Neuro-Dramatic-Play

1. Introduction

Version followed: Sue Jennings' Neuro-Dramatic-Play (NDP) as set out in Healthy Attachments and Neuro-Dramatic-Play (JKP, 2010), her Embodiment-Projection-Role (EPR) chapter in Play Therapy Today (Routledge, 2014), Creative Play with Children at Risk (2nd ed., Routledge, 2017), and Neuro-Dramatic-Play Ltd training and newsletter material from 2024–2025. The books are cited from publisher descriptions, contents lists and abstracts, not from their text, so step-level detail below is partly synthesis and is tagged that way [uncertain]. The 2025 Handbook of Neuro-Dramatic-Play (Holmwood & Jennings, eds.) is cited from its contents list. [source: JKP book page; UBC Press/JKP listing; Taylor & Francis chapter abstract; Routledge listing; Karnac listing]

What it is. NDP is an attachment-based way of using play and drama, developed by dramatherapist and play therapist Sue Jennings, who says she has worked on it since 1998 (the company name is a registered mark). It is not a manualised therapy with fixed sessions. It is a developmental framework plus a set of play forms, used by therapists, teachers, carers and parents. [source: Eventbrite organiser page of Neuro-Dramatic-Play Ltd; Routledge NDP series page] Jennings places the "NDP period" from about six months before birth to about six months after birth. In that period the parent and infant exchange sensory, rhythmic and dramatic play, which she says builds security, trust and attachment. [source: Jennings 2014 chapter abstract] Later she names the core play forms as sensory, messy, rhythmic and dramatic play. Her newsletters add water play and "performative" play. [source: NDP Ltd Eventbrite page; Jennings Substack newsletters]

Core idea of change. Jennings holds that NDP "is attachment": early playfulness and attachment cannot be separated. Children who missed this early play, through neglect, trauma, disrupted care or developmental difference, can make up some of it later through age-appropriate versions of the same sensory, rhythmic and dramatic exchanges. She says this can happen at any age. [source: JKP blog interview, 2010] She also says the infant's "as if" responses to the mother are "a life rehearsal for the development of empathy". [source: JKP blog interview, 2010] NDP is often used together with EPR, her earlier model of dramatic development from birth to about 7 years: Embodiment, then Projection, then Role. [source: Jennings EPR page, asa.ono.ac.il]

Status of neuroscience claims. The name and the books link NDP to brain development. In the sources cited, Jennings makes these points as general statements without citing specific studies. Examples: attachment shapes brain development; infants calm against a heartbeat and may match their heart rate to it; babies remember music heard in pregnancy; "everything starts with the body which then communicates to the brain". [source: JKP blog 2010; Substack newsletter 2025:1 and newsletter 17] Treat these as the founder's theoretical claims, not as established mechanisms of NDP. The sources cited report no controlled outcome trial of NDP. Section 1 of the 2025 Handbook says it covers the evidence base, but its content is not reported here. [uncertain]

Professional frame. NDP is not a regulated profession and NDP training does not license anyone to practise therapy. Neuro-Dramatic-Play Ltd runs an NDP Diploma, live online or self-guided, offered since 2011. It also runs short two-hour "Whistlestop" CPD courses for parents, carers, teachers and therapists. [source: Wells Nub News 2024; Substack newsletters] Using NDP as playful parenting or classroom activity is one thing. Using it as therapy with traumatised, abused or neurodivergent children is another, and needs a core clinical qualification and registration. In the UK that means HCPC-registered dramatherapist (BADth), art or music therapist; play therapist registered with BAPT or PTUK; or child psychotherapist (ACP); elsewhere, the national equivalent (e.g. NADTA RDT, APT RPT). Do not run regressive, touch-based or trauma-focused NDP work without that training plus NDP training and supervision. Movement and dance comfort or training is recommended for EPR embodiment work. [synthesis; uncertain: registration routes are a general outline, unverified; the movement-training point is from source: Jennings EPR page]

Related guides: 161 Theraplay (another attachment-based, touch-inclusive play model), 157 Child-centred play therapy for general playroom skills, and 152 Sandtray therapy and 154 Sandplay (Kalff) for sand work as separate methods. [synthesis]

2. Framework

No source cited sets a fixed number of phases, sessions or criteria for moving between phases. Jennings stresses that the NDP play forms "start and interact with each other, rather than following a developmental pathway". [source: Substack newsletter 17] The working sequence below is organised around her developmental models. The ordering, session counts and transition criteria are synthesis. [synthesis]

Developmental maps the clinician works from [source: Jennings 2014 abstract; EPR page; JKP 2010]

