Play and the joy it brings helps us feel alive, connected and positive. It can be a special form of expression that nurtures an attuned, connected relationship between a mother and her children. That’s why it is important for treatment programs to incorporate joy into a mother’s life, as a part of their path to recovery.
Play is an important component of the support provided by CGE. START, The Center for Great Expectations’ community-based program, serves pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders in eight counties throughout New Jersey. In addition to providing, substance use counseling, parent-child relationship therapy, peer recovery support and doula/case management, START staff offer holistic, wraparound services including substance use counseling, early relational health therapy, doula support, and meetings with a peer recovery specialist. Staff break down barriers to treatment by supporting clients with issues of transportation, childcare, employment and housing. These services lay a foundation upon which play is a vital layer.
Play is crucial for child development across all domains: emotion regulation, cognitive development, social-emotional and motor skills. Importantly, play provides a way of bonding and sharing joy between parent and child. START offers activities for clients to engage in with their children in a playful and joy filled way. These gatherings take place with an air of lightness and celebration. Seasons, holidays, graduations, recovery, and milestones of both clients and their children are celebrated.
Play is also facilitated through the growth of connectedness and relationships in clients’ group sessions. In these group sessions, when all are respected and given freedom to share on their own terms, trust is developed. It then becomes easier for clients to joke with others and to become more comfortable with play.
One of the year’s largest gatherings for clients and their children is a trip to the Land of Make Believe. Clients can ride and splash with their children creating memories of connection and joy. During this trip, children play games with their caregivers on the bus ride, laugh while flying by on rides, and we witness bridges and trust develop during the water activities. At START, play is serious business.
As participants connect with themselves and with others, they learn to interact differently with their children experiencing self-acceptance and healing.
