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How To Recognize Clinically Relevant Themes in Play Therapy Sessions · Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence

• 0:01
  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 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.
• 0:45
  Cathi Spooner: Hey there, good morning.
• 0:47
  Cathi Spooner: Today I want to talk about how do you recognize clinically relevant information in your play therapy sessions.
• 0:56
  Cathi Spooner: This is a question that comes up all the time and it's a really important question.
• 1:03
  Cathi Spooner: So that's why I thought it would be a good topic to talk about today.
• 1:08
  Cathi Spooner: It's one that I struggled with when I was learning play therapy a long time ago.
• 1:14
  Cathi Spooner: And so it's, I think it's part of your professional journey, learning how to use play therapy, and it's a really important thing to make sure you get good training for.
• 1:31
  Cathi Spooner: I know I've talked to you people in the past as just becaus I engage with people and we, we chit chat and I get nerdy about working with children, adolescents and families.
• 1:44
  Cathi Spooner: It's kind of my passion to make sure that it's done well.
• 1:48
  Cathi Spooner: And there are times when I talk with professionals who are not trained to use play therapy, but they work with kids and they don't really fully understand what play therapy is, which is one of the reasons I like doing this.
• 2:06
  Cathi Spooner: weekly live stream to make sure that there's a, there's an understanding because I think when we, when we understand, then things make more sense about why it's important to get the training needed in order to work with children, adolescents and families, if you're using play therapy.
• 2:26
  Cathi Spooner: And one of the things that I'll hear when I'm talking to people that aren't, aren't adequately trained and their competency skills using play therapy are not very strong because they're not adequately trained is, Oh, I'll just figure it out.
• 2:41
  Cathi Spooner: It don't make sense.
• 2:42
  Cathi Spooner: Or, you know, children use play.
• 2:45
  Cathi Spooner: So, so they'll play it out.
• 2:47
  Cathi Spooner: And then I'll ask them, well, you're not really trained to know what to look for.
• 2:54
  Cathi Spooner: And they'll be like, Oh, well, I'll figure it out.
• 2:58
  Cathi Spooner: And to me, that's a lot like trying to do talk therapy with adults when you're not even foundationally trained in how to do that.
• 3:11
  Cathi Spooner: That's, that's, it's the same with children.
• 3:15
  Cathi Spooner: And it's just a different modality.
• 3:18
  Cathi Spooner: So that's why I thought today would be good to talk about what do you look for?
• 3:25
  Cathi Spooner: How do you know what to look for?
• 3:27
  Cathi Spooner: So first one of the things that I want to talk about is I'll just give an overview of what play therapy themes are and um, Then we'll go into a little bit more about understanding play themes and behaviors.
• 3:43
  Cathi Spooner: So first, I would love to see who's here.
• 3:47
  Cathi Spooner: What population are you working with?
• 3:50
  Cathi Spooner: Where are you from?
• 3:51
  Cathi Spooner: So go ahead and post that in the comments.
• 3:54
  Cathi Spooner: If you're joining me live, if you're watching on the replay, feel free to post in the comments.
• 4:01
  Cathi Spooner: Where are you from?
• 4:03
  Cathi Spooner: What population are you working with?
• 4:05
  Cathi Spooner: Are you using play therapy?
• 4:07
  Cathi Spooner: What are your questions about, about recognizing themes in the play behavior, um, in the play therapy sessions?
• 4:17
  Cathi Spooner: What are your questions about knowing what to look for?
• 4:21
  Cathi Spooner: That's a big one.
• 4:22
  Cathi Spooner: We talk about this one a lot when I do play therapy consultation.
• 4:27
  Cathi Spooner: We'll talk about this one in my Play Therapy Academy program when we meet for our online group meetings.
• 4:36
  Cathi Spooner: This is a topic that comes up a lot.
• 4:38
  Cathi Spooner: It's also one of the core competencies for becoming a registered play therapist.