NDP period (about −6 to +6 months): sensory play (stroking, massage, sensory games), rhythmic play (heartbeat, patting, rocking, singing) and dramatic play (echoing, imitation, "as if" exchanges).
EPR Embodiment, birth to about 12–14 months: body and senses build a "body-self". The move to Projection is marked by the transitional object (after Winnicott).
EPR Projection: play with things outside the body, such as sand, water, clay, bricks, dolls' houses and puppets. Late in this stage children begin to take roles and control through objects of authority.
EPR Role, usually complete by about age 7: taking characters and directing scenes. The stages are revisited in adolescence.
Infant dramatic-play milestones from the newsletters: lap dancing (about 6 months); peek-a-boo (about 6 months; "important not to start this game too early"); hide and seek later; imitation, Courtney's "Primal Act" (about 10 months). [source: Substack newsletter seven]

Working sequence [synthesis unless tagged]

Referral, consent and assessment (1–3 sessions, plus at least one parent or carer meeting). Do the safeguarding check and gather developmental history, including pregnancy, birth, early care, placements and losses. Observe the child's play against EPR and the NDP forms to find where play is missing, stuck or distorted. Jennings describes developmental distortions as being over-held, under-held or violated. [source: EPR page] Use EPR observation, and Courtney's developmental checklist where trained. [source: EPR page; newsletter seven] Agree goals and any touch with the child and parents in writing. [source: EPR page, on writing touch into the contract]
Safety and ritual (early sessions): set up a safe space, a predictable opening and closing ritual, and rhythmic, calming play. Creative Play with Children at Risk opens on creating a safe space. [source: Routledge 2017 description] Jennings links rhythmic play with "safety and security". [source: newsletter 17] Move on when the child can enter and leave the play space with regulated arousal and uses the ritual. [synthesis]
Developmental play repair (middle phase; typically weekly 45–60-minute sessions over months; dyadic with a parent where possible). Offer sensory, messy, water, rhythmic and dramatic play at the developmental level the child shows, not their age. Balance "trust, security and ritual" with "stimulation, exploration and risk". [source: NDP Ltd series page] Messy play is "the adventure for the curious". [source: newsletter 17] Move up EPR (embodiment, then projection, then role) as the child shows mastery and asks for more complexity. [synthesis]
Dramatic play, story and role: enact stories, masks, puppets and dressing-up. De-role before every ending. [source: EPR page; Routledge 2017 contents]
Consolidation and transfer to carers: carers are coached to carry the play forms home. Jennings says parents often feel de-skilled and need support to persist, and that they "should be empowered to play". [source: JKP 2010; newsletter 2025:1]
Ending: plan it with a countdown, a review through play or story, and a closing ritual. [synthesis]

Formats [source: Jennings 2014 chapter title and abstract; JKP 2010; Handbook contents]: individual child; parent–child dyad; groups, where EPR is used for social and emotional growth in children with communication or behaviour difficulties; work with teenagers; adapted work with autistic children and children with learning difficulties ("the same" approach but slower); fostering and adoption; and, per Handbook chapters, schools, pregnancy, forensic settings and young-onset dementia. Session length and course length are not specified in the sources. [uncertain]

3. Guiding principles

Attachment and play are one process [source: JKP 2010]. In practice, you treat the playful relationship itself as the intervention, not as a warm-up for talk.
Meet developmental age, not chronological age [source: JKP 2010; newsletter seven]. Choose play at the stage where the child's play is missing, even if that is infant-level play with a teenager. Then give it an age-respectful form, e.g. ball rhythm or clay instead of rocking.
Repair is possible at any age [source: JKP 2010]. Offer early play forms to older children, teenagers and adults without treating them as babies.
The play forms interweave rather than follow strict steps [source: newsletter 17]. Follow the child between sensory, rhythmic, messy and dramatic play. Don't force a sequence.
Pair security with adventure [source: NDP Ltd series page; newsletter 17]. Ground each session in rhythm and ritual first, then offer novelty and mess.
Separate dramatic reality from everyday reality [source: EPR page]. Mark entering and leaving the play, and de-role characters, scenes and the space before the end.
Distance brings closeness [source: EPR page, "I come closer by being more distanced"]. Work through animals, puppets, masks and story rather than direct disclosure.
Create alongside, don't direct [source: EPR page]. Play with the child as a partner. Follow their lead, with structure kept in reserve.
Tolerate chaos while meaning emerges [source: EPR page]. Don't rush to interpret messy or disorganised play.
Build on strengths and a "level playing field" [source: newsletters 17 and 2025:1]. With neurodivergent children, start from what they can do, and respect each person's own "rhythm of life" and pace.
Empower the carers [source: JKP 2010; newsletter 2025:1]. Coach parents to play, and don't take over as the expert.
Culture matters [source: JKP 2010; Handbook contents]. Ask about family and community traditions of carrying, singing, lullabies and games, and use them.
Touch is explicit and contracted [source: EPR page]. Explain any touch in detail to the child and parents, write it into the contract, and have non-touch alternatives ready.
The therapist re-experiences the stages [source: EPR page]. Do your own embodiment, projection and role work in training so you can play without self-consciousness.
Play is not diagnostic evidence [synthesis]. Treat EPR or NDP observations as clinical description, never as proof of abuse or disorder.

