Latest / Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence / What skills are needed to be a play therapist?

Transcript

What skills are needed to be a play therapist? · Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence

• 0:02
  Cathi Spooner: Welcome to Next Level Play Therapy, a weekly podcast dedicated to supporting the next generation of child and adolescent therapists to provide exceptional play therapy services.
• 0:14
  Cathi Spooner: We'll explore all things play therapy to elevate your work with children and adolescents using the therapeutic powers of play.
• 0:23
  Cathi Spooner: I'll discuss practical tips and ideas.
• 0:26
  Cathi Spooner: So you can provide a transformative experience for your young clients and make a real difference in their lives.
• 0:34
  Cathi Spooner: So get ready to take your play therapy skills to the next level and make a lasting impact in the lives of children, adolescents, and families.
• 0:44
  Cathi Spooner: Morning.
• 0:48
  Cathi Spooner: Good morning.
• 0:49
  Cathi Spooner: So today I want to talk about what are the specific skills that are needed in order to consider yourself a play therapist.
• 0:59
  Cathi Spooner: So in a previous episode, um, in my weekly lives, I talked about what is the difference between being a play therapist and being a therapist who uses play in therapy sessions.
• 1:15
  Cathi Spooner: And this is a really important distinction when you're considering what type of theoretical models you're going to use, your toolbox, so to speak.
• 1:28
  Cathi Spooner: Part of that is dependent upon what theoretical models you're trained in, how are you applying those theoretical models.
• 1:36
  Cathi Spooner: Most mental health professionals, will use an integrated approach because one size really doesn't fit all and so having more tools in your toolbox, so to speak, is an important part of professional development.
• 1:54
  Cathi Spooner: And so that brings us to, to me, the discussion today is if you are using play in the therapeutic process with your child and adolescent clients.
• 2:10
  Cathi Spooner: What type of theoretical models are you using?
• 2:13
  Cathi Spooner: Which type are you trained in?
• 2:16
  Cathi Spooner: And if you are promoting yourself as a play therapist, then what exactly does that mean?
• 2:24
  Cathi Spooner: Because that also brings in a little bit of ethics, um, and some competency questions in terms of the models that you're using.
• 2:36
  Cathi Spooner: And so that is what I want to discuss today.
• 2:40
  Cathi Spooner: I'm Cathi Spooner.
• 2:41
  Cathi Spooner: If you haven't been watching my previous live episodes, I go live every Wednesday at 7 a.
• 2:50
  Cathi Spooner: m.
• 2:50
  Cathi Spooner: Pacific time.
• 2:51
  Cathi Spooner: I'm in the West coast here in the United States.
• 2:54
  Cathi Spooner: Which is 10 a.
• 2:55
  Cathi Spooner: m.
• 2:56
  Cathi Spooner: Eastern time, like think New York, um, and I'm pretty sure it's, uh, 3 p.
• 3:04
  Cathi Spooner: m.
• 3:04
  Cathi Spooner: in the UK, like London time zone.
• 3:08
  Cathi Spooner: Um, pretty sure that's accurate.
• 3:10
  Cathi Spooner: I try to keep up on making sure I give the right information about that.
• 3:15
  Cathi Spooner: So if you are joining me live today, I would love to see who's here.
• 3:20
  Cathi Spooner: I live stream on, uh, I use the StreamYard.
• 3:24
  Cathi Spooner: So if you're watching on LinkedIn, YouTube, or my Facebook group, then you want to give StreamYard permission so I can see your name.
• 3:34
  Cathi Spooner: If you don't want to, that's fine.
• 3:36
  Cathi Spooner: The only thing that does is it lets me see your name.
• 3:39
  Cathi Spooner: I'm also simultaneously live streaming into Instagram.
• 3:43
  Cathi Spooner: So if you are watching on Instagram, I would love to know who's here.
• 3:49
  Cathi Spooner: Um, I would love to know who's here in my Facebook group, which is called Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.
• 3:57
  Cathi Spooner: It's a Facebook group for child and adolescent mental health professionals who want to use play therapy and expressive arts in their clinical work.
