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This is a descriptive case study of a 6-years old girl diagnosed with ADHD, whose family received the playful attachment-based intervention – Theraplay. Before therapy the parents felt exhausted, they could not regulate the girl, who developed symptoms of relational trauma. The article includes a theoretical background based on attachment- and polyvagal theory. Assessment before and after treatment are included and there is a description of the parents and the psychotherapists’ experiences during treatment based on interviews in the final phase of the therapy. The results were analysed theoretically and showed how the child’s relational trauma behaviour decreased and how the attachment behaviour improved. Through feelings of safety, physio-emotional meetings, social engagement, guidance and playfulness the stress levels of the mother were reduced and the parents mentalizing ability became stronger. The study shows the importance of working therapeutically with parents, to give parents and child new emotional experiences of being together and to help parents to develop a deeper understanding of their child. Theraplay has previously been successful in treating internalized problems but this case illustrates that attachment-based therapeutic work can be successful in treating children with ADHD.

Objective: There is a well-established association between children´s psychiatric symptoms and parental stress. Still there is a need for evidence-based interventions that can reduce both children´s psychiatric symptoms and parental stress simultaneously. Theraplay is a playful family therapy that aims to strengthen the attachment process in the parent–child relationship. The aim of this naturalistic study was to evaluate changes in children’s psychiatric symptoms, general psychosocial function and parental stress before, after, and at a follow-up 6 months after Theraplay treatment and to assess parents’ experiences of concerns, interactions, and understanding of their child after treatment.

Methods: A total of 57 parents and 34 children with a mean age of 6.3 years (2.5-12) participated in the study. Children with severe psychiatric symptoms or disabilities were recruited from Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Center for Children with Disabilities.

Results: The result showed a decline of the child´s psychiatric symptoms, a decrease in parental stress and level of concerns, an experience of improved parent-child interactions, and a deeper understanding of the child.

Conclusions: The results indicate that Theraplay can be helpful as a treatment method that can lower psychiatric symptoms of children and help the parents in different ways.