4. Intervention inventory

The sources cited name the activities below but rarely give steps. Steps, wording and watch-points are synthesis unless a tag says otherwise. Two more sources hold step-level detail that is not reported here (they are cited from contents lists or summaries only): Creative Play with Children at Risk (sand, messy play recipes, movement, calming methods, masks and puppets, assessment) and the paid NDP worksheets. [uncertain] All example language is illustrative.

4.0 Safeguards that apply to every activity

Purpose: to keep body-based and regressive play safe, consented and accountable.
Steps:
1. Consent and assent. Get informed consent from whoever holds parental responsibility, or the local-authority social worker for looked-after children. Get the child's own assent in age-appropriate words. Older young people may consent for themselves depending on competence and jurisdiction, e.g. Gillick competence in England and Wales. [synthesis]
2. Touch contract. Write down in advance which touch may happen, who touches whom, where on the body and why. Explain it to the child and the parents. Offer non-touch alternatives and props. [source: EPR page] Default: in parent–child work the parent, not the therapist, gives soothing touch such as rocking, back-rubbing, stroking or infant massage. The therapist models on a doll or on themselves. [synthesis]
3. Moment-to-moment assent. Before any touch or body play, ask each time ("Is it OK if…?") and wait for a clear yes. Agree a stop signal with the child (a word, a hand up, a "pause" card) and practise it in session 1 as a game. Stop at once on any no, freeze, flinch or turning away, without asking why. Praise the child for using the signal. [synthesis]
4. Never sexual or genital touch, and no touch to the chest, buttocks, genitals, inner thighs or face (other than the child's own choice to touch their own face). No touch behind closed doors without a visible window or another adult. Wrestling and sword play only with soft props, rules and a referee role. [synthesis; sword play and wrestling as EPR activities: source: EPR page]
5. Trauma and culture. Ask parents and the child, and check the referral, about known sexual or physical abuse, sensory sensitivities, and cultural or religious norms about touch, gender, hair and mess. Where touch may be triggering, use props, parallel play and parent-led touch, or no touch. [synthesis]
6. Safeguarding and reporting. Before starting, know your local safeguarding lead, procedure and duties. Mandatory-reporting duties vary by jurisdiction and profession: many US states and Australian states mandate reports by therapists, while the UK works mainly through statutory safeguarding guidance and professional duties. If a child discloses or play raises concern, listen, don't question in a leading way, record the child's words and the context verbatim, and follow procedure the same day. Never treat play content alone as proof of abuse. [synthesis]
7. Materials safety. Run an allergy and sensitivity check covering latex (balloons, gloves), wheat/gluten (flour dough, pasta), nuts, dairy, egg, soy, food dyes and fragrances, and skin conditions such as eczema. With under-3s or children who mouth objects: use only non-toxic, food-safe materials; no small parts, dried beans or water beads (choking and ingestion risk); no borax slime; constant supervision. Water: never leave a child unattended, keep depth shallow, mop spills (slips). Sand: clean, dust-free play sand, damp rather than dusty. Fabric over faces: see-through only, never tied, never on infants or children who cannot pull it off. Clean up and hand-wash; label the content of shared dough and discard it. [synthesis]
8. Records. Note the consent given, the touch used, any refusals and how they were honoured. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "In here your body belongs to you. If you want to stop anything, say 'pause' or show me your hand, and we stop straight away. Shall we practise?"
Watch for: whether the child uses the stop signal (a good sign: agency). Also watch for compliant "yes" without engagement, dissociation, or sexualised play. That last one is a safeguarding consideration, not a diagnosis.

4.1 Developmental play assessment (EPR and NDP observation)

Purpose: to find where the child's play is missing, stuck or distorted before choosing play forms. [source: EPR page; Jennings 2014 abstract]
Steps:
1. Offer a mixed play space: sensory materials, sand or water, small-world toys and puppets, dressing-up and an open area for movement. [synthesis]
2. Observe without directing over 1–2 sessions. Note which modes the child chooses and avoids: embodiment (body, senses, movement), projection (objects, materials, small world) or role (characters, scenes).
3. Note the NDP forms present or absent: sensory, messy, rhythmic, dramatic. Look at capacity for mutual games such as turn-taking, peek-a-boo-style appear/disappear, imitation and "as if". Look for signs of being over-held, under-held or violated in how the child manages body boundaries. [source: EPR page]
4. Where you are trained in them, use Courtney's Developmental Check List (in Courtney's dramatherapy work, recommended by Jennings for infants) and the published EPR assessment. Horley used EPR to identify "non-players". [source: newsletter seven; EPR page] Item content is not reported here. [uncertain]
5. Take the developmental history with carers (pregnancy, birth, the first six months, care changes) and share the formulation in plain terms. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): to a parent, "I noticed she loves pouring and sifting but leaves when a story starts. That tells me where we can begin."
Watch for: EPR and NDP observations are developmental descriptions with no validity or reliability data in the sources cited. Don't use them as diagnostic or forensic evidence. [uncertain/synthesis]