• 4:46
  Cathi Spooner: And that's a credential here in the United States through the association for play therapy.
• 4:53
  Cathi Spooner: One of the core competencies is how do you recognize play themes?
• 5:00
  Cathi Spooner: How do you understand play behaviors?
• 5:03
  Cathi Spooner: And also, developing competency using a play therapy theoretical model.
• 5:10
  Cathi Spooner: So those are all going to fit together and that's kind of tie those together today as we're talking about this topic.
• 5:18
  Cathi Spooner: So let's see who's here today.
• 5:21
  Cathi Spooner: So we have Murab.
• 5:23
  Cathi Spooner: Thanks.
• 5:23
  Cathi Spooner: I tried to get in.
• 5:24
  Cathi Spooner: I'm glad to join.
• 5:26
  Cathi Spooner: Joining from Facebook.
• 5:29
  Cathi Spooner: Welcome.
• 5:30
  Cathi Spooner: And we also have Steph.
• 5:32
  Cathi Spooner: Good morning, Steph.
• 5:34
  Cathi Spooner: And we also have another Facebook user, an RPT from central Illinois, working with children, also supervising new therapists who are beginning to use play therapy, uh, play based interventions.
• 5:48
  Cathi Spooner: That's awesome.
• 5:49
  Cathi Spooner: I think it's really important for me.
• 5:52
  Cathi Spooner: That's one of the things that kind of in my stage of life and professional development is really passing on and helping the next generation of play therapists learn how to use this modality to continue helping children, adolescents, and families in the healing process.
• 6:16
  Cathi Spooner: The nice thing about doing things online since COVID, one of the silver linings out of a terrible thing that happened globally is that as the mental health professionals, we've gotten a lot more proficient and comfortable using online formats.
• 6:35
  Cathi Spooner: And so now as we're, as we're a lot more online, and and able to connect from all different parts of the country, we're kind of also finding out how play therapy is used in other communities and other places around the world.
• 6:52
  Cathi Spooner: And I think that's really exciting.
• 6:55
  Cathi Spooner: So awesome.
• 6:57
  Cathi Spooner: So if you're joining me live, I am Cathi Spooner.
• 7:02
  Cathi Spooner: Also, if you're watching on the replay, I'm Cathi Spooner.
• 7:05
  Cathi Spooner: I'm a licensed clinical social worker and a registered play therapist supervisor here in the United States.
• 7:12
  Cathi Spooner: I've been in the mental health field for a little over 30 years now, and I love using play therapy.
• 7:22
  Cathi Spooner: That's pretty much when I work with children and adolescents, that's pretty much the only modality that I use.
• 7:30
  Cathi Spooner: And often have the adults that I've worked with in the past to use.
• 7:35
  Cathi Spooner: You can see my sand tray miniatures behind me.
• 7:38
  Cathi Spooner: So I've often had adults use some of these strategies as well as we're working through some really challenging issues and we need another way to get at some of the roots of the problem, without necessarily having to access those cognitive areas that are not quite ready or able to process the information.
• 8:04
  Cathi Spooner: We can use more expressive arts modalities to help adults and adolescents process really challenging and painful information and experiences.
• 8:15
  Cathi Spooner: So at this point, that's kind of where I am at this point, trying to pass along the information.
• 8:23
  Cathi Spooner: So if you find these live streams useful, please feel free to like them and share them on your social media platforms.
• 8:31
  Cathi Spooner: I will talk a little bit more about Play Therapy Academy, if you're interested, I'll talk a little bit more about that at the end.
• 8:40
  Cathi Spooner: I only have a few spots left and then we're I won't have openings until I have openings, but right now I have three spots left and then when they're full, then there won't be any more spots.
• 8:55
  Cathi Spooner: So I'll talk a little bit more about that at the end.
• 8:59
  Cathi Spooner: So let's get started.
• 9:02
  Cathi Spooner: First, let me do a quick review of what play themes are.