• 4:07
  Cathi Spooner: So if you haven't already joined the group and it sounds like it would be interesting to you and you're on Facebook, feel free to hop over there and join the group.
• 4:17
  Cathi Spooner: You are required to answer the questions or you won't be admitted in the group.
• 4:23
  Cathi Spooner: So if you're watching on, uh, in my Facebook group, LinkedIn, or YouTube, please let's see who's here, post your name in the comments.
• 4:35
  Cathi Spooner: Where are you from?
• 4:37
  Cathi Spooner: And on Instagram, where are you from?
• 4:39
  Cathi Spooner: What population do you work with?
• 4:41
  Cathi Spooner: Um, are you using play therapy?
• 4:44
  Cathi Spooner: What modalities are you using?
• 4:46
  Cathi Spooner: How you know those kinds of questions.
• 4:48
  Cathi Spooner: I'd love to see who's here.
• 4:49
  Cathi Spooner: Any questions about play therapy.
• 4:52
  Cathi Spooner: Please feel free to post those as well.
• 4:56
  Cathi Spooner: Um, if you're interested in any of my previous replays, these automatically turn into replays.
• 5:02
  Cathi Spooner: I get asked that question a lot.
• 5:05
  Cathi Spooner: Um, so I thought maybe I would mention it.
• 5:08
  Cathi Spooner: If you are interested in watching any of the replays, if you're in my Facebook group, you can find them in the featured section.
• 5:17
  Cathi Spooner: I pin them all in the featured section.
• 5:21
  Cathi Spooner: If you're watching on LinkedIn, it's kind of hard to find them.
• 5:24
  Cathi Spooner: You have to scroll through my entire feed.
• 5:26
  Cathi Spooner: It's probably easier to hop over to my YouTube channel and look in the live tab.
• 5:32
  Cathi Spooner: It's easier to watch them from my YouTube channel, which is called Cathi Spooner, Renewing Hearts Consulting.
• 5:40
  Cathi Spooner: Hey, Michelle from Omaha, who is in my Facebook group.
• 5:45
  Cathi Spooner: Um, it's good to see you here.
• 5:49
  Cathi Spooner: And, um, so let's get started.
• 5:52
  Cathi Spooner: Honestly, feel free to ask questions.
• 5:54
  Cathi Spooner: Um, And let's have a conversation.
• 5:57
  Cathi Spooner: Because to me, part of the discussion is really getting an understanding of what is play therapy and if you're working with children and adolescents, what does it take to be a play therapist?
• 6:10
  Cathi Spooner: What skills are needed?
• 6:12
  Cathi Spooner: And for those of you who have been using play therapy for a while, I think it's always good for us in the profession to consider where am I in my competencies?
• 6:26
  Cathi Spooner: Like, what are these competencies?
• 6:29
  Cathi Spooner: These are fairly new in the Association for Play Therapy, which is where these come from.
• 6:35
  Cathi Spooner: They did a research study back in 2020 to examine what other experienced play therapists consider to be core competencies in play therapy.
• 6:50
  Cathi Spooner: So what is a competency?
• 6:52
  Cathi Spooner: A competence competency is your ability to use specific theoretical models and apply them your skills in play therapy that you're using.
• 7:05
  Cathi Spooner: If you're in graduate school for mental health, you're learning all your competencies for your specific discipline.
• 7:12
  Cathi Spooner: So in a marriage and family therapy counseling program, or, um, you're learning the skills, competency skills for marriage and family counseling.
• 7:23
  Cathi Spooner: If you're in social work, you're learning competency skills for social work.
• 7:28
  Cathi Spooner: If you're in the counseling profession, psychology profession, school counseling, school, social work, you're learning the competencies for those specific professions.
• 7:40
  Cathi Spooner: And so, in 2020, there were some play therapists who, um, did a research study, and what they did is they asked experienced play therapists in the field of play therapy what are important skills that they consider to be necessary for a play therapist.
• 8:02
  Cathi Spooner: And so, through that program, through that process, they, they narrowed it down to three categories and identified core skills in each category.