4.2 Rhythmic soothing: heartbeat patting, rocking, back-rubbing

Purpose: to give safety, security and regulation when the child is fearful, anxious or restless. Rhythm starts with the heartbeat. [source: newsletter 2025:1; newsletter 17; JKP 2010]
Steps:
1. Start with yourself: pat a slow, steady heartbeat rhythm on your own chest or knee, or on a drum, and invite the child to join on their own body or a cushion. [synthesis]
2. With infants and young children, coach the parent to hold the child, e.g. against the left shoulder (an example Jennings gives), and rock or rub the back in a slow rhythm. [source: newsletter 2025:1] Older children can use a rocking chair, a hammock or a peanut ball, or rock themselves. [synthesis]
3. Slow the tempo gradually and match it to calm breathing. Stop with a clear ending ("and… still"). [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Let's find a slow beat, like a sleepy heart… boom-boom… boom-boom. Shall Mum try it on your back, or would you like to do it on the drum?"
Watch for: slower breathing, softer body and leaning in are signs it is working. Rigidity or pulling away means switch to a non-touch rhythm. Rocking an infant must be gentle and head-supported, never shaking. [synthesis]

4.3 Singing, lullabies and rhythmic songs (including pregnancy)

Purpose: rhythmic play from pregnancy onward. Jennings says babies recognise voices and music and remember music from pregnancy. That is her claim, given without studies in the sources cited. [source: JKP 2010; newsletter 2025:1]
Steps: with expectant parents, invite them to sing or hum a chosen song to the bump daily and to keep using it after birth. With children, use call-and-response songs, songs naming body parts (an EPR embodiment activity) and the family's own lullabies, in their language. [source for body-part songs: EPR page; rest synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Is there a song from your family, maybe one your grandmother sang? Let's make it ours for the start of every session."
Watch for: the song becoming a ritual the child asks for. Keep volume moderate. Some songs may carry grief or trauma links, so ask first. [synthesis]

4.4 Bubble blowing

Purpose: sensory play for small children, and a calming tool in fear episodes, because blowing bubbles needs a slow, deep breath. [source: JKP 2010; newsletter 17]
Steps: blow bubbles for the child to watch, track and pop. Then let the child blow "the biggest, slowest bubble". Alternate turns. Use it as an agreed calming routine the parent can repeat at home. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Big slow breath in through your nose… and a long gentle blow… look how big that one is."
Watch for: longer out-breaths and shared delight. Bubble solution should not be ingested, and floors get slippery. [synthesis]

4.5 Rhythmic ball play

Purpose: an age-respectful rhythmic and turn-taking exchange, given by Jennings for teenagers. [source: JKP 2010]
Steps: sit or stand facing each other and bounce or roll a ball back and forth at a steady rhythm. Vary the tempo (fast, slow), add a count or chant, then let the young person lead the rhythm. [steps: synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Your turn to set the speed. I'll follow you."
Watch for: sustained rhythm and eye contact without talk pressure. Use a soft ball and a clear space. [synthesis]

4.6 Drumming and percussion

Purpose: to extend heartbeat and movement into music. [source: newsletter 2025:1 says heartbeat and movement can lead into drumming and music]
Steps: use hand drums, echo patterns (you play, the child copies, then swap), and play loud and soft and fast and slow. Finish with a slow heartbeat. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Copy me… now you make one and I'll copy you."
Watch for: hearing safety. Keep drumming short and moderate. Offer ear defenders to noise-sensitive or autistic children. Avoid prolonged loud playing in small rooms, and stop if the child covers their ears. Loud bangs can trigger children exposed to violence, so build volume slowly and let the child control it. [synthesis]

4.7 Parent–infant sensory play: stroking and infant massage

Purpose: the sensory strand of the NDP period, from pregnancy to the early months. [source: JKP 2010; Jennings 2014 abstract]
Steps: this is parent-delivered. Coach the parent to watch the baby's cues, ask the baby ("Shall we?") and start with feet or back, using slow, gentle strokes. Stop when the baby turns away, cries or stiffens. If a structured infant-massage routine is wanted, refer to a trained infant-massage instructor. The therapist does not massage the baby. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): to a parent, "Watch his face. When he looks away, that's his 'pause'. Let's wait and see if he comes back to you."
Watch for: mutual gaze and calming. Use unscented, allergy-checked oil only if any. A parent's own trauma may be stirred by touch, so offer them support. [synthesis]