• 9:07
  Cathi Spooner: And if you're interested, I've done other I've done, live stream episodes about this in the past.
• 9:15
  Cathi Spooner: So if you're interested in watching some of the replays, it's probably easiest to find them on my youtube channel.
• 9:22
  Cathi Spooner: So it's renewing hearts training Cathi spooner renewing hearts training on youtube If you want to go over there and find those you just click on the live tab and you'll see all of the replays there If you're in my Facebook group, then you can look in the featured section.
• 9:41
  Cathi Spooner: I have them all pinned in the featured section.
• 9:44
  Cathi Spooner: So if you're interested, I do have a, if, and if you're on Facebook, I have a Facebook group for child and adolescent therapists who are using play therapy and expressive arts.
• 9:56
  Cathi Spooner: So, The Facebook group is called play and expressive arts therapy playground.
• 10:02
  Cathi Spooner: If you're interested, you can hop over there and join the group.
• 10:06
  Cathi Spooner: You do have to answer all the questions though.
• 10:09
  Cathi Spooner: Otherwise you won't be admitted.
• 10:10
  Cathi Spooner: So, I like to mention that because people oftentimes don't answer them and then they.
• 10:15
  Cathi Spooner: Don't get in.
• 10:16
  Cathi Spooner: And then I feel bad actually.
• 10:18
  Cathi Spooner: So, um, if you're watching on LinkedIn for two, it's probably easiest to pop over to my YouTube channel to see all the live streams in my, and I also stream into Instagram every week.
• 10:33
  Cathi Spooner: So if you're in Instagram, you could probably find them in my grid.
• 10:37
  Cathi Spooner: The easiest place is on my YouTube channel, I think.
• 10:41
  Cathi Spooner: So first and foremost, what are play themes?
• 10:45
  Cathi Spooner: Just an overview.
• 10:46
  Cathi Spooner: Essentially play themes are the ways children use toys and their, their state and their interactions that are giving you an indication of what it is they're working through.
• 11:01
  Cathi Spooner: So that psychological, social, emotional kind of content that they're, you know, experiencing and you can recognize that those themes based on what they're doing in the playroom and that shows you what they're working through in the session.
• 11:23
  Cathi Spooner: So if you think about it, children use play to communicate with you what's going on in their lives and what is happening in the play therapy sessions.
• 11:36
  Cathi Spooner: This, they use play to help them make sense of things and to try out new things, new skills to, uh, work through the things that are going on their lives where they're experiencing some challenges as well.
• 11:54
  Cathi Spooner: And so you get an idea of what's going on for them, what it is they're working through based on what's going on in the playroom, and we call these themes.
• 12:04
  Cathi Spooner: The thing is, you make sure you're looking at these over time from session to session to session.
• 12:12
  Cathi Spooner: You're looking at one, you're looking at seeing how, how important it is for the child to work through these because you'll see it in more sessions.
• 12:25
  Cathi Spooner: You want to see how they're working through it from session to session to session.
• 12:33
  Cathi Spooner: You'll notice in with the themes, just like you would with adult talk therapy, it'll, you'll, there'll be like an ebb and flow in the process, just like an adult that talk therapy.
• 12:46
  Cathi Spooner: The adults that you work with will come in each week and have kind of variations of what's going on.
• 12:53
  Cathi Spooner: And there may be an ebb and flow like it might get a little better and feel like it's less intense and then it'll pop up again and you may see it again.
• 13:05
  Cathi Spooner: You may not see it, you may see it once and then never again.
• 13:11
  Cathi Spooner: So these are the things that you're looking at going on in the playroom through the themes and you want to make sure that it's not just saying one session and then you have it all figured out.
• 13:24
  Cathi Spooner: If you're watching over the course of the treatment process using play therapy, one, how often, if it manifests and you see it over and over and over.
• 13:36
  Cathi Spooner: in the playroom, then you know it has more significance to it.
• 13:40
  Cathi Spooner: And then you're also kind of seeing how that changes over time.
