Belonging, Play, and Wellbeing through a Dramatherapist’s Lens

What Makes a PLACE Feel Like YOU BELONG & MATTER?

Is it the walls, the roof, the rooms?
Or, is it the feeling we get when we step inside, the sense of being seen, welcomed, and safe?

From a dramatherapist’s perspective, belonging is not just something we talk about, it is something we experience, enact, and feel in our bodies.

During Children’s Mental Health Week, with the theme My Place and Belonging, we are invited to think deeply about how children and young people come to know:

“This is my place. I matter here.”

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For children and young people, belonging is a vital foundation for emotional wellbeing. When a child feels they belong, their nervous system can settle, their curiosity can emerge, and their capacity for learning and connection grows.

In dramatherapy, we understand that belonging is built through relationship, play, story, and shared meaning. Children don’t just need to be told they belong, they need repeated experiences of being met, included, and valued in ways that feel safe for them.

Importantly, belonging looks different for every child. Neurodivergent children may connect through movement, rhythm, parallel play, silence, or structure rather than words, and all of these are valid ways of belonging.

“Place as More Than a Physical Space”

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A “place” might be a classroom, a playground, a therapy room, or a family home. It might also be a relationship, a routine, or a moment of attuned connection with another person.

In dramatherapy, place becomes symbolic. A mat can become an island. A scarf can become shelter. A circle can become community.

When children are invited to explore place through drama-play based activities, they can safely express where they feel comfortable, where they feel unsure, and what helps them feel included, without needing to explain everything in words.

“Creating Belonging Together”

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Belonging is not something children need to earn. It is something that grows when adults create environments that are predictable, playful, and responsive.

Small moments matter:

• Being remembered

• Being welcomed by name

• Having choices

• Being allowed to participate in different ways

These moments communicate: “You belong here, just as you are.”

Dramatherapist Inspired Group Activities as part of Children’s Mental Health Week

Babies (0–18 months)

Focus: Safety, attunement, and co-regulation

Core Activity: Mirrored Movement Play

Adults gently mirror babies’ movements, sounds, and facial expressions, turning them into a shared “dance”.

Neurodivergent-affirming adaptations:

• Keep eye contact optional

• Use predictable rhythm and repetition

• Allow babies to lead and pause

• Use soft lighting and minimal sensory input

This game builds a bodily sense of: I am seen. I am responded to.

Reception / Early Years (3–5 years)

Focus: Imaginative play and emotional safety

Core Activity: Build a Safe Place

Using fabrics, cushions, boxes, and soft props, children build a place where they feel safe or happy. Adults may join as invited characters.

Neurodivergent-affirming adaptations:

• Offer visual choices rather than verbal instructions

• Allow parallel play alongside group play

• Provide quiet corners for children who prefer observation

• Let children show rather than explain

Belonging here is about choice, control, and comfort.

Children (6–11 years)

Focus: Peer connection and shared identity

Core Activity: Belonging Sculptures In small groups, children create frozen body sculptures showing what belonging looks or feels like.

Neurodivergent-affirming adaptations:

• Offer options to use objects, toys, or drawings instead of bodies

• Allow children to take non-verbal roles

• Use clear structure and time boundaries

• Name strengths aloud to reinforce positive identity

This activity supports children to experience belonging without performance pressure.

Young People (11–18 years)

Focus: Identity, agency, and voice

Core Activity: My Place, My Scene

Young people create short scenes, soundscapes, or movement pieces representing places where they feel they belong, or wish they could.

Neurodivergent-affirming adaptations:

• Choice of medium: movement, writing, music, still image

• Clear expectations and opt-out options

• Smaller groups or paired work

• Reflection through journalling instead of sharing aloud

Belonging here honours autonomy, boundaries, and authenticity. Belonging is not loud or dramatic.
It is often quiet, steady, and built over time, through moments of attunement, shared play, and being allowed to show up as ourselves.

When we think about place, we are really thinking about relationship.
And when children feel held in relationship, they begin to feel at home in the world.

This Children’s Mental Health Week, may we continue to create spaces where children and young people can say, with confidence and safety: “This is my place. I belong.”

Bettertogether -because belonging grows when we create it together.