Theraplay
Theraplay is an attachment psychotherapy developed by Ann Jernberg in 1967. Its core mechanism: recreating early attachment experiences through structured, playful, nurturing interactions between caregiver and child to build secure connection. This catalogue links it to child and adolescent behavioral problems and attachment and relational patterns, typically in dyadic (caregiver-child) format, short-medium (18-24).
Related condition topics
These links support exploration. They do not establish that Theraplay is effective or recommended for each condition.
How Theraplay works
Recreating early attachment experiences through structured, playful, nurturing interactions between caregiver and child to build secure connection
Ontology
Insecure attachment results from missed or disrupted early interactions; these can be repaired through direct, embodied, playful relational experiences
Therapeutic Voice
"Mom, I want you to put lotion on Jayden's hands, really slowly, one finger at a time. Jayden, your job is just to receive."
View of the Person
A small being whose sense of self forms in the space between bodies: through touch, gaze, rhythm, and play
Epistemology
Evidence
1 source check available
An overall effectiveness assessment has not been completed. This describes the state of our review, not whether the approach works.
Guidelines and official sources (1)
1 evidence registry check
Read the recommendation and its scope. A source may discuss an approach without recommending it.
- Theraplay: program ratings
Not a treatment recommendation
CEBC assigns a rating of 3, promising research evidence, in this topic. The rating is a registry assessment rather than a clinical guideline recommendation.
Scope: Infant and early-childhood mental-health topic; the broader program serves children and caregivers.
Recorded material under review
The existing notes below are retained separately from assessment records. These recorded claims await source checking, including study design, recommendations and numerical estimates.
2 RCTs (Money et al., 2021 systematic review), plus additional quasi-experimental and observational studies
Included in attachment intervention meta-analyses
Attachment-based, directive play therapy for children and caregivers. Therapist models healthy interaction patterns that caregiver then practices.
Training and certification
Licensed mental health professional. Theraplay Institute tiered training (Level I–IV). Experiential, attachment-based play therapy for children and families.
Theraplay Institute: Certified Theraplay Therapist. Requires Level I–IV completion + supervised cases + video submission.
40+ hrs across Levels I–IV; supervision additional
$2K–5K for training levels; supervision additional
Find a trained therapist
Equity & Cultural Adaptations
Clinical cautions and blind spots
Assessment and precautions
Active domestic violence, caregiver with active psychosis, children with severe sensory processing issues where touch-based activities are overwhelming, caregiver who is the perpetrator and unaccountable
Blind spots
Directive approach may not suit all families; limited evidence for older children/adolescents; requires caregiver participation
Philosophical roots
Bowlby (attachment); Winnicott (play and transitional space); Stern (attunement); right-brain developmental neuroscience
Compared with other approaches
Test Yourself
What are the four dimensions of Theraplay?
Show answer
Structure (safety, organization), Engagement (connection, attunement), Nurture (calming, caregiving), and Challenge (age-appropriate mastery and competence).