• 8:16
  Cathi Spooner: And so that for the play therapy profession, then these are the skills that are necessary in order to be a competent play therapist, regardless of which theoretical, uh, which theoretical model that you're using.
• 8:33
  Cathi Spooner: So in play therapy, there are a variety of theoretical models that dictate how you will access the therapeutic powers of play in the play therapy process.
• 8:49
  Cathi Spooner: So, hey there, Dory from Bonita Springs, Florida.
• 8:54
  Cathi Spooner: Um, Welcome, Dory.
• 8:56
  Cathi Spooner: Dory's in my Facebook group, and I think, Dory, we're also connected on LinkedIn, I think.
• 9:03
  Cathi Spooner: Um, so, welcome, Dory.
• 9:07
  Cathi Spooner: Um, Oh, sorry, I get, I get a little distracted.
• 9:11
  Cathi Spooner: Hey, Dory.
• 9:12
  Cathi Spooner: So, um, In play therapy, there are theoretical models that you use and those drive how you apply that specific play therapy model to access the therapeutic powers of play which are essential and distinguish play therapy from other expressive arts modality.
• 9:36
  Cathi Spooner: So I talked about that more in previous lives.
• 9:41
  Cathi Spooner: So you can go back in my Facebook group, go in the featured section, watch those, or hop over to my YouTube channel.
• 9:47
  Cathi Spooner: You can watch more, they'll all be in the live channel.
• 9:52
  Cathi Spooner: So the Association for Play Therapy defines play therapy as the systematic use of a theoretical model.
• 10:01
  Cathi Spooner: to establish an interpersonal process wherein play play trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development.
• 10:19
  Cathi Spooner: And yes, I read that off my card.
• 10:21
  Cathi Spooner: That is a lot to remember to make sure I got that right.
• 10:24
  Cathi Spooner: So essentially what play therapy, uh, the Association for Play Therapy was, um, endeavoring to do is to create a definition of what is play therapy that captures all the components of play therapy.
• 10:42
  Cathi Spooner: And to me, what's important about being a play therapist is making sure that you get the training and consultation and that you take those core foundational courses to understand really, what is the foundation of play therapy?
• 11:02
  Cathi Spooner: I always like to use the example of building a house.
• 11:06
  Cathi Spooner: Like if you're building a house, this structure, you want to make sure that the foundation that you're building your structure on is solid because that has to support the weight of everything else that's going to be going into your house.
• 11:24
  Cathi Spooner: And it's we know that if you have a really poor foundation that your structure is not going to be sustainable.
• 11:34
  Cathi Spooner: It's going to crack.
• 11:35
  Cathi Spooner: It's, it won't, eventually it won't even be safe.
• 11:38
  Cathi Spooner: Well, this metaphor is still true for play therapy.
• 11:42
  Cathi Spooner: Which is having a strong foundational understanding of the core components of play therapy is really important in our professional development.
• 11:54
  Cathi Spooner: Um, and that's what I'm going to talk about this later at the end.
• 11:58
  Cathi Spooner: That is one of the reasons I have developed, I call it Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Foundations, a whole series of courses that I'm going to be doing.
• 12:09
  Cathi Spooner: They're all self paced, pre recorded, so you can take each of them, um, in your own time zone when it's convenient for you.
• 12:18
  Cathi Spooner: There's a whole series that to me create the foundation of being a play therapist, regardless of what theoretical model you're using.
• 12:29
  Cathi Spooner: Which is helpful because when you are using an integrated approach, you still want to be able to have a strong foundation on the core and foundational principles in order to use those different theoretical models.
• 12:48
  Cathi Spooner: And that integrated approach, they have to have something that's going to sustain them.
• 12:55
  Cathi Spooner: And this is where the core competencies come into play.
• 13:00
  Cathi Spooner: And these are so in, I have my first course that came out this month in January, it's called Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Foundations.
• 13:10
  Cathi Spooner: And so in that course, I break down the definition, APT's definition, and why each of those different components is really important when you're developing your foundational understanding of what play therapy is.