• 13:45
  Cathi Spooner: And you can look at that by identifying what those issues are that are going on in the playroom by recognizing the themes.
• 13:57
  Cathi Spooner: So Marab says from Kenya, I use play therapy interventions.
• 14:02
  Cathi Spooner: Thanks so much for what you're teaching.
• 14:04
  Cathi Spooner: You are welcome.
• 14:05
  Cathi Spooner: That is so exciting that you're, you're at, in your community as well.
• 14:11
  Cathi Spooner: That's awesome.
• 14:12
  Cathi Spooner: I think there was a big play therapy conference there in Kenya recently.
• 14:17
  Cathi Spooner: I know somebody that was over there teaching play therapy.
• 14:19
  Cathi Spooner: So that's awesome.
• 14:21
  Cathi Spooner: So that's, those are play themes.
• 14:25
  Cathi Spooner: And why do they matter?
• 14:27
  Cathi Spooner: Why is it important that we learn to recognize what is manifesting in the playroom and what is clinically relevant in that is it's going on.
• 14:39
  Cathi Spooner: So knowing what to look for also is important because you want to know why it matters.
• 14:48
  Cathi Spooner: And learning to recognize what children are communicating through their play allows you to better understand how to support them.
• 14:59
  Cathi Spooner: And part of that is, depending on your play therapy theoretical model, is really going to, and we're going to talk a little bit more about this next.
• 15:08
  Cathi Spooner: Your play therapy model is going to influence how you're understanding the problem of what your clients are working through and how they're working through it.
• 15:17
  Cathi Spooner: The play therapy model, you are entering into that play experience with your clients based on your model.
• 15:30
  Cathi Spooner: And as you're entering in, and this is where that therapeutic use of self comes in.
• 15:36
  Cathi Spooner: Where you are, the way in which you show up in the playroom, the way in which you interact with your clients, all of that matters.
• 15:45
  Cathi Spooner: It's going to be grounded in your, your model.
• 15:48
  Cathi Spooner: And that as you're entering in and you're engaging with children and recognizing their play themes, you're using that to support their healing process in the playroom.
• 16:01
  Cathi Spooner: And it provides you information, how to track progress.
• 16:06
  Cathi Spooner: over the course of the treatment process.
• 16:09
  Cathi Spooner: You're, you're tracking change.
• 16:12
  Cathi Spooner: You're tracking how they work through that change process.
• 16:18
  Cathi Spooner: You, you're and better under your understanding your client based on how they engage with you, how they engage with the toys, statements they make.
• 16:30
  Cathi Spooner: And how that shows up in the playroom, you're observing this as a play therapist that gives you a better sense of your clients and how they experience the world, how they work through the things that are going on in their lives.
• 16:47
  Cathi Spooner: These are all important things that you're tracking because you're using that information to help them through whatever it is that they need to work through.
• 16:59
  Cathi Spooner: So it looks like we have a couple more questions.
• 17:01
  Cathi Spooner: Facebook user says, So while my kid load is increasing, thank goodness, I am on limited space for toys and I have mostly kids who are at, near, or past the pretend play stage.
• 17:19
  Cathi Spooner: So can themes be seen in board games?
• 17:22
  Cathi Spooner: What a great question.
• 17:24
  Cathi Spooner: I, I would say yes.
• 17:26
  Cathi Spooner: And, and the reason I would say yes and is because you're gonna be able to see how they approach things going on in their lives.
• 17:36
  Cathi Spooner: If you're playing games, board games, you're gonna get a good sense of their social capacity, their social skills.
• 17:43
  Cathi Spooner: You're gonna learn how they manage stressor stressors and frustrations.
• 17:49
  Cathi Spooner: You're going to recognize their problem solving.
• 17:53
  Cathi Spooner: All of these, what I just mentioned, all of these are therapeutic powers of play.
• 17:59
  Cathi Spooner: Meaning these are ways in which children can use play for healing and as play therapist, this is an important part of your play therapy, the theoretical model, which is your model is going to show you how to help your clients access those therapeutic powers of play.
