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From an attachment theory standpoint, structure is an important part of parenting.

It helps children understand relationship boundaries, protects them from possible harm, provides a sense of safety and order, and allows them to understand how actions impact them and others.

How we provide structure is very important - Not too rigid and not too loose. Just right structure is the 🔑to success.

This is also true when providing play therapy to children and their families.

One of the biggest reasons I find that play therapists get lost and frustrated, especially when working with parents is 👇

they have not fully identified their expectations for how their play therapy services are provided and 👇

they didn’t clearly communicate that to parents from the very beginning of play therapy treatment.

This has the potential to create frustration for clients and parents, reduce the effectiveness of your play therapy services, and cause parents to pull their child from play therapy.

What can you do?

How can you set up your play therapy services for success from the very beginning?

Join me for this free weekly podcast, I’ll share with you strategies that I’ve learned over the past three decades working with children and families.

I’ll answer questions that I get asked ALL the time by play therapists about getting better engagement from parents and their children.

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a text

If you’re a play therapist, especially new to play therapy, I’m going to share a secret with you.

You may not believe me when I tell you this.

If you feel like a fraud using play therapy …

If you feel overwhelmed and struggling with thoughts that you suck using play therapy and that your clients are probably suffering because of your incompetence …

This is likely a lie your brain is telling you. 🤯

It’s called Imposter Syndrome.

Every play therapist I’ve ever worked with to learn play therapy feels this way.

Yep!  You’re not the only one who feels like an imposter.  

I promise!

And, the likelihood that you actually suck using play therapy is pretty slim.

I know - I can hear you thinking that I’m wrong because you’re pretty sure you’re a terrible play therapist.

If this is you, then 👇

Join me for this free weekly podcast, I’ll share tips for gaining confidence using play therapy so you can make a difference in the lives of your clients.

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a text

Have you ever felt like you’re lost and not sure what to do when you’re providing play therapy?

Maybe you’ve secretly thought that you aren’t cut out to be a play therapist because you’re terrible at it.

At some point in your learning journey to help your clients heal using play therapy, you’ve probably felt lost, overwhelmed, and frustrated.

Typically, you’re imposter syndrome kicks it and can leave you feeling like you aren’t helping your clients and you worry that you may actually be making things worse.

Or - you feel lost and overwhelmed thinking that you need to convince parents that play therapy is actually working 👇

And this only adds more stress because your imposter syndrome is in high gear which makes you feel even more lost and confused about what to do and how to show parents that you know what you’re doing.

You are not alone.  Anyone who has ever gone before you to learn how to help children heal using play therapy has experienced all of these emotions.

Heck! Even experienced play therapists feel overwhelmed sometimes.

If this is you, then join me for this free weekly podcast, I’ll discuss how to recognize when you are lost using play therapy and some tips for what to do to get back on track.

We’ve all been there and you are not alone so join me for this week’s episode and I’ll see you there!

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a text

What’s the point of learning to recognize themes in play therapy sessions?

Does it really matter?

Play therapists often talk about what play themes occurred in their clients’ play therapy sessions.

Are play themes even real or are we just making them up to justify that play therapy is actually working?

We know that play therapy has become the “go-to” treatment approach for children and several play therapy models are considered evidence-based.

But what about play themes?  We talk about them, but has anyone researched them and their role in play therapy sessions?

YES!!

A group of researchers examined behavior and play themes using a case study approach with qualitative and quantitative measures.  

While there are definitely limitations with this research approach, the benefit of gaining a closer look at what happens in play therapy sessions provides important information for play therapists and the field of play therapy.

Join me for this free weekly podcast, I’ll discuss play themes and understanding play behavior in play therapy.  

Then I’ll discuss the study and its implications for your play therapy work with children.

Citation for the study discussed:

Snow, M. S., Hudspeth, E. F., Gore, B., and Seale, H. A. (2007). A comparison of behaviors and play themes over a six-week period: Two case studies in play therapy. International Journal of Play Therapy, 16(2), 147-159. doi.10.1037/1555-6824.16.2.147

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a text

Do children who’ve experienced trauma prior to developing language have the capacity to remember what happened to them?

Does the traumatic experience go away on its own?

I’ve often heard people, including child serving professionals, dismiss the possibility of the negative impact of neglect and early trauma on infants and young children.

Especially the trauma caused by invasive medical procedures on infants and children even though the procedures are necessary.

I find it perplexing that professionals in the mental health community and social services community would dismiss the impact of early traumatic experiences on children.