• 13:26
  Cathi Spooner: Then we also taught in the course, I also talk about the competencies, which is what we're going to talk about more today.
• 13:33
  Cathi Spooner: Um, the other, the other part that these competencies integrate in as part of the conceptualization is some ethics, some ethical considerations for play therapy.
• 13:47
  Cathi Spooner: What are cultural considerations in play therapy?
• 13:50
  Cathi Spooner: How does that cultural competence, cultural intelligence, cultural humility, each of those are specific definitions why I said each one of those they have different nuances to them.
• 14:03
  Cathi Spooner: And it's important as a mental health professional to really understand how those components will show up in the play therapy process and to be proficient in those.
• 14:17
  Cathi Spooner: So those are all really important things to consider when you are going through your play therapy training process and becoming a play therapy play therapist.
• 14:32
  Cathi Spooner: But if you've already been a play therapist for a while, these are still important things.
• 14:37
  Cathi Spooner: I think it's important for us to kind of come back and remind ourselves of these.
• 14:43
  Cathi Spooner: If you're a play therapist supervisor, then these core competencies are going to be really important for you to understand because you are going to be then helping the people that you are consulting with, also known as supervising, um, and helping them to develop these skills.
• 15:04
  Cathi Spooner: So I, I have a new program now starts in February.
• 15:08
  Cathi Spooner: It's called Play Therapy Academy.
• 15:10
  Cathi Spooner: I have two, uh, online consultation groups, and then I also am putting some courses in there, but the whole thing, as I'm teaching others to become a play therapy play therapist.
• 15:23
  Cathi Spooner: I'm also focused on helping them really understand these competencies so that that when they get through the process and they have their registered play therapist credential, that's the one we use here in the United States.
• 15:39
  Cathi Spooner: I know outside of the United States, there are other organizations.
• 15:44
  Cathi Spooner: Um, like the British Association for Play Therapists, Play, I think it's Play Therapists of the UK.
• 15:50
  Cathi Spooner: I think that's the other one over there in the UK.
• 15:54
  Cathi Spooner: Canada has an association, Italy now has an association, um, Australia.
• 16:00
  Cathi Spooner: So a lot of, outside the US, there are still organizations focused on developing some core competencies in play therapy.
• 16:12
  Cathi Spooner: The ones I'm going to talk about are from the Association for Play Therapy.
• 16:16
  Cathi Spooner: I'm a member of the Association for Play Therapy as a registered play therapist supervisor.
• 16:21
  Cathi Spooner: So those are the ones I know, and those are the ones I'm going to talk about, but I do think they are general generalizable, such a big word to other countries as well.
• 16:33
  Cathi Spooner: So first and foremost, competency one in play therapy, and I want to hop over here.
• 16:41
  Cathi Spooner: Oops, I forgot my first banner.
• 16:43
  Cathi Spooner: We just talked about what is play therapy here in StreamYard on Instagram.
• 16:47
  Cathi Spooner: You guys won't see this, but on StreamYard in my Facebook group, LinkedIn and YouTube, you can see my fancy little banners here.
• 16:54
  Cathi Spooner: Um, The first one, play therapy competency area one is knowledge and understanding of play therapy.
• 17:03
  Cathi Spooner: So these are competency and these build on each other.
• 17:07
  Cathi Spooner: So competency one is really Building those core foundational skills and developing a core foundational understanding of what is play therapy and what does it mean to provide what skills are needed to provide play therapy.
• 17:28
  Cathi Spooner: So really having an understanding of the history, which I call the roots, like every discipline teaches you about the history of that specific mental health discipline, like social work.
• 17:41
  Cathi Spooner: We heard all about the history and the roots of social work because it kind of, it informs, uh, what it means to be a social worker and what focus, what area, what sets us apart from other disciplines, like, how is a social worker different than a marriage and family therapist or a school psychologist?
• 18:05
  Cathi Spooner: The same thing is true for play therapy.
• 18:08
  Cathi Spooner: Part of becoming a play therapist and understanding what it means to be a play therapist is understanding the roots of play therapy and how it came to be the way that it is.
