Part of a therapist’s job is to help children with adjusting to change in a healthy and productive way. Typically this involves changes that happened in a family PRIOR to the therapists involvement (like a divorce, move, new school, medical diagnosis, etc) or to a change that happened after they started therapy (like a new […]
Play Therapy Book Club- August Touch in Child Counseling and Play Therapy
The first meeting of my new Play Therapy Virtual Book Club was a hit. We had a fantastic group of clinicians discuss Virginia Axline’s classic book, Dibs: In Search of Self. If you missed it, the recorded version of this course is available for non-contact hour credit here. (And, the audio of the discussion is available […]
Play Therapy Supervision: The Goodness of Fit
For professionals looking for play therapy clinical supervision, it can be difficult to know who to choose or where to start. Just like anything in therapy, the number 1 factor in choosing a clinical supervisor (to me) is goodness of fit. What I mean by goodness of fit for play therapy supervision comes down to […]
Dibs: In Search of Self – Play Therapy Virtual Book Club, July
Nerd alert! I love a good book club. The problem is that I am one of those professionals that spends my free time reading professional books and so I never actually make time to read fiction books for pleasure. The problem is that none of the community book clubs have an interest in reading play […]
Find Your Niche: Specializations Within the Field of Play Therapy
What’s your niche? Finding one is definitely my biggest piece of advice for new therapists. You may have come to this page because you are considering making play therapy your niche and want to get specific training or supervision in that area. (Bookmark it because I have tons of resources for new therapists and specialize […]
What is EMDR? And Should Your Child Get It In Therapy?
EMDR should only be performed by a trained clinician who understands the complexities of trauma and who is prepared to manage any adverse reactions that might come up. That being said, EMDR is just one of the combinations of letters that are used by therapists to abbreviate a treatment approach. Even most professionals have a hard […]
The Mother’s Day Gift That You Actually Want!
It’s Mother’s Day and I want to take this minute to fully celebrate all of the mom’s that read this blog. You are amazing! You are doing a great job! Your children love you even when you don’t feel amazing and don’t think you are doing a great job. HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!! Now, hopefully you […]
10 Secret Confessions From A Play Therapist
Confessions are good for the soul. They help unburden you from guilt and help you think about solutions. Well, today I will let you in on a few confessions about play therapy from my own perspective. But first…Professional Best Practice: Many play therapists use a model of play therapy called child centered play therapy. What […]
Should Your Playroom Include Aggressive Toys Like Play Guns?
Play therapists widely regard the use of aggressive toys, including toys guns, as an essential element to the playroom. However, many parents are hesitant to allow their children to play with toy guns. Nearly all schools have banned the use of toys guns (or even pretend shooting) completely. Over the years, I have had some […]
My Favorite Play Therapy Tools: Books and Games To Add To Your Playroom
People are always asking me for play therapy tools and resources. Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting a continuing education topic on play therapy and trauma to a group of school counselors. As part of that presentation, a few of my favorite play therapy tools kept coming up. So, I thought I would […]