4.8 Messy play (finger paint and messy-play recipes)

Purpose: messy play is a core NDP form, "the adventure for the curious": exploration and tolerating disorder, beyond the safety of rhythm. [source: NDP Ltd Eventbrite page; newsletter 17] Finger paint is one of the activities Jennings names for young children. [source: JKP 2010] Creative Play with Children at Risk has a chapter on sensory and messy play and an appendix of messy play recipes; their content is not reported here. [uncertain]
Steps:
1. Prepare: protect the floor, offer aprons, use a tray to contain the mess, keep a wet cloth and hand-washing ready, and finish the allergy check (4.0). [synthesis]
2. Invite, don't insist. Start at a distance: the child uses tools (spoons, brushes), then one finger, then hands, at their pace. [synthesis]
3. Play alongside: you get messy too, name sensations ("squelchy, cold, gloopy"), and follow the child's experiments. [synthesis; "create alongside": source: EPR page]
4. Offer a bridge from mess to meaning, e.g. prints, a story about the mess, or a creature made in it. [synthesis]
5. Close with a cleaning ritual: wash hands together. That is also a regulation step. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "You can just look, or poke it with a spoon. Some people like to put one finger in. You decide."
Watch for: progress from avoidance to curiosity, and enjoyment of mess without dysregulation. Respect sensory aversion in autistic children and go slowly. Distress about getting dirty can come from family rules or punishment, so agree with carers that mess in session is allowed. Use only non-toxic, mouth-safe materials with under-3s. [synthesis]

4.9 Clay and plasticine

Purpose: sensory and projective play. Jennings names them as age-respectful for teenagers. [source: JKP 2010]
Steps: offer clay or plasticine with no task at first: squeeze, roll, pummel. Then invite making "something, or nothing". Shift to projection by giving the shape a voice or a story. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "No need to make anything. Just see what your hands want to do with it."
Watch for: absorbed, calm handling. Keep clay damp to avoid dust, wipe surfaces wet rather than sweeping, and wash hands. [synthesis]

4.10 Water play

Purpose: Jennings lists water as a basic NDP play form and says it "probably" starts the process. [source: newsletter 17; newsletter 2025:1] A Handbook chapter covers water in NDP-informed art therapy (Rees). [source: Karnac contents] Its content is not reported here. [uncertain]
Steps: use a shallow tray or bowl of warm water with cups, funnels, sponges and floating objects. Pour, float, sink and wash a doll together. Let the child control the flow. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Shall we see what floats? You pour, I'll catch."
Watch for: constant supervision, shallow depth only, mopping spills, and warm, clean water. For some children (e.g. near-drowning, bath-time abuse) water is a trigger, so ask carers first. [synthesis]

4.11 Sand play (sensory and messy)

Purpose: sand as sensory and messy material and, at the projection stage, as a sand tray for small-world play. [source: Routledge 2017 contents, chapter on sand play; EPR page lists sand tray as a projection activity] NDP Ltd runs an "NDP and Sand Play" course. [source: newsletter 2025:1] Course content is not reported here. [uncertain]
Steps: start with dry, then damp sand: pour, bury hands, dig, smooth. Add natural materials and figures only when the child moves into projection. Leave the tray intact until the child has left. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "You can bury your hands, or hide something for me to find."
Watch for: dust (use washed play sand), and sand in eyes. Never interpret sand scenes as evidence of abuse. [synthesis]

4.12 Containment games

Purpose: Jennings names "containing games" for young children, linked to security. [source: JKP 2010] The sources cited do not describe the specific games. [uncertain]
Steps (synthesis, not attributed): the child chooses to be wrapped loosely in a blanket or fabric "nest" or to build a den or boat with cushions. The parent rocks or holds the edge. The child controls getting in and out. Never restrain, hold down or wrap tightly, and keep the face free. Use this only with consent and as the child's own choice. Restraint-based "holding therapy" is not part of this and must not be used. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Would you like to make a nest? You can climb out any time you want."
Watch for: relaxed, voluntary staying. Any struggle means open it up immediately.

4.13 Echoing, mirroring and imitation

Purpose: the dramatic strand from birth. Echoing, imitation and interaction are the infant's first "as if" exchanges and the root of empathy. Courtney's "Primal Act" of imitation is at about 10 months. [source: JKP 2010; newsletter seven]
Steps: echo the child's sounds, rhythms, gestures or facial expressions, slightly softened. Pause and wait for the child to vary them. Then swap: the child leads and you copy. Coach parents to do the same with infants, e.g. copying the baby's expressions and "answering" the baby's sounds as if in conversation. [source for parent "as if" talk in pregnancy and infancy: newsletter seven; steps: synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Oh! (copying the sound)… You said 'ba'. Ba-ba! What's next?"
Watch for: the child noticing being copied, smiling and then testing you. That is the start of a two-way game. Mimicry can feel mocking to some children, so keep it warm. [synthesis]

4.14 Peek-a-boo, lap dancing and pat-a-cake

Purpose: early performative games Jennings asks foster and adoptive parents to recover. Peek-a-boo rehearses appearing and disappearing. [source: newsletter 17; newsletter seven]
Steps:
1. Peek-a-boo (developmental age about 6 months or later; "important not to start this game too early"). The adult hides their face with hands or a cloth and reappears with a greeting. Repeat until the child begins to hide and reappear too and the game becomes mutual. [source: newsletter seven]
2. Lap dancing (infants): the parent holds the baby round the waist and lets them bounce or "dance" on the lap. [source: newsletter seven] For older children, adapt it as side-by-side dancing. [synthesis]
3. Pat-a-cake: clapping rhymes face to face. Older children can do clapping games. [named: newsletter 17; steps: synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Where's Mummy?… Here I am!"
Watch for: delight at the reappearance. Distress at the disappearance means the game is too early or separation is raw, so shorten the hiding time. [synthesis]