• 18:20
  Cathi Spooner: So that's part of that, the roots, I call, I call those the roots of the profession.
• 18:26
  Cathi Spooner: And then we have other competencies like, um, understanding theory of play therapy, understanding child development, systems theory, impact of trauma, ethical practice, all of those kinds of things.
• 18:43
  Cathi Spooner: And the core basic, um, knowledge about treatment and the phases of treatment and different kinds of skills that are needed, basic skills, regardless of what theoretical model you're using for play therapy.
• 19:01
  Cathi Spooner: These will be important to know across all of the play therapy models, which again means it's really important If you're using an integrated approach, which much most of us use an integrated approach.
• 19:16
  Cathi Spooner: So I'll be curious if you're watching those of you who are watching what play therapy trainings have you taken?
• 19:25
  Cathi Spooner: Have you taken any foundational trainings?
• 19:28
  Cathi Spooner: What did you learn from that?
• 19:30
  Cathi Spooner: What did you get out of that?
• 19:31
  Cathi Spooner: Or if you need to take a foundational training, what, what are things, what are questions you have about that?
• 19:37
  Cathi Spooner: Like, what would you want to know?
• 19:38
  Cathi Spooner: So post those in the comments.
• 19:41
  Cathi Spooner: I would love to see those.
• 19:43
  Cathi Spooner: So competency two in play therapy has a lot to do with building Your skills and knowledge on those foundational principles that you learned from competent, the area of competency one.
• 20:00
  Cathi Spooner: So again, think about that analogy of building a strong house.
• 20:05
  Cathi Spooner: You want to lay a strong foundation of knowledge and skill building that you're going to build upon.
• 20:11
  Cathi Spooner: Because the other thing is we are lifelong learners.
• 20:15
  Cathi Spooner: as mental health professionals.
• 20:17
  Cathi Spooner: We are always working on professional development.
• 20:21
  Cathi Spooner: We are learning through experience.
• 20:24
  Cathi Spooner: We are learning through ongoing training, and that's an important part of the process.
• 20:31
  Cathi Spooner: So becoming a play therapist means that you're also continuing through training and through consultation with an experienced play therapist for your registered play therapy certification, RPT, so to speak, um, you're learning from a registered play therapist supervisor, such as myself, um, who have had more experience.
• 20:59
  Cathi Spooner: I've been in the field of mental health for 30 years.
• 21:03
  Cathi Spooner: I've been in play therapy for 10 of those, well, probably a little more now, 10 of those years and doing play therapy supervision and, um, licensing supervision since 2007.
• 21:18
  Cathi Spooner: So it's been a while.
• 21:21
  Cathi Spooner: And these are some of the questions that I've been asked by people, which is why I thought when I, uh, in the first course in the Getting Grounded Series, which is Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Foundations, a lot of what I put in the course was based on information that I get asked in supervision and when I'm doing trainings from other people, the things that they are interested in learning in addition to what it is that's important like APT has defined some things that they believe are important for your professional development as a play therapist so those went in the course.
• 22:03
  Cathi Spooner: So, um, competency two building on those foundational principles, getting more depth in your skill, building areas like, um, understanding, tracking, recognizing themes in the play therapy sessions.
• 22:19
  Cathi Spooner: And then what do you do with those themes.
• 22:22
  Cathi Spooner: Understanding what you do with emotions, what you do with your own Um, things that come up in the play therapy process.
• 22:32
  Cathi Spooner: Also, you're really getting, um, also more in depth about understanding biases.
• 22:41
  Cathi Spooner: We all have them.
• 22:42
  Cathi Spooner: We, you know, if you're in graduate school, like I was, we talked about them all the time.
• 22:47
  Cathi Spooner: Why do we do that?
• 22:48
  Cathi Spooner: Because it's important to recognize them.
• 22:50
  Cathi Spooner: We don't understand what we don't understand until we take the time to go in and try to understand.
• 22:57
  Cathi Spooner: We don't understand what we have kind of hidden away back in the resources, recesses of our minds and memories, um, until we go exploring and challenge ourselves.
