qualitative retrospective approach, the authors explored how experiences with play and expressive and creative arts served as a protective factor for adults who were exposed to ACEs. Researchers recruited 10 adults aged 25 years and older who reported four or more ACEs on a modified ACE inventory (e.g., Pliske, 2020) and did not experience negative outcomes to well-being, such as behavioral, physical, or chronic health conditions. Participants completed a structured family history interview and a semistructured interview. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using grounded theory constant comparative methods. Participants noted that play and the arts provided a context for identity formation and integration of emotional and cognitive processing in relation to early trauma. Participants described how activating therapeutic powers of play, in the forms of self-expression, indirect teaching (learning through metaphor), emotional catharsis, abreaction, stress management, self-esteem, and creative problem-solving (Schaefer & Drewes, 2014), attenuated the long-term impact of ACEs exposure. Play created a context for self-expression, self-care, and healing that promoted the development of posttraumatic growth following childhood trauma. Implications for intervention and social policy are discussed.