• 18:21
  Cathi Spooner: So that's why I say yes, and yes, it can give you a lot of good information.
• 18:26
  Cathi Spooner: And depending on the play therapy model that you're using will influence how you're understanding what's showing up in the playroom here, how the recognizing what those themes are also wrecking, um, understanding how that therapeutic use of self, how you're going to engage with your clients, how you're going to interact with them, how you're going to help them through that change process.
• 18:56
  Cathi Spooner: So what you do with those board games is going to be heavily influenced by your play therapy model.
• 19:04
  Cathi Spooner: So Murab says, yes, I was part of the, Oh, that's awesome.
• 19:08
  Cathi Spooner: I'm sorry.
• 19:08
  Cathi Spooner: I got excited.
• 19:09
  Cathi Spooner: Let me read them out loud.
• 19:10
  Cathi Spooner: Cause, uh, these are eventually going to be podcasts.
• 19:13
  Cathi Spooner: I'm going to be launching a podcast in January.
• 19:17
  Cathi Spooner: So if it's already January, some of you may be, um, already listening to this as a podcast.
• 19:24
  Cathi Spooner: So Murab says, yes, I was part of the conference.
• 19:28
  Cathi Spooner: I trained with Janet Courtney on infant play therapy.
• 19:32
  Cathi Spooner: That's awesome.
• 19:34
  Cathi Spooner: Um, creating infant play therapy awareness in Africa.
• 19:38
  Cathi Spooner: That is so awesome.
• 19:41
  Cathi Spooner: I was in South Africa back in 2008.
• 19:44
  Cathi Spooner: I went with a very large group of social workers over to South Africa.
• 19:51
  Cathi Spooner: We were in Johannesburg and But one of the things that we were doing is looking at the impact of the AIDS epidemic and how to help children heal.
• 20:05
  Cathi Spooner: So, to me, it's kind of exciting that these things are going on in other countries, and we're really learning some, some best practices from each other about how to help children, adolescents and families heal.
• 20:19
  Cathi Spooner: So let me get back on track.
• 20:23
  Cathi Spooner: Okay.
• 20:23
  Cathi Spooner: So that's why, why do play therapy and behaviors matter?
• 20:28
  Cathi Spooner: So how do you understand play themes and behaviors?
• 20:34
  Cathi Spooner: So I'm just going to go over today, I'm going to go over just some general things to keep in mind.
• 20:39
  Cathi Spooner: Okay.
• 20:40
  Cathi Spooner: And these are things that really are going to be influenced.
• 20:45
  Cathi Spooner: by your play therapy model.
• 20:48
  Cathi Spooner: And that's going to take training, and I would say some consultation, taking the training to learn the skills, and then you do the consultation to help you take what you've learned and and apply it in the play therapy sessions.
• 21:05
  Cathi Spooner: And so that's one of the reasons I created Play Therapy Academy.
• 21:09
  Cathi Spooner: In Play Therapy Academy, I, I have some courses there to teach some of the foundational skills.
• 21:17
  Cathi Spooner: And we do the online group consultation with case presentations each time, so learning from each other, but we're also using that format to learn to get some individual time as well.
• 21:33
  Cathi Spooner: And one of the things that we talk about a lot is how do you recognize themes and really the importance of using a theoretical model to recognize themes.
• 21:47
  Cathi Spooner: And to know what's going on and what are the specific skills based on your model to help your clients through that process.
• 21:56
  Cathi Spooner: That being said, there are some, some general themes that are across play therapy models that you'll recognize.
• 22:06
  Cathi Spooner: Um, like for example and, and your theoretical model going to influence how you make sense of them.
• 22:15
  Cathi Spooner: So for example, my, my foundational training is child centered play therapy.
• 22:21
  Cathi Spooner: Part of that was, Family therapy.