That’s usually when I go back to what research tells us about trauma.

Research tells us, especially the groundbreaking work of Bessel Van der Kolk,  that traumatic experiences are stored somatically in the body.

How can mental health professionals help these young children to overcome the negative impact of preverbal trauma?

Yep, you guessed it - Play Therapy!

Spiel, Lombardi, and DeRubeis-Byrne (2019) provide a case study using psychoanalytic play therapy to facilitate healing for a three-year old client.

It’s a fascinating case study with excerpts from sessions and a discussion of the clinical insights gained using psychoanalytic play therapy.

Interested in learning how play therapy can facilitate healing for young children who experienced pre-verbal trauma?

Join me for this free weekly podcast, I’ll provide an overview of the case study and discuss how play therapists can help traumatized young children to heal.

If you’re interested in reading the study, here’s the citation:

Spiel, S., Lombardi, K., and DeRebeis-Byrne, L. (2019). Treating traumatized children: Somatic memories and play therapy. Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, 18(1), 1-12. doi.10.1080/15289168.2019.1566974

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a text

Using play therapy effectively requires child and adolescent therapists to know how to use a theoretical play therapy model to access the therapeutic powers of play.

When choosing play therapy to facilitate healing, it’s important to consider what your clients need and how you will use play therapy to accomplish that goal.

Want some ideas?

Join me for this free weekly podcast, I’ll share tips for activities to use focused on facilitating attachment and connection.

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a text

Play therapists often talk about the therapeutic powers of play.

But what exactly does that mean and why are they so important in play therapy?

How do you explain play therapy to others? 

Actually, knowing the answer to these questions are core competencies for play therapists because 👇

The therapeutic powers of play are what set play therapy apart from all the other expressive arts therapies.

Understanding how to help your young clients access the therapeutic powers of play is the difference between using games and activities in therapy sessions versus using play therapy.

Join me for this free weekly podcast, I’ll discuss the therapeutic powers of play and why they are the foundation of play therapy.  

You’ll get tips for explaining play therapy to parents and other professionals so you sound legit.  🤩

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a text

Writing play therapy documentation is hands down the least favorite task for play therapists, myself included.

It’s overwhelming, confusing, and exhausting.  It can feel never ending and burn you out.

It’s often avoided altogether, which is never good.  

Avoiding it just creates more stress because you feel like you’re always behind or worse you get in trouble because it’s not done.

What if I told you that there are strategies that can help reduce the confusion and overwhelm?

I know, I can hear you thinking - No Way!  What’s the catch?

Join me for this free weekly Podcast, I’ll discuss three 🔑things to keep in mind that will help you streamline your documentation process in a way that makes the “documentation gods” happy, which in turn makes your life easier.  

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a text

If you’re a play therapist and you have struggled to write progress notes that make sense without draining your brain, then you are definitely not alone. 

Maybe you feel confused and overwhelmed about writing play therapy notes because you have no idea what to write that makes sense and doesn’t sound like you just played for an hour with your client.  😂

These are the struggles of many play therapists.

Writing play therapy progress notes can be exhausting, confusing, and frustrating.

If that’s you, then I have good news for you!

Join me for this free weekly podcast I’ll discuss tips for writing play therapy progress notes so they look professional and accurately document your play therapy sessions.

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a text

If you’re a mental health professional in the United States, you might have heard about the CURES Act.

It’s created quite a buzz in the mental health community.

Maybe you’ve heard of Open Notes.

Essentially the discussion about progress notes in the medical community, including the mental health community, revolves around clients’ access to their medical records.

Open Notes are a form of co-creating progress notes with clients.

When dealing with challenging topics and issues, I find it helpful to check out what the research says.

So, that’s what I did.

Join me for this free weekly podcast, I’m going to discuss this challenging topic regarding client access to progress notes, including parental access.  

I’ll review a recent study that explored the benefits and weaknesses for using Open Notes.

I’ll also discuss issues near and dear to play therapists 👇

how to maintain the privacy of your young clients, including progress notes about their sessions. 

If you’re interested in reading the study for yourself, here’s the citation:

Blease, C., Kharko, A., Hagglund, M., O”Neill, S., Wachenheim, D., Salmi, L., Harcourt, K., Locher, C., DesRoches, C. M., and Torous, J. (2021). The  benefit and harms of open notes in mental health: A Delphi survey of international experts. PLoS ONE, 16(10), 1-14. Doi.1037/journal.pone.0258056

Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.

Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work.

I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.

Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills