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Why Collecting More Play Therapy Activities Is Keeping You Stuck (And What Actually Creates Client Breakthroughs)" · Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence

• 0:01
  Cathi Spooner: Welcome to Next Level Play Therapy.
• 0:05
  Cathi Spooner: 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.
• 0:17
  Cathi Spooner: 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 so you can provide a transformative experience for your young clients and make a real difference in their lives.
• 0:33
  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.
• 0:47
  Cathi Spooner: Hey there.
• 0:48
  Cathi Spooner: Welcome to this week's episode of Next Level Play Therapy, and today I wanna talk about some things that I hear all the time in the play therapy community, especially when I'm talking to people in trainings and talking to people about the programs that I have available and the things that I keep hearing are.
• 1:16
  Cathi Spooner: Um, not sure what to do in play therapy sessions.
• 1:20
  Cathi Spooner: Not sure how to help clients, especially when you get the challenging ones.
• 1:25
  Cathi Spooner: So you spend endless hours online or searching through your, um, your folders.
• 1:35
  Cathi Spooner: On your computer to find just the perfect activity.
• 1:40
  Cathi Spooner: So you feel like you're constantly searching, you're filling up all your Pinterest boards, you are in Etsy, you're checking out your Amazon and filling up your cart, putting things in your wishlist.
• 1:54
  Cathi Spooner: 'cause it starts to add up cost wise.
• 1:58
  Cathi Spooner: Um, and, or, or searching online for free activity ideas.
• 2:04
  Cathi Spooner: But the thing is, you still end up feeling unsure, second guessing yourself, not sure what to do in your sessions or how to make sense of what's going on.
• 2:19
  Cathi Spooner: Then you start to feel a little bit deflated and wonder if you've chosen the right profession or you, you don't get sleep because you're up all night thinking about that frustrating case that you're experiencing and you just can't seem to figure out how to navigate through it.
• 2:45
  Cathi Spooner: Or maybe you kind of secretly start wishing you a chosen another profession.
• 2:52
  Cathi Spooner: Here's the thing.
• 2:53
  Cathi Spooner: I get it.
• 2:54
  Cathi Spooner: I have been there.
• 2:57
  Cathi Spooner: Um, this is a hard profession.
• 3:00
  Cathi Spooner: We hold hard things and the other part of it is.
• 3:06
  Cathi Spooner: Oftentimes play therapists.
• 3:08
  Cathi Spooner: You're the only one in your agency or you're the only one in your, your private, maybe you're in private practice and so, or maybe you're working towards your.
• 3:22
  Cathi Spooner: Licensure certification and your community or your supervisor or your clinical director is more, is really more of an adult therapist and they wanna, they provide great information about working with adults.
• 3:42
  Cathi Spooner: When it comes to working with kids, they kind of give you a compassionate look and just say, I don't work with kids, or, you know what?
• 3:51
  Cathi Spooner: I know you'll do the right thing, and you've got this without really providing any kind of tangible or, um, with tangible suggestions or really.
• 4:08
  Cathi Spooner: Developmentally sound ways of working with kids 'cause they don't know how to use play therapy.
• 4:14
  Cathi Spooner: So oftentimes I find play therapists are feeling pretty isolated and alone because there isn't other, there aren't others around to kind of help you through those challenging parts.
• 4:28
  Cathi Spooner: And so.
• 4:30
  Cathi Spooner: Today I wanna talk about some of the hidden reasons why you might be feeling stuck, why collecting more activities really isn't the answer, and maybe shifting your perspective on some things about how you might go about.
• 4:52
  Cathi Spooner: Getting those breakthroughs that you're looking for for your clients.
• 4:57
  Cathi Spooner: So that's what we're talking about today.
• 5:00
  Cathi Spooner: And if you're watching on the live stream, I would love to know who's here today, if you're watching on Instagram or YouTube or LinkedIn on the live episode.
• 5:14
  Cathi Spooner: Post your name in the comments, where are you from?
• 5:16
  Cathi Spooner: What population do you work with?
• 5:19
  Cathi Spooner: What do you have a favorite play therapy modality?
• 5:23
  Cathi Spooner: Post all of those in the comments.
• 5:25
  Cathi Spooner: If you're watching the replay, I would still love to know who's here.
• 5:29
  Cathi Spooner: Post your name in the comments.
• 5:33
  Cathi Spooner: Where are you?
• 5:34
  Cathi Spooner: Where are you working?
• 5:35
  Cathi Spooner: What population do you work with, and what is your favorite play therapy activity?
• 5:41
  Cathi Spooner: For those of you who are listening on the podcast, feel free to pop over to my Instagram channel.
• 5:50
  Cathi Spooner: Um, and those of you on Instagram, feel free to post in the comments or send me a message.
• 5:56
  Cathi Spooner: So my Instagram is at renewing hearts training, so.
• 6:02
  Cathi Spooner: Let's get started for today, but, um, if you find, let me just say my thing.
• 6:07
  Cathi Spooner: If you find this information helpful, please feel free to share it with your colleagues, kind of share the love, help them get connected, and let's get started for today.
• 6:21
  Cathi Spooner: Alrighty.
• 6:22
  Cathi Spooner: So, so I am glad that you guys are here today and I wanna talk about something.
• 6:31
  Cathi Spooner: I hear a lot and I think it's really important because I think it's causing a lot of stress for play therapists.
• 6:41
  Cathi Spooner: I know for me, I struggled a lot, especially in the beginning and then even when I was a little more seasoned, there were still things that I struggled with because this is a really hard.
• 6:56
  Cathi Spooner: This is a hard profession.
• 6:57
  Cathi Spooner: We, we have that therapeutic use of self, which means we're fully present, professionally, present in the session, providing support, compassion, empathy, and understanding.
• 7:14
  Cathi Spooner: So it can be draining all day long.
• 7:16
  Cathi Spooner: And then when you, um, experience some cha challenging clients, excuse me, I have a tickle in my throat.
• 7:26
  Cathi Spooner: It's even, can be even more frustrating.
• 7:29
  Cathi Spooner: And so a lot of times you may, um, go through trying to find some resources online or.
• 7:42
  Cathi Spooner: Maybe purchase another book that has some play therapy activities just to give you some fresh ideas or maybe help figure out that one activity that's gonna help you get that breakthrough that you're looking for.
• 7:58
  Cathi Spooner: And, and I get it because we're carrying a lot, you have a full caseload, you have to get those progress notes done.
• 8:07
  Cathi Spooner: Um.
• 8:09
  Cathi Spooner: And then on top of that, you've got your personal life.
• 8:12
  Cathi Spooner: Maybe you have young kids at home, or maybe you're just getting started and you're wanting to make that difference in the lives of children that you, that got you into this profession in the first place.
• 8:28
  Cathi Spooner: And so I, I get it and I've been there.
• 8:31
  Cathi Spooner: We all need something to help us.
• 8:34
  Cathi Spooner: Um, get the breakthrough that we're looking for.
• 8:38
  Cathi Spooner: But here's the thing that I've discovered after decades of being in the child, in mental health field and l learning how to use play therapy.
• 8:52
  Cathi Spooner: If collecting activities was the answer, then everybody and including you, would be getting those breakthroughs.
• 8:59
  Cathi Spooner: Now, as long as you have access to the internet and you have money to buy those books or go to those trainings, and, and so if that was the case, you still wouldn't be second guessing yourself.
• 9:15
  Cathi Spooner: And so, um.
• 9:19
  Cathi Spooner: There's there that can be challenging.
• 9:22
  Cathi Spooner: Sorry, I got a little lost in my thoughts.
• 9:25
  Cathi Spooner: You know, like I was in my head thinking about some other things while simultaneously Ty to talk, it doesn't really work.
• 9:32
  Cathi Spooner: So here's the thing, the, the thing to think about is maybe there's another way of thinking about this that you hadn't really thought about.
• 9:44
  Cathi Spooner: And I think it's something that we don't.
• 9:46
  Cathi Spooner: Talk about a lot in the play therapy community because here's the thing, if, if, if collecting play therapy activities or going and finding all those free, uh, resources online was the answer, then you wouldn't be second guessing yourself.
• 10:05
  Cathi Spooner: It's kind of like, it's kind of like going through cookbooks or online, like, I don't know about you all.
• 10:14
  Cathi Spooner: Online, I get these, I don't know, they have these Mediterranean recipes that pop up in my Instagram folder, and I don't like cooking.
• 10:23
  Cathi Spooner: But these recipes pop up and they have these pictures, and I just have created this.
• 10:28
  Cathi Spooner: Folder or take all these screenshots of the recipes.
• 10:32
  Cathi Spooner: 'cause I, I don't know that I'll find them later or I'll, I'll put them in a folder that I never look at.
• 10:37
  Cathi Spooner: I have all these recipes for these delicious looking Mediterranean recipes and I, I never use them and I still.
• 10:50
  Cathi Spooner: Don't know how to do half of the things that they're talking about, or there's kind of an art to it to make sure it never turns out the same way when I, when I try things, so if it, if collecting.
• 11:06
  Cathi Spooner: Plate therapy activities was the thing.
• 11:09
  Cathi Spooner: It would be like me collecting all those recipes, thinking it was gonna make me this great chef, or I'd be able to make these amazing meals.
• 11:18
  Cathi Spooner: Every once in a while I crank out a good meal.
• 11:21
  Cathi Spooner: Uh, but for the most part, I still feel lost and confused in the kitchen.
• 11:25
  Cathi Spooner: I regularly have to ask my husband, what does this mean?
• 11:30
  Cathi Spooner: How do I do this?
• 11:31
  Cathi Spooner: And then if I have to juggle more than one thing at a time, man, I am totally lost and I start hating it because I don't really have anybody to kind of help me.
• 11:41
  Cathi Spooner: Figure it out.
• 11:42
  Cathi Spooner: You know, my, I asked my husband for help, but, um, he's, it's not like he's in there with me showing me how to do it along the way.
• 11:52
  Cathi Spooner: So here's the thing I, and to kind of highlight this point that I'm making.
• 11:58
  Cathi Spooner: So here's, here are some examples, like in, I have a new membership that I'm launching and I'm gonna talk a little bit more about that.
• 12:06
  Cathi Spooner: So I, some of you may have heard me talk about Play Therapy Academy.
• 12:10
  Cathi Spooner: That's kind of like my higher level.
• 12:13
  Cathi Spooner: Um, really hands-on play therapy program to teach people how to use play therapy.
• 12:22
  Cathi Spooner: Especially, and it's, especially if you're wanting to pursue your registered play therapy credential, play Therapy Academy would be the place.
• 12:31
  Cathi Spooner: But what I found is not everybody needs that high level of contact or that high level of mentoring and, um, hands-on consultation.
• 12:49
  Cathi Spooner: Sometimes people.
• 12:51
  Cathi Spooner: Are really looking for a community and they want the consultation.
• 12:55
  Cathi Spooner: They want support.
• 12:57
  Cathi Spooner: They're tired of doing it alone.
• 12:59
  Cathi Spooner: They're tired of feeling lost and like they're the only one in their community or their agency or their practice.
• 13:09
  Cathi Spooner: Uses play therapy and they don't know who to go to or they get some tips here and there, but it's not enough.
• 13:17
  Cathi Spooner: So that's why I created Play Therapy Elevation Circle.
• 13:20
  Cathi Spooner: 'cause maybe, maybe some of you live outside of the United States and you just don't have access to a community of support that can help you use play therapy.
• 13:33
  Cathi Spooner: So that's why I created Elevation Circle.
• 13:36
  Cathi Spooner: To allow more access to a community of support where you can get some feedback, you can get some fresh ideas, learn how to apply those play therapy strategies.
• 13:49
  Cathi Spooner: And so that's what we did in one of our recent play Therapy Elevation Circle.
• 13:56
  Cathi Spooner: Consultation meetings.
• 13:58
  Cathi Spooner: So I, we were meeting with, um, a member who was really struggling with a really challenging client.
• 14:06
  Cathi Spooner: This was a real.
• 14:08
  Cathi Spooner: Hard client situation and she was the only one in her agency that works for kids, so works with kids, so she doesn't really have access.
• 14:19
  Cathi Spooner: And so what we discovered as we were going through and um, talking about what the symptoms were, identifying some of those patterns and maybe some of the roots of the problem.
• 14:35
  Cathi Spooner: Then we could really figure out what the client needed and where things were getting stuck, because it was a really challenging case.
• 14:45
  Cathi Spooner: Um, and so what we, what we figured out was one.
• 14:52
  Cathi Spooner: Your play therapy model really matters, like you really need to learn a play therapy model, but to learn a play therapy model, you really do need somebody walking along beside you, helping you know how to apply the skills.
• 15:10
  Cathi Spooner: And you can't just get that from podcasts or YouTube lives or free resources or plea therapy books or trainings.
• 15:22
  Cathi Spooner: There's, there's an aspect of the work that we do.
• 15:25
  Cathi Spooner: Sorry, my dog is Luna.
• 15:28
  Cathi Spooner: My dog is moaning around on the the ground.
• 15:32
  Cathi Spooner: She's in the office now.
• 15:34
  Cathi Spooner: Luna is now in the office.
• 15:37
  Cathi Spooner: There's a, there, there's, we definitely need those things, so I don't want to, I don't wanna give the impression that, that the play therapy books, the, the trainings, the free resources, all of those are good things and they're not gonna help you learn to see what's going on in the session with your specific client, or how are you doing?
• 16:04
  Cathi Spooner: With that play therapy model or maybe some tips of.
• 16:09
  Cathi Spooner: Some strategies that will work for your play therapy model.
• 16:13
  Cathi Spooner: And so we use our play therapy consultation meeting in this case because she had a bunch of books.
• 16:21
  Cathi Spooner: She had a bunch of resources and her plan was to go and look through those.
• 16:26
  Cathi Spooner: But the problem was she already had them and it was a luck like the.
• 16:32
  Cathi Spooner: Recipes of, I have all the recipes.
• 16:35
  Cathi Spooner: I just don't know.
• 16:37
  Cathi Spooner: I need some little help.
• 16:39
  Cathi Spooner: Knowing how to actually do it from somebody who's been there and who understands play therapy.
• 16:46
  Cathi Spooner: And so to me that as part of that community, then you have other people who understand play therapy to help you figure out what's going on.
• 17:00
  Cathi Spooner: You can have access to resources of other people in the community.
• 17:07
  Cathi Spooner: And so to me, that's the thing that we don't really talk about in the play therapy community.
• 17:16
  Cathi Spooner: We don't really talk about that.
• 17:20
  Cathi Spooner: Having a community is not just a luxury like we think to ourselves, oh, I don't wanna really, you know, I do.
• 17:28
  Cathi Spooner: I really need to pay for that.
• 17:32
  Cathi Spooner: Um, community support.
• 17:34
  Cathi Spooner: I can just go on YouTube and get some ideas.
• 17:39
  Cathi Spooner: It's not the same.
• 17:41
  Cathi Spooner: It's not the same.
• 17:42
  Cathi Spooner: I see this all the time.
• 17:45
  Cathi Spooner: I see this in Play Therapy Academy and now that I've launched Elevation Circle, I see it in Play Therapy, elevation Circle.
• 17:55
  Cathi Spooner: I saw it in our July meeting where we were talking about a challenging case and other members in the, in the consultation meeting had.
• 18:08
  Cathi Spooner: Expertise to share.
• 18:10
  Cathi Spooner: And they had clients on their caseload.
• 18:12
  Cathi Spooner: They were experiencing similar things, so they were able to provide more insights and we can step, take a step back and look at it from different angles.
• 18:26
  Cathi Spooner: And you have other people kinda walking you through and sharing that and that, that's not, that level of hands-on is not really something you can get from free resources and books online.
• 18:40
  Cathi Spooner: And I would even propo and I do play therapy trainings.
• 18:45
  Cathi Spooner: I love doing trainings.
• 18:46
  Cathi Spooner: I think trainings are important.
• 18:48
  Cathi Spooner: I think we all need to take trainings.
• 18:50
  Cathi Spooner: The thing is, once you leave the training.
• 18:54
  Cathi Spooner: Who's helping you to apply the skills that you just learned in the training?
• 18:59
  Cathi Spooner: Because you're gonna take that knowledge and your client is gonna walk into the session, you're gonna look and they're gonna start doing things, and in your head, you're gonna start thinking, uh, I don't know what to do.
• 19:12
  Cathi Spooner: Or, uh, what did we talk about in that training?
• 19:16
  Cathi Spooner: How do I apply that here?
• 19:19
  Cathi Spooner: So, so all of those things are good things.
• 19:23
  Cathi Spooner: The thing that's missing, the missing ingredient, I think is having a play therapy community.
• 19:31
  Cathi Spooner: And having a play therapy community means that you have access to like-minded people, meaning they get play therapy.
• 19:41
  Cathi Spooner: You don't have to explain to play therapy to them so that they can.
• 19:46
  Cathi Spooner: Know how to support you.
• 19:47
  Cathi Spooner: These are people who already understand play therapy, even new people.
• 19:52
  Cathi Spooner: Those of you who are brand new to play therapy, you know more than you think you do.
• 19:58
  Cathi Spooner: The seasoned people, we all, we also need support.
• 20:03
  Cathi Spooner: Like I, I get ideas all the time from these communities, from Elevation Circle, now that I've started that one.
• 20:11
  Cathi Spooner: And also play Therapy Academy.
• 20:14
  Cathi Spooner: I get ideas there as well that I'll use in with my clients.
• 20:21
  Cathi Spooner: So I feel like it doesn't matter if you're new to play therapy or really, really seasoned, having a community of support helps you work through challenges, and it's a non-judgment zone, I feel like.
• 20:38
  Cathi Spooner: In our communities, in In Play Therapy Academy, as well as Elevation Circle, there is no judgment.
• 20:44
  Cathi Spooner: It is a judgment free zone.
• 20:47
  Cathi Spooner: And because it's a place where we feel like we can be honest about our struggles without fearing Judge, then you find out you're not the only one.
• 20:58
  Cathi Spooner: You are not the only one struggling with that issue, which that in and of itself is on its way to reducing burnout.
• 21:07
  Cathi Spooner: And you get feedback from new people who have great ideas and great insights, as well as seasoned.
• 21:17
  Cathi Spooner: Play therapist so that you can figure out how to get those breakthroughs that you're looking for and you learn from other people's experiences.
• 21:28
  Cathi Spooner: I feel like this is, to me, this is one of the most powerful things about being in a, a supportive play therapy community where you can talk about your, your.
• 21:44
  Cathi Spooner: Challenging cases, get feedback, get support.
• 21:49
  Cathi Spooner: Is that E, even if you are not the one who's talking about your client, you're learning, you're learning.
• 21:57
  Cathi Spooner: From that situation and can think about how to apply that in your, in your circumstances, and you really learn how to lean in and trust your clinical intuition, trust your clinical judgment.
• 22:14
  Cathi Spooner: Especially that's especially true if you're new to the profession, and I feel like even as a seasoned play therapist, I might clinically know something's off.
• 22:27
  Cathi Spooner: I, but I might not necessarily, because I'm in it, I'm too far in it.
• 22:33
  Cathi Spooner: I might not necessarily have that big picture ability to step back and look at it from a different way.
• 22:43
  Cathi Spooner: And so even as a seasoned to play therapist, having others to.
• 22:50
  Cathi Spooner: Give me ideas or new ways of thinking about things can be very, very helpful to get those breakthroughs for our clients.
• 23:00
  Cathi Spooner: And so to me, that's the missing ingredient.
• 23:02
  Cathi Spooner: That's the thing that we don't talk a lot about, having a community of support.
• 23:09
  Cathi Spooner: All the other things are good things, but no amount of collecting recipes is gonna make you a great chef unless you have a community of other chefs around you who know how to do what you are doing and can provide that support to actually apply those skills.
• 23:30
  Cathi Spooner: Like I see this all the time.
• 23:31
  Cathi Spooner: My husband and I watch.
• 23:33
  Cathi Spooner: Watch the cooking shows.
• 23:35
  Cathi Spooner: I think we were just watching Master Chef the other day, and here's what happens.
• 23:40
  Cathi Spooner: You have people who know how to cook, right?
• 23:42
  Cathi Spooner: They're in Master Chef, they have some skills they've developed, they've got all their favorite recipes, right?
• 23:48
  Cathi Spooner: But you add different dynamics in there and something always goes wrong and.
• 23:54
  Cathi Spooner: Having those mentors to help you figure it out or have that community of support to help you figure it out to me is what is the difference between doing an okay job and doing an amazing job as a play therapist to get the best results possible for your clients?
• 24:19
  Cathi Spooner: And so.
• 24:21
  Cathi Spooner: That, that is it for today.
• 24:24
  Cathi Spooner: Let me, um, let me just kind of recap what we've gone through today and then I'm gonna talk a little bit about some exciting news that I have coming up.
• 24:34
  Cathi Spooner: So today we are talking about why collecting more plate therapy activities.
• 24:40
  Cathi Spooner: It can be keeping you stuck if that's your focus.
• 24:43
  Cathi Spooner: Just going online and researching, spending hours online, hours on YouTube, hours on Pinterest, hours on in Amazon, trying to figure out the the perfect book that you need that can actually keep you stuck, because that's not what creates the.
• 25:05
  Cathi Spooner: The breakthrough.
• 25:07
  Cathi Spooner: And so what ends up happening is you go through that endless loop of trying to figure out what kind of activities, when, what really is the issue is.
• 25:19
  Cathi Spooner: You haven't learned really how to ground those interventions.
• 25:26
  Cathi Spooner: You haven't figured out what's actually going on with your client.
• 25:33
  Cathi Spooner: You haven't figured out, like how does my play therapy model conceptualize what this problem is?
• 25:41
  Cathi Spooner: Why is it happening?
• 25:43
  Cathi Spooner: And then what do, what do I need to do with this specific situation?
• 25:49
  Cathi Spooner: And so that's why it doesn't really work, because the focus is on.
• 25:56
  Cathi Spooner: Activity, and then what ends up happening.
• 25:57
  Cathi Spooner: It's a lot like throwing spaghetti against the wall, trying to figure out what activity you use, and then you end up getting lost and feeling stuck and not knowing what to do.
• 26:10
  Cathi Spooner: And this is really where having a community of support can be beneficial because you can take all of those.
• 26:21
  Cathi Spooner: Activities or you know, what you've learned in trainings or what you've read in your plea therapy books, you can actually get support, learning how to apply that information in different situations.
• 26:35
  Cathi Spooner: And when you have challenging clients, you can actually access that support.
• 26:43
  Cathi Spooner: To help you figure out what to do.
• 26:45
  Cathi Spooner: And I have seen this over and over and over and over and over again.
• 26:53
  Cathi Spooner: Ask anybody in Play Therapy Academy or now my new program that adjust, um, I have a beta version of it now, so it's getting ready to officially launch.
• 27:04
  Cathi Spooner: But we do have people in there now and they would tell you the same thing.
• 27:09
  Cathi Spooner: And that is.
• 27:12
  Cathi Spooner: Having the community of support.