• 23:11
  Cathi Spooner: I often say to my husband over the years, I would love to be in a profession.
• 23:15
  Cathi Spooner: Not really, but sometimes I get tired of looking internally and figuring things out.
• 23:21
  Cathi Spooner: Like, Oh, what was that?
• 23:23
  Cathi Spooner: Really?
• 23:24
  Cathi Spooner: That again?
• 23:26
  Cathi Spooner: Dang it.
• 23:27
  Cathi Spooner: Um, so really understanding those biases that we have, where those came from, what are we going to do with it?
• 23:36
  Cathi Spooner: Because we all have them.
• 23:37
  Cathi Spooner: How do we make sure that we show up in the best, most professional ways to meet our clients right where they are and help them through that process?
• 23:47
  Cathi Spooner: Because you cannot be in a relationship, even a therapeutic relationship, without things getting activated, it is impossible and I am 30 years in doing this and it is still something that I have to work on.
• 24:02
  Cathi Spooner: It's still because that's what I believe is important if you are a therapist and if you really, really want to get down there in the trenches with your clients and help them find their way out.
• 24:17
  Cathi Spooner: Professional boundaries, of course, but I think it's an important thing to do.
• 24:22
  Cathi Spooner: You can only do that if you are looking and exploring the things that get activated to you, as well as your own personal biases.
• 24:32
  Cathi Spooner: And this comes up even more so when we're interacting with people who come from a different background from us.
• 24:41
  Cathi Spooner: Different culture.
• 24:42
  Cathi Spooner: Maybe they sound different or talk different.
• 24:45
  Cathi Spooner: Um, and within different communities, there are variances like one size doesn't fit all for everybody, not even in different communities.
• 24:56
  Cathi Spooner: Um, and so, or maybe they have a different faith background.
• 25:01
  Cathi Spooner: I was in a on, what was today?
• 25:04
  Cathi Spooner: Today's Wednesday.
• 25:05
  Cathi Spooner: Um, on Monday we were talking about cultural issues in terms of spirituality, spirituality and religion and how, how does that get navigated in the mental health relationship?
• 25:20
  Cathi Spooner: So it was pretty interesting.
• 25:22
  Cathi Spooner: So these are the things we are, we're getting stronger at.
• 25:25
  Cathi Spooner: We are going more in depth.
• 25:28
  Cathi Spooner: We're learning those tracking skills.
• 25:30
  Cathi Spooner: We're learning how to recognize where clients are in the in the change process, we're learning those clinical decision making skills.
• 25:41
  Cathi Spooner: We're learning case conceptualization.
• 25:44
  Cathi Spooner: These are important skills to learn.
• 25:47
  Cathi Spooner: And so, so this in January, I have released Foundations in Play Therapy, Getting Grounded in Play, Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Foundations.
• 25:59
  Cathi Spooner: And the next course that I'm going to be Um, making available probably end of February, early March ish is going to be Getting Grounded in Play fairy Case Play Therapy Case Conceptualization.
• 26:17
  Cathi Spooner: So it's that case conceptualization and the clinical decision making through the process.
• 26:24
  Cathi Spooner: These are really important skills to learn.
• 26:28
  Cathi Spooner: And one of the things that I found through supervising is these are things in play therapy we have to learn how they apply and how we use them in a play therapy setting.
• 26:44
  Cathi Spooner: So I think that's an important part of, um, your foundational training, your getting grounded in play therapy, the skills you're learning as a play therapist.
• 26:55
  Cathi Spooner: I think these are really, really important to learn.
• 26:59
  Cathi Spooner: Um, and then the 3rd, the 3rd area is, uh, competency area 3, which I kind of conceptualize more as you're um, so the category is called competency three professional engagement in play therapy, which to me, this is a lot of where your professional identity as a play therapist comes from.
• 27:27
  Cathi Spooner: You are working toward that professional identity as a play therapist.
• 27:32
  Cathi Spooner: And what does that mean you are making sure you're considering burnout and recognizing burnout because it is real and we always have to be on the lookout for that to avoid it.
• 27:45
  Cathi Spooner: Because it impacts not, not only our own well being and our ability to be the best versions of ourself more often than not with our own families and our own loved ones and our own friends, it also impacts the therapy process.
• 28:04
  Cathi Spooner: So it's important to keep in mind about that and just your ongoing training as a play therapist and ensuring that you are using training and helping to meet the needs of the clients that you serve.
• 28:22
  Cathi Spooner: So all of those best practices that, um, are important to make sure you are following in play therapy.
• 28:32
  Cathi Spooner: So those are the three competency areas as a play therapist that are important for you to make sure that you are working on and developing.
• 28:43
  Cathi Spooner: Let me do a quick recap, recap, which is what is play therapy?
• 28:49
  Cathi Spooner: Play therapy essentially is, this is my, uh, summary.
• 28:56
  Cathi Spooner: You're, you are taking a theoretical model within the context of a therapeutic relationship to help your clients access the therapeutic powers at play so you can help them to heal.
• 29:08
  Cathi Spooner: And to do that, there are competencies that need to be developed, specific skills that need to be developed in order to provide strong and ethical service delivery for your clients who, um, who are children, adolescents and families.
• 29:29
  Cathi Spooner: So these are the younger kids and in graduate school, I don't know about you guys, but most of the, most of the training I got, well, most of mine was family therapy, which.
• 29:42
  Cathi Spooner: I kind of, well, I'm a licensed clinical social worker, but at my heart, really, I'm a marriage and family therapist, um, because I did a lot of family work when I was in grad school.
• 29:54
  Cathi Spooner: Most of my courses were focused on family, which is unusual these days.
• 30:00
  Cathi Spooner: Um, but very few, very few universities have specific focus on children and adolescents.
• 30:11
  Cathi Spooner: So, As a play therapist, one, you are a mental health therapist and to be a registered play therapist here through the Association for Play Therapy, you have to be licensed.
• 30:23
  Cathi Spooner: You can accumulate the training experience and the consultation while you're going through that process.
• 30:31
  Cathi Spooner: But you, in order to be a registered play therapist, you have to be licensed.
• 30:36
  Cathi Spooner: Because APT wants you to build on those core mental health discipline competencies and build on that more of a specialization with children, adolescents and families.
• 30:51
  Cathi Spooner: So predominantly children in particular.
• 30:54
  Cathi Spooner: So you you're specializing even more to help this population of clients who need help essentially.
• 31:06
  Cathi Spooner: Um, so that play there at competency area one is really developing those foundational skills.
• 31:15
  Cathi Spooner: Competency area two is continuing to build on those skills.
• 31:19
  Cathi Spooner: Go deeper, more in depth into your skill building and application.
• 31:25
  Cathi Spooner: These are across theoretical models.
• 31:28
  Cathi Spooner: And then competency area three is really about developing a strong professional identity.
• 31:39
  Cathi Spooner: Promoting the development of a strong clay therapy community of support and your professional development.
• 31:49
  Cathi Spooner: So that is it for today.
• 31:52
  Cathi Spooner: Um, I did want to tell you about, I know I mentioned my course before I do, I have a whole series coming out.
• 32:00
  Cathi Spooner: The whole series, which are going to, uh, they're going to come out like every six to eight weeks.
• 32:08
  Cathi Spooner: Um, the first, so the whole series is called Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Foundation.
• 32:13
  Cathi Spooner: I'm Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Excellence.
• 32:17
  Cathi Spooner: The course that's currently available is Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Foundations.
• 32:22
  Cathi Spooner: This is really the foundational components of play therapy, history, core competencies, ethics, cultural understanding, how to explain the therapeutic powers of play.
• 32:36
  Cathi Spooner: So there's lots of experiential things in there.
• 32:39
  Cathi Spooner: About the questions I get asked all of the time when I'm doing trainings.
• 32:43
  Cathi Spooner: The next course that will be coming out late February, early March is going to be Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Case Conceptualization.