• 22:24
  Cathi Spooner: So I, I would say I have both of those and child centered play therapy is going to understand themes a little bit differently than someone who's maybe an Adlerian play therapist or a Jungian play therapist or a cognitive behavioral therapy therapist.
• 22:44
  Cathi Spooner: There's going to be a different nuance to them.
• 22:47
  Cathi Spooner: And the way that we make sense of what children are communicating and working through in those sessions will be based on your theoretical lens.
• 22:58
  Cathi Spooner: So making sense of play behaviors, statements made in play therapy sessions, how the children interact with the toys, how they interact with, with you.
• 23:13
  Cathi Spooner: All of these are going to be influenced by the nuances of what's going on in the playroom.
• 23:20
  Cathi Spooner: For example, if a child, a child can pet, let's say you have a kitchen, in your playroom.
• 23:28
  Cathi Spooner: So you have, you have food, you have pots and pans, you have the plates and the utensils and the cups to drink from.
• 23:37
  Cathi Spooner: And so your client is using the kitchen area.
• 23:43
  Cathi Spooner: Depending on how they use that kitchen area will give you a sense of what's going on with your clients.
• 23:51
  Cathi Spooner: So, for example, um, a lot of times it's more about cooking food and, and are they cooking and, offering you food.
• 24:03
  Cathi Spooner: Are there, is the food to make sure you're happy or are they cooking food?
• 24:09
  Cathi Spooner: For the babies in the playroom, are they're feeding the babies?
• 24:15
  Cathi Spooner: Are they cooking food and they are doing some solitary play?
• 24:20
  Cathi Spooner: Meaning they're not interacting with you, but they're only interacting with themselves and so they're cooking food and they're eating the food themselves or you're I had this happen years ago.
• 24:32
  Cathi Spooner: There was a client that I was working through making, it was a cooking show and I was the sous chef and the client, the child was the master chef, so to speak, and teaching the audience how to cook food.
• 24:51
  Cathi Spooner: And during the, uh, during the course of the play, the child was basically yelling at the audience that the audience wasn't as smart as the, the, the client.
• 25:06
  Cathi Spooner: And so that's a much different way of playing than some of the other things, but you get the, you get the nuances based on what the child is.
• 25:18
  Cathi Spooner: Doing the behaviors, what the statements are that are being made interactions during the play with the toys.
• 25:27
  Cathi Spooner: So basically how are they using the toys as well as their interactions with you and you're looking at all of these and that's going to help you figure out the play themes.
• 25:39
  Cathi Spooner: So the play themes though, as are, you know, as I meant for heavily influenced by your theoretical model.
• 25:47
  Cathi Spooner: There are some themes that are, I would say, general across.
• 25:55
  Cathi Spooner: Most of the play therapy models and the general themes across some of the play therapy models, not all of them, but most of them would be aggression and conflict, um, needs for nurturing and attachment.
• 26:12
  Cathi Spooner: So that comfort power and control competency, like I'm capable, some mastery, and safety.
• 26:23
  Cathi Spooner: So I would say themes that are across most of the play therapy models.
• 26:30
  Cathi Spooner: And there are nuances to recognizing what the themes are and how the child is working through whatever it is they're trying to work through or making sense of or trying out noose in the playroom.
• 26:49
  Cathi Spooner: So you can get a sense of that based on what's going on in the playroom.
• 26:54
  Cathi Spooner: So we have one more question, but it looks like we have another question or comment.
• 26:59
  Cathi Spooner: So Facebook user says, pretend, I pretend I'm tops when I cook in real life.
• 27:08
  Cathi Spooner: That's so funny.
• 27:09
  Cathi Spooner: So.
• 27:10
  Cathi Spooner: Uh, I don't know if you guys are all, there's a show called Top Chef.
• 27:14
  Cathi Spooner: Yes, I, I don't bother.
• 27:16
  Cathi Spooner: My husband I watch those cooking shows.
• 27:18
  Cathi Spooner: I, I don't really bother.