• 27:15
  Cathi Spooner: Having that place where you can feel like you don't have to pretend that you can go in there and be honest about your struggle and know that you're not gonna get judged.
• 27:28
  Cathi Spooner: And what you're going to get is a ton of support where people who get it, who understand plate therapy will tell you, you know what?
• 27:38
  Cathi Spooner: I totally struggle with that too.
• 27:41
  Cathi Spooner: Or, you know what I. I feel you.
• 27:46
  Cathi Spooner: I get it.
• 27:47
  Cathi Spooner: Lots of support.
• 27:49
  Cathi Spooner: Hang in there.
• 27:50
  Cathi Spooner: You're doing a great job.
• 27:52
  Cathi Spooner: And then we go through and we figure out what is actually going on.
• 27:57
  Cathi Spooner: We use that case conceptualization.
• 28:00
  Cathi Spooner: We use that play therapy theoretical lens.
• 28:04
  Cathi Spooner: To figure out what the problem is and why is it happening, and then we come up with strategies or we figure out how are you gonna apply your plea therapy model?
• 28:15
  Cathi Spooner: Even if you're using an integrated model, you're still using theoretical model.
• 28:20
  Cathi Spooner: So what does your theory say that needs to happen and how are you gonna do that?
• 28:26
  Cathi Spooner: Once you have all of that, then you can plug in the activities.
• 28:31
  Cathi Spooner: But where people get stuck and and include, all of us get stuck.
• 28:36
  Cathi Spooner: I get stuck is when we maybe don't see the bigger picture of it, or maybe we're not really using that clinical case conceptualization to understand what the problem is.
• 28:50
  Cathi Spooner: That's based on our play therapy model.
• 28:54
  Cathi Spooner: Our play therapy model is gonna then help us know what to do.
• 28:58
  Cathi Spooner: It's also gonna help you figure out where are you in the change process and what stage of play therapy are you in?
• 29:05
  Cathi Spooner: Because you might use a different play therapy activity in stage two versus stage three, or maybe you were in stage three, but something happened with your client and now they've regressed to stage two.
• 29:21
  Cathi Spooner: Does that mean play therapy isn't working well?
• 29:24
  Cathi Spooner: If you have a community of support of people who understand play therapy, then they can help you figure out what happened and how to help your client move forward again, doing it alone.
• 29:38
  Cathi Spooner: Doesn't really work.
• 29:40
  Cathi Spooner: I remember in the very beginning especially, I struggled.
• 29:46
  Cathi Spooner: I had gotten my play therapy, supervision to become a registered play therapist, but then I had nothing.
• 29:55
  Cathi Spooner: I had nobody until I found a community of support and.
• 30:01
  Cathi Spooner: That made a huge difference.
• 30:04
  Cathi Spooner: But what I found is we don't really focus on that.
• 30:09
  Cathi Spooner: We don't really have a lot of that.
• 30:11
  Cathi Spooner: And how do I know that?
• 30:13
  Cathi Spooner: I know that because I hear from people all the time.
• 30:16
  Cathi Spooner: Um.
• 30:18
  Cathi Spooner: That they don't have a place, that they might be the only one, or maybe they're in, in a practice, but they don't really feel like in that specific practice where they use a lot of different kind of expressive arts.
• 30:32
  Cathi Spooner: Maybe they have a specific way of doing it and that's the only way they do it.
• 30:36
  Cathi Spooner: But that doesn't work for you and you feel like that's not working for your clients.
• 30:41
  Cathi Spooner: So you need another place to be able to go and get that support.
• 30:45
  Cathi Spooner: And to me.
• 30:46
  Cathi Spooner: That is the benefit of being in a community, and I feel like.
• 30:52
  Cathi Spooner: When people say, oh, I don't have the time to go to one more thing, I'm so jam packed, or, oh, I don't wanna pay all of that money.
• 31:03
  Cathi Spooner: How much time are you spending spinning your wheels on the internet searching things?
• 31:11
  Cathi Spooner: Or how much money are you spending on books and trainings?
• 31:16
  Cathi Spooner: But then.
• 31:17
  Cathi Spooner: Don't feel like you're getting any traction because you're not really sure how to pull it all together in the sessions, or you have really child challenging clients and you're not sure how to apply that.
• 31:31
  Cathi Spooner: How much time and money do you spend?
• 31:34
  Cathi Spooner: Doing that versus you have a place where you know you are going to get support, you can pop in there, or you can show up for an hour and a half at a meeting and leave with tons of ideas and activities.
• 31:52
  Cathi Spooner: Also, feeling refreshed and feeling like you're not alone and you're, you're, you're not feeling burned out anymore.
• 32:00
  Cathi Spooner: You're feeling rejuvenated like you keep going.