4.15 Hide and seek with narration

Purpose: for children who have been ignored, overlooked or rejected, being found reduces anxiety. Jennings: "When you are found, you are seen, you are recognised, you exist!" [source: newsletter seven]
Steps: the child hides. The seeker narrates aloud while searching, naming where they are looking and what the child is wearing, until the child is found. Expect giggles, whispered directions or noises to be found. [source: newsletter seven] Restrict hiding to safe places in the room, never cupboards that lock or spaces out of sight of the door. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "I'm looking for a girl with a red jumper and stripy socks… is she behind the chair? No… is she under the blanket?"
Watch for: the child making themselves findable (a sign of trust). Panic while hidden means stop and reunite at once. [synthesis]

4.16 Embodiment movement games (EPR "E")

Purpose: to build the "body-self" through movement and the senses. [source: EPR page]
Activities named in source [source: EPR page]: gross and fine movement, sensory play, singing games naming body parts, rhythmic movement and dance, sword play and wrestling, animal or monster movement, stories with sound and movement. Props such as scarves, hoops and string are suggested, especially with autistic children, and as non-touch alternatives. In groups, build from pairs to threes and larger groups.
Steps:
1. Warm up with a rhythm: walk to a drumbeat, then freeze. [synthesis]
2. Move like animals or monsters: big and small, slow and fast, heavy and light. The child chooses the creature. [synthesis]
3. Prop partnering: hold the two ends of a scarf or hoop to move together without touching. [synthesis]
4. Sword play or wrestling only as structured play: foam swords or cushions; agreed rules (no heads, stop on the signal); a referee or "freeze" call; short rounds. [synthesis]
5. Calm down to a slow beat and lie still or sit. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Be the biggest, stompiest monster… and freeze! Now the tiniest mouse…"
Watch for: falls and collisions. Clear the space, use non-slip floors and keep a safe ratio. Fight play stirring real aggression means stop, regulate and return to rhythm. For children with physical-abuse histories, avoid contact wrestling and use props. [synthesis] Jennings advises therapists to be comfortable with movement and dance, ideally with extra training. [source: EPR page]

4.17 Projective play (EPR "P")

Purpose: engagement with things outside the body. [source: EPR page]
Activities named in source [source: EPR page]: play with substances (sand, water, clay), pictures, bricks and counters, sand tray, natural materials, puppets and dolls' houses. Creative Play with Children at Risk also has a chapter on "projective play and calming methods", whose content is not reported here. [uncertain]
Steps: set out materials. Invite the child to make a world, a house or a picture. Ask the objects, not the child, questions ("What does this little stone want?"). Let scenes repeat across sessions. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Who lives in this house? What happens there at night?"
Watch for: stories developing from repetitive arrangement into narrative, a sign of moving towards role. Hold distressing scenes in the metaphor rather than turning them into questions about real life. Record content factually for safeguarding without interpreting it. [synthesis]

4.18 Puppets (furry puppets, large brown-paper puppets)

Purpose: projected dramatic play and distanced voice. Jennings names furry puppets for teenagers and making huge brown-paper puppets. [source: JKP 2010; newsletter 17; Routledge 2017 contents]
Steps: let the child choose a puppet, or make a big one from brown paper and tape. The puppet greets you, and you talk to the puppet, not the child. The puppet can say what the child can't. End by having the puppet say goodbye and go back in its place. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Hello, Fox. You look a bit worried today. Do you want to tell me, or whisper to her?"
Watch for: the child speaking more freely through the puppet. Keep the puppet's character separate at the end (see 4.22). [synthesis]

4.19 Masks: plain masks, the Handkerchief Game, the chiffon scarf walk

Purpose: masks as story starters and partial hiding that reduces self-consciousness. [source: EPR page; newsletters 17 and 2025:1] Jennings notes that therapists have traditionally been cautious about masks for emotional-safety reasons. She now recommends John Wright's Playing the Mask (2017) for the NDP Diploma. [source: newsletter 2025:1]
Steps:
1. Handkerchief Game (from John Wright, traced to Copeau, as reported by Jennings): drape a see-through fabric over the face so you feel partly hidden and less nervous, as a first step towards masks. [source: newsletter 2025:1] Detailed steps are in Wright (2017) and are not reported here. [uncertain] Safety: the fabric must be breathable and see-through, never tied, and the child must be able to remove it at will. Not for infants. [synthesis]
2. Chiffon scarf walk: walk round the room with a chiffon scarf on the head to explore a character. [source: newsletter 2025:1]
3. Plain masks: the child decorates or simply wears a plain mask, moves as the character, then takes it off and steps out of role. [names: newsletter 17; steps: synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Under the scarf you can be someone else for a moment. Walk like them… and when you take it off you're you again."
Watch for: masks can frighten young or traumatised children, especially if faces were associated with threat. Offer holding a mask beside the face first. Always de-mask and de-role. [synthesis]

