Chapter 8: Playing in Peril: Integrating Play Therapy With Responsive Services Following a Natural Disaster

Juanita, a 5-year-old third generation Mexican American girl, whimpers as she is reluctantly led down the hallway to her kindergarten class room. The stench of smoke still permeates her hair and clothing from the wildfires that consumed her family’s modest home days ago. She is late to school because she is staying with relatives in a different school district. Usually outgoing, Juanita now clutches her blanket and refuses to move past the classroom doorway. Some of her friends go to her in an unsuccessful attempt to coax her in while other children tease her for being a “scaredy cat”. She begins to cry because her cat was killed by the fire. In exasperation, the teacher calls the school counselor for help.