• 32:04
  Cathi Spooner: So that, that's the reason I created Play Therapy Elevation Circle.
• 32:09
  Cathi Spooner: So if you're interested, play Therapy.
• 32:13
  Cathi Spooner: Elevation Circle is my brand new.
• 32:16
  Cathi Spooner: Program.
• 32:17
  Cathi Spooner: I launched the beta version back in March.
• 32:20
  Cathi Spooner: I am getting ready to officially open the doors for to Play Therapy Academy.
• 32:28
  Cathi Spooner: I mean, um, sorry.
• 32:29
  Cathi Spooner: Play Therapy Elevation Circle.
• 32:31
  Cathi Spooner: So it's different.
• 32:32
  Cathi Spooner: Play Therapy Elevation Circles different than Play Therapy Academy.
• 32:36
  Cathi Spooner: Play Therapy Academy is very small, it's very hands-on.
• 32:40
  Cathi Spooner: There are courses in there.
• 32:42
  Cathi Spooner: It's really geared to help you.
• 32:45
  Cathi Spooner: Um, it was ideally it was created to help you if you are interested in pursuing your registered play therapy credential.
• 32:55
  Cathi Spooner: Not everybody in Play Therapy Academy is pursuing their RPT credential, but they want really, really high, high, high hands-on.
• 33:04
  Cathi Spooner: But what I found over the last three or four years is that not everybody needs that level.
• 33:11
  Cathi Spooner: And so I noticed there was like this gap.
• 33:14
  Cathi Spooner: Um, in our community, then a huge need still to have support, but they don't, um, for those people don't necessarily need all of the bells and whistles, uh, play Therapy Academy, but what they need is support.
• 33:32
  Cathi Spooner: And so play therapy Elevation Circle was designed for you.
• 33:37
  Cathi Spooner: If that is you.
• 33:38
  Cathi Spooner: Play therapy.
• 33:39
  Cathi Spooner: Elevation Circle was designed for you.
• 33:42
  Cathi Spooner: We meet once a month for 90 minutes, usually longer.
• 33:48
  Cathi Spooner: Um, 'cause, 'cause we start getting nerdy and we start talking about things.
• 33:54
  Cathi Spooner: But 90 minutes, once a month.
• 33:56
  Cathi Spooner: Case consultation.
• 33:58
  Cathi Spooner: You if you're struggling with a hard case.
• 34:01
  Cathi Spooner: We use the support of the group to help you figure that out, or maybe you're not sure what to do, or maybe you are feeling like you're lost and throwing spaghetti against the wall with all of your activities and nothing is making a difference.
• 34:17
  Cathi Spooner: That we have a once a month consultation where we will help you do your case conceptualization to figure out what is going on and why is it happening, and then how are you using a play therapy model to.
• 34:32
  Cathi Spooner: Get traction for that breakthrough for your clients because your play therapy model is going to have stages and each stage is gonna help you know what needs to happen in that stage, what is your role?
• 34:48
  Cathi Spooner: What is the client's role?
• 34:49
  Cathi Spooner: What if you.
• 34:51
  Cathi Spooner: If your model allows for activities, is it child led or is it therapist led, or is it both helps you figure out what to do in the different stages?
• 35:03
  Cathi Spooner: Of the play therapy process, you're gonna get access to that community support you.
• 35:10
  Cathi Spooner: There are some free res, um, not free, but there are some resources in there, some guides, some workbooks, some videos in there.
• 35:18
  Cathi Spooner: And then I am adding a brand new element to play therapy Elevation Circle.
• 35:24
  Cathi Spooner: And this one's not, um.
• 35:27
  Cathi Spooner: This one is not something I have done before, but it is something that I have wanted to do.
• 35:34
  Cathi Spooner: I just could not figure out the logistics of how to get it done because, you know, we have the, the CEEs and all of those kinds of things.
• 35:46
  Cathi Spooner: In play therapy, elevation Circle, we're not worrying about ES and we're not worrying about meeting criteria for any kind of credentialing.
• 35:54
  Cathi Spooner: It's where you can come and get support.
• 35:57
  Cathi Spooner: So we're kind of releasing the chains of all of those things.
• 36:01
  Cathi Spooner: And, um, we have our monthly meeting for case consultation and I am adding a monthly book club.
• 36:10
  Cathi Spooner: So that is the brand new feature to play Therapy Elevation Circle.
• 36:16
  Cathi Spooner: I am so excited about that one.
• 36:18
  Cathi Spooner: Um, so we are going to take a play therapy book and um, it'll be a separate meeting.
• 36:24
  Cathi Spooner: So we'll have the consultation meeting and then we'll also have.
• 36:29
  Cathi Spooner: The monthly book club meeting where we will go through and discuss a play therapy book so that as a community we'll get different insights.