4.20 Stories and multi-sensory storytelling

Purpose: stories can contain sensory, rhythmic and dramatic play all at once. [source: JKP 2010] Holmwood's chapter applies NDP and EPR to We're Going on a Bear Hunt with a 20-month-old, using messy play, drama and rhythmic storytelling. [source: Derby repository abstract] Jennings also writes therapeutic stories, e.g. Moose and Mouse for under-6s on attachment, loss and fears, offered to subscribers. [source: newsletters 17 and seven]
Steps: choose a story with repetition and rhythm. Add sensory props for each scene (e.g. water, mud-like messy play, rustling grass), body actions and chanting refrains. Act it out together, then retell it with the child choosing the changes. [synthesis following Holmwood's description]
Example language (illustrative): "We can't go over it… we can't go under it… we'll have to go through it! Squelch, squelch—your hands in the mud!"
Watch for: the child joining refrains and taking over the narrative. Pick stories without frightening content that echoes the child's trauma. Have the ending return to safety. [synthesis]

4.21 Role play and enactment (EPR "R")

Purpose: taking characters and directing scenes. Distanced roles bring the child closer to their own experience. [source: EPR page]
Activities named in source [source: EPR page; Routledge 2017 contents]: simple roles with single feelings, animal characters, enacting favourite stories, dressing-up, masks as story starters, writing and enacting a TV script (older children), and "Learning to fly and keeping safe" (chapter content not reported here). [uncertain]
Steps: set the stage (mark the space with a cloth). Agree who the child wants to be. Start with a single-feeling role ("a very sleepy bear"). Let the child direct you. Keep scenes short. Step out of the stage space to end. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "You're the director. Tell me who I am and what I do."
Watch for: the child holding a role and switching back to self easily. If the child gets confused between role and reality, or becomes very distressed in role, stop, de-role and ground them. Don't enact real abuse scenes. [synthesis]

4.22 De-roling and closing the dramatic space

Purpose: keeping dramatic reality separate from everyday reality. Characters, scenes and the space are de-roled before the session ends. [source: EPR page]
Steps: take off costumes, masks or puppets and name them back ("Fox goes back in the basket"). The child says their own name and one real-life thing (e.g. what's for tea). Physically leave the stage area, tidy together and do the closing ritual. [synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Goodbye, Dragon. Now, who are you really? … And what are you doing after school?"
Watch for: the child returning to a settled everyday state before leaving. If not, add a rhythmic calming activity (4.2, 4.4). [synthesis]

4.23 Parent and carer coaching and home play

Purpose: to empower parents, who often feel inadequate or de-skilled, to play. This matters especially in fostering and adoption, where Jennings asks carers to recover early performative games. [source: JKP 2010; newsletters 17 and 2025:1; Healthy Attachments contents, chapter on fostering and adoption]
Steps: run joint sessions where you model and then hand over. Pick one or two home games a week (a song, bubbles, peek-a-boo, a bedtime story). Debrief what the parent noticed. Check the parent's own early experience and performance anxiety: Jennings suggests adults' performance anxiety can block playful relating. [source on performance anxiety: newsletter 17; rest synthesis] Signpost NDP Ltd's parent webinars or Whistlestop courses if wanted. [source: newsletter 2025:1]
Example language (illustrative): "You don't need to get it right. She just needs you playing with her. What did you see when you sang to her?"
Watch for: the parent initiating play spontaneously. A parent too depressed, traumatised or overwhelmed to play may need their own referral. [synthesis]

4.24 EPR group work

Purpose: to support social and emotional growth in groups, especially for children who struggle with communication and behaviour. [source: Jennings 2014 chapter abstract]
Steps: keep groups small, with two facilitators. Use a fixed structure: greeting ritual; embodiment warm-up (rhythm, movement, pairs then threes); projective activity; short role or story enactment; de-role; closing ritual. [synthesis; pairs-to-threes progression: source: EPR page]
Example language (illustrative): "Find a partner and copy each other's walk… now join with another pair."
Watch for: turn-taking and peer imitation. Screen for children who may harm or be harmed by others. Keep touch rules group-wide and visible. [synthesis]

5. Handling problems

The sources cited give little explicit problem-handling guidance. Everything below is synthesis except where tagged.