• 32:53
  Cathi Spooner: Really, how do you take all of the information that you are learning and formulate your understanding of what's going on, which is going to be based on your theoretical model.
• 33:07
  Cathi Spooner: This specific course is not going to be any particular play therapy, um, theory model more general, because to me, that's where the foundational part comes in, where you can, and especially since most of us use an integrated approach, so it's really about what are the core competencies in case conceptualization and clinical decision making, and how do you use that in play therapy with an ethical and cultural lens, which are really important.
• 33:46
  Cathi Spooner: So that'll be coming out later.
• 33:47
  Cathi Spooner: Then I have some other ones coming out, which are treatment plans.
• 33:50
  Cathi Spooner: I can ask that one all the time.
• 33:52
  Cathi Spooner: Treatment plans, progress notes.
• 33:54
  Cathi Spooner: Those will be coming out later in the year.
• 33:56
  Cathi Spooner: That one comes up a lot.
• 33:58
  Cathi Spooner: Um, and how do you integrate parents like or caregivers?
• 34:03
  Cathi Spooner: Um, guardians, how do you integrate them?
• 34:06
  Cathi Spooner: I don't believe we're, Um, generally speaking, from what I can see, I think we really, as play therapists, need to find a way to be more effective in that area.
• 34:19
  Cathi Spooner: Um, and so I want to, I want to talk about some things over 30 years that I have found to be super duper useful, um, when integrating parents.
• 34:29
  Cathi Spooner: So those are the courses coming over the next year in 2023.
• 34:34
  Cathi Spooner: Right now.
• 34:35
  Cathi Spooner: The course that is available is Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Foundations.
• 34:41
  Cathi Spooner: If you are interested in that course, you can go to my website at rrhcounseling.
• 34:49
  Cathi Spooner: com forward slash courses.
• 34:52
  Cathi Spooner: You'll want to click on the icon, the image that says Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Foundations.
• 34:59
  Cathi Spooner: If you're interested in Play Therapy Academy, then go over to my website at rrhcounseling.
• 35:09
  Cathi Spooner: com forward slash I think it says supervision, it's on the, oh no, I think, yeah, supervision.
• 35:16
  Cathi Spooner: Any Maybe it says play therapy.
• 35:18
  Cathi Spooner: I don't remember what my website says.
• 35:21
  Cathi Spooner: Um, I think it says supervision.
• 35:24
  Cathi Spooner: Anyway, on that page, it'll give you a little more information about play therapy academy.
• 35:29
  Cathi Spooner: If you're interested in Play Therapy Academy, there's a link that you can click on to schedule a free 30 minute consultation with me to find out more about it.
• 35:41
  Cathi Spooner: See if it's a good fit for you.
• 35:44
  Cathi Spooner: Um, so if you're interested in that, you can click on that page.
• 35:49
  Cathi Spooner: All righty.
• 35:50
  Cathi Spooner: I will see you next week.
• 35:52
  Cathi Spooner: Bye for now.
• 35:56
  Cathi Spooner: Thank you for joining me on this episode of Next Level Play Therapy.
• 36:00
  Cathi Spooner: I hope you found the discussion valuable and gain new insights and ideas to support your work helping children, adolescents, and families heal.
• 36:10
  Cathi Spooner: If you enjoyed this episode Be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review.
• 36:15
  Cathi Spooner: Your feedback helps to improve and reach more people who can benefit from this information.
• 36:21
  Cathi Spooner: Remember, play therapy is a powerful tool for healing and growth.
• 36:26
  Cathi Spooner: Whether you're a new play therapist or experienced I encourage you to continue your learning journey to unlock the potential of play in your own work and relationships.
• 36:37
  Cathi Spooner: If you have any questions or topic suggestions for future episodes, I'd love to hear from you.
• 36:44
  Cathi Spooner: Connect with me on social media and visit my website at Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training to stay updated on upcoming episodes, trainings, and resources.
• 36:57
  Cathi Spooner: Thank you once again for listening to Next Level Play Therapy.
• 37:00
  Cathi Spooner: Until next time, keep playing, learning, and growing.