• 36:40
  Cathi Spooner: And the goal also would be like, how do I take this information and apply it?
• 36:46
  Cathi Spooner: To the play therapy work that I'm doing, and so I'm super excited about that one.
• 36:53
  Cathi Spooner: If, and there's also some other thing, like the other resources in there, there's a community.
• 36:59
  Cathi Spooner: Group feature in there so that in between meetings you'll get some support.
• 37:04
  Cathi Spooner: You post ideas, um, resources in there.
• 37:10
  Cathi Spooner: So if you are interested in joining a community, if you have been feeling lost and like you were isolated on a island by yourself.
• 37:22
  Cathi Spooner: The only play therapist around, and you have been looking for a place to get support, to get ideas, to know how to get some breakthrough with their challenging cases.
• 37:36
  Cathi Spooner: You don't have to do it alone anymore.
• 37:39
  Cathi Spooner: And that to me is the.
• 37:42
  Cathi Spooner: Reason I created play therapy Elevation Circle is so that you feel like you don't have to do it anymore by yourself.
• 37:51
  Cathi Spooner: There is a place to go to get that support.
• 37:55
  Cathi Spooner: And I, the, the thing about Play Therapy Elevation Circle is really keeping it affordable.
• 38:02
  Cathi Spooner: Um, so.
• 38:05
  Cathi Spooner: I'm getting ready to launch Play Therapy Elevation Circle next month.
• 38:11
  Cathi Spooner: If you're interested or maybe you just want more idea, uh, more information about it or to know.
• 38:19
  Cathi Spooner: Sign up for my wait list.
• 38:21
  Cathi Spooner: You'll be first to know when it launches.
• 38:24
  Cathi Spooner: You'll get some more information about Elevation Circle.
• 38:28
  Cathi Spooner: You can ask questions and so sign up.
• 38:32
  Cathi Spooner: It does.
• 38:32
  Cathi Spooner: There's no obligation.
• 38:34
  Cathi Spooner: You can sign up for the wait list so that you get more information.
• 38:39
  Cathi Spooner: To sign up for my the, for the wait list, you'll wanna pop over to my website at rh play therapy training.com.
• 38:48
  Cathi Spooner: That's renewing hearts play therapy training.com.
• 38:52
  Cathi Spooner: On the, on the homepage, you'll see a place where you can sign up.
• 38:57
  Cathi Spooner: For plate therapy elevation wait list, there's no obligation.
• 39:02
  Cathi Spooner: Just gives you information and lets you know when registration is open.
• 39:08
  Cathi Spooner: Registration is only going to be open for a short period of time, so if you wanna be notified so you don't miss it and find out more about it, then you definitely wanna get on that wait list so you don't miss out.
• 39:22
  Cathi Spooner: So if, uh, pop over to my wait list, um, pop over to my website at rh play therapy training.com.
• 39:31
  Cathi Spooner: That's renewing hearts Play therapy training.com And sign up for the wait list for Play Therapy Elevation Circle.
• 39:42
  Cathi Spooner: We'll also post some links in the comments.
• 39:46
  Cathi Spooner: So if you're on Instagram, you can click on my bio and it'll take you over there.
• 39:51
  Cathi Spooner: Or we'll post a link in the comments.
• 39:55
  Cathi Spooner: If you're on Instagram, I mean, um, LinkedIn or in your, in my Facebook group, we're gonna.
• 40:01
  Cathi Spooner: Post some links in the comments.
• 40:04
  Cathi Spooner: Feel free to message me if you have questions.
• 40:07
  Cathi Spooner: For those of you watching on YouTube, pop over to my website and feel free to message me if you have questions.
• 40:16
  Cathi Spooner: So that is it for today, and I will see you next week.
• 40:21
  Cathi Spooner: Bye for now.
• 40:29
  Cathi Spooner: Thank you for joining me on this episode of Next Level Play Therapy.
• 40:34
  Cathi Spooner: I hope you found the discussion valuable and gained new insights and ideas to support your work helping children, adolescents, and families feel.
• 40:43
  Cathi Spooner: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review.
• 40:49
  Cathi Spooner: Your feedback helps to improve and reach more people who can benefit from this information.
• 40:55
  Cathi Spooner: Remember.
• 40:56
  Cathi Spooner: Play therapy is a powerful tool for healing and growth.
• 40:59
  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 in relationships.
• 41:10
  Cathi Spooner: If you have any questions or topics, suggestions for future.
• 41:16
  Cathi Spooner: I'd love to hear from you.
• 41:17
  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.
• 41:30
  Cathi Spooner: Thank you once again for listening to Next Level Play Therapy.
• 41:34
  Cathi Spooner: Until next time, keep playing, learning and growing.