Child refuses touch or body play. Honour it immediately and without comment. Refusal is a success of the consent frame, not resistance. Switch to non-touch rhythm (drum, ball, scarf partnering) or to parallel play. Offer again only in later sessions, and only as a choice. Never coax, bargain or reward for accepting touch. [synthesis; non-touch props as alternatives: source: EPR page]
Child refuses mess or is sensory-averse (common in autistic children). Grade the exposure: watch, then tools, then one finger. Offer dry materials (sand, rice) before wet. Allow gloves. Stop at the child's limit. Jennings says the approach with autistic children is the same but takes longer. [source: JKP 2010; grading: synthesis]
Overwhelm and dysregulation (meltdown, frantic mess, aggression in fight play). Stop the activity, lower your voice, slow your movement, and offer a rhythmic regulator such as a slow heartbeat beat, bubble breathing or rocking by the parent if consented. Reduce sensory input. Return to structure and ritual. Name it afterwards in simple terms. NDP Whistlestop courses include managing meltdowns, but their content is not reported here. [source: Wells Nub News 2024; responses: synthesis]
Regression feels infantilising (teenagers, adults). Use age-respectful forms: ball rhythm, clay, drumming, masks, theatre exercises. Explain the developmental rationale openly. Never use baby talk or baby props without consent. [synthesis; age-appropriate forms: source: JKP 2010]
Sexualised play or disclosure during play. Calmly redirect sexualised behaviour towards you or other children and restate the body rules. Do not punish. Record observations verbatim and consult your safeguarding lead the same day. On disclosure: listen, don't lead, don't promise secrecy, and follow your jurisdiction's reporting procedure. Do not use play to "investigate": that is for trained forensic interviewers. [synthesis]
Play re-enacts trauma or gets stuck in repetitive play. Allow some repetition but look for small variations. Introduce a helper character or a safe place in the story. If the repetition is stuck, distressing and escalating, slow down, ground, and consult or refer to trauma-specialist supervision. [synthesis] Jennings advises staying "with the chaos" while meaning emerges. [source: EPR page] Balance that against signs of retraumatisation such as dissociation or fear that persists after the session.
Child can't leave the role or confuses play and reality. Use firmer de-roling, less immersive forms (puppets rather than embodied role) and shorter scenes. Assess whether the confusion has a psychotic or dissociative cause and refer if so. [synthesis; de-roling: source: EPR page]
Parent non-adherence or disengagement. Shrink the home task to one two-minute game. Explore what blocks play: depression, the parent's own lack of early play, performance anxiety, shame about "silly" play. Offer parent-only sessions or refer for the parent's own support. [source: JKP 2010 on de-skilled parents; newsletter 17 on performance anxiety; responses: synthesis]
Parent touch is rough, intrusive or unwanted by the child. Pause and coach the parent to read and respect the child's cues. If the touch is unsafe, stop parent-led touch work and consider safeguarding. [synthesis]
Cultural mismatch (taboos on mess, food waste, touch, gender mixing, masks). Ask first and adapt: use non-food materials, same-gender adult for any touch, the family's own songs and games. The Handbook's international chapters may help; their content is not reported here. [synthesis; source for the international chapters: Karnac contents]
Rupture with the child (e.g. you misread a cue, or a game felt mocking). Name it simply, apologise, and let the child set the next game. Repair is itself attachment work. [synthesis]
Therapist self-consciousness or performance anxiety. Re-experience EPR stages in training or supervision and play with peers. [source: EPR page; newsletter 17]
Pressure to treat NDP as a cure or as neuroscience. Explain to families and referrers that NDP's brain-development claims are the founder's theory. Don't promise neurological change. Use NDP alongside, not instead of, medical, developmental, speech-and-language, occupational-therapy or psychiatric care. [synthesis]
Material incidents (allergic reaction, ingestion, slip, sand in eyes). Have an allergy plan and first-aid trained staff on site. Know the child's emergency medication, e.g. an adrenaline auto-injector held by the carer. Record and report incidents, and review materials. [synthesis]

Sources

Online sources:

Books cited (publisher details from the pages above):

Jennings, S. (2010). Healthy Attachments and Neuro-Dramatic-Play. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Jennings, S. (2014). Applying an Embodiment-Projection-Role framework in groupwork with children. In Play Therapy Today (pp. 81–96). Routledge.
Jennings, S. (2017). Creative Play with Children at Risk (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Holmwood, C., & Jennings, S. (Eds.) (2025). The Handbook of Neuro-Dramatic-Play: Cross-Cultural, Attachment-Based Play for Clinicians and Practitioners. Routledge.
Holmwood, C. (2022). "I'm going on a Bear Hunt"… In Routledge International Handbook of Therapeutic Stories and Storytelling. Routledge.
Jennings, S. (2010). Neuro-Dramatic-Play and attachment. British Journal of Play Therapy, 6, 35–50 (as listed in the EPR page bibliography). [uncertain]
Courtney, R. (1989). Developmental Check List, in Introduction to Dramatherapy (as cited in Newsletter Seven). [uncertain]
Wright, J. (2017). Playing the Mask: Acting Without Bullshit. Nick Hern Books (as cited in Newsletter 2025:1).

[uncertain] The NDP Diploma syllabus, accreditation details and the paid worksheets are not published in the sources cited.

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