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HUT,
TWO, THREE, FOUR OR BASIC TRAINING FOR PLAY THERAPISTS
By:
Linda Richardson, LCSW
The
South Georgia Association for Play Therapy sponsored a
conference on February 23 and 24, 2007.
The conference included a two day program for
practitioners needing basic skill level training in play
therapy. The two day
training event was very well received by those attending.
The
first day of basic training was entitled Play Therapy: Entering
a Child's World and the trainers were Jo Anne Mitchell, LPC/S,
RPT/S and Mary J. Thompson, LPC, RPT/S.
These two skilled practitioners gave attendees the basic
tenants of play therapy and showed video tape examples of how
children respond to the techniques and are healed through play
therapy. They discussed
the differences between adjusted versus maladjusted play;
treatment planning; the major themes of play therapy, stages of
the play therapy process and the use of sand trays and art in
the playroom. They also
talked about ethical issues frequently encountered when doing
play therapy with children and suggested ways to appropriately
handle those issues.
Their
presentation helped attendees know what types of toys are needed
in the play room; how to handle confidentiality issues with
children and their caretakers; the goals of play therapy; and
they described various models of play therapy, including both
directive and non-directive treatment modes.
In addition, they described the developmental stages of
children and ways to discuss and help parents understand what
play therapy is and how it can help children overcome problems
in developmental achievement, social interaction, or educational
progress. Therapeutic
limit setting was also discussed and an overview was given of
the Marschak Intervention Method for assessing the quality of
the child/caretaker relationship prior to and after treatment.
The
second day of basic training involved field maneuvers.
Janice Michaels, LPC and Gayle Grotheer, LPC are two
SGAPT members who utilize play therapy techniques in the Chatham
County School System. They
involved us in the techniques of play therapy that can be done
with groups of children in the school or other settings where
there are issues with social interaction or where the children
have developmental or mental health needs that interfere with
their progress in group situations.
The only word that can describe these field maneuvers we
were asked to undertake is FUN!
The
meeting was held at a restaurant in Statesboro and I loved the
reaction of the restaurant wait and cook staff as they peered
out of the kitchen window watching 20 or so adults playing games
such as Elbow Tag; Pass the Hoop; Balloon Bop; Pass the Bubble;
Tablecloth turn. I don't think they had ever seen a conference
quite like the one we had that day.
They smiled and laughed as we ran around, jumped through
hoops (literally) and performed amazing balancing feats!
Even a Ministerial Clown leading a religious group in
another room, had to ask just what kind of meeting we were
having next door as some of us passed him in the hallway.
We were a little noisy at times, so I guess that is how
he knew we were not learning our ABC's in the traditional
manner. We encouraged him to join our association.
We
all came away with an understanding of how these activities help
children bond with each other; learn to cooperate with one
another in order to be successful; improve their skills in
following instructions and communicating clearly with others,
improve their skills in clearing up ambiguity or in resolving
disputes, and so forth. I
can attest to the fact that no one left that day's session
without a smile on their face. As
we left, we were all thinking of how we could use those fun
basic training tools in our own practice.
We
received wonderful feedback from the persons attending these
sessions and hope to be able to continue Basic Training in the
future.
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