• 27:19
  Cathi Spooner: Those shows look really stressful to me.
• 27:22
  Cathi Spooner: And, uh, but we do joke around.
• 27:25
  Cathi Spooner: My husband and I joke around.
• 27:27
  Cathi Spooner: Are we going to make Gordon Ramsay proud with our cooking?
• 27:32
  Cathi Spooner: That's so funny.
• 27:34
  Cathi Spooner: Yep.
• 27:36
  Cathi Spooner: Alrighty.
• 27:36
  Cathi Spooner: So let me, let me do a recap for today.
• 27:42
  Cathi Spooner: First and foremost, what are play therapy themes?
• 27:47
  Cathi Spooner: They are behavior statements, interactions during the play therapy process that provide a clue about what it is that's going on with your client, what it is they're working out, what are they making sense of in their lives.
• 28:01
  Cathi Spooner: And then secondly, why do play therapy themes matter?
• 28:06
  Cathi Spooner: So a trained play therapist will know what to look for and how to make sense of it what's observed in the playroom so that they can use that information to know how to help their clients through that healing process and where they are in that process of healing.
• 28:29
  Cathi Spooner: What stage of play therapy are they in?
• 28:33
  Cathi Spooner: I would also add that as we're recognizing and understanding play themes, then when we're meeting with parents, it also helps us to know how to support parents in that change process.
• 28:50
  Cathi Spooner: And, and just a little, no, I, I don't think you need to tell parents what the themes are.
• 28:57
  Cathi Spooner: I don't think you need to tell parents what their children are doing in the playroom.
• 29:03
  Cathi Spooner: I think the way that looks this is a question that comes up a lot, so I thought it would be good to mention it here.
• 29:11
  Cathi Spooner: So you as the play therapist are observing what's going on in the playroom.
• 29:17
  Cathi Spooner: You're recognizing these themes and you're recognizing, you know, where they are in the change process.
• 29:23
  Cathi Spooner: The way that comes into play when you are meeting with parents is you'll, you're giving some information.
• 29:34
  Cathi Spooner: Basically, generally speaking, keep it general.
• 29:38
  Cathi Spooner: You, you know, like your child seems to be working through, um, what are some like working through some aggressive emotions, which is good because he can do that in the playroom.
• 29:51
  Cathi Spooner: And he seems to be working through some, some of the grief going on in his life.
• 29:57
  Cathi Spooner: You, you can say general like that and then what parents need you to do is support them.
• 30:03
  Cathi Spooner: They want to know how they can help their child.
• 30:08
  Cathi Spooner: They want you to support them so that they can make sure their child is okay.
• 30:14
  Cathi Spooner: And so in those parent sessions, that's really most of where the focus is.
• 30:19
  Cathi Spooner: So, Sue Ann says, Hi Cathi, I work from Child Center Play Therapy Theoretical Model.
• 30:26
  Cathi Spooner: My client recently started moving some of the big furniture around, reshuffling the room.
• 30:33
  Cathi Spooner: Which theme would you say that would fall under?
• 30:37
  Cathi Spooner: That's a great question.
• 30:38
  Cathi Spooner: And, um.
• 30:39
  Cathi Spooner: Okay.
• 30:40
  Cathi Spooner: To be honest, there's a lot more that I would have to know about that.
• 30:43
  Cathi Spooner: Like, here's some things for you to think about, um, recently started moving some of the big furniture around.
• 30:50
  Cathi Spooner: Do you get a sense in the playroom that it's more about trying to organize?
• 30:55
  Cathi Spooner: Have some power and control in, you know, like I can move big things or, um, they, they are trying to get some organization in their lives.
• 31:07
  Cathi Spooner: What is it about the big furniture?
• 31:10
  Cathi Spooner: Like, is that your chairs?
• 31:12
  Cathi Spooner: It might be that they, they are trying to empower and control.
• 31:19
  Cathi Spooner: Is it done in an angry or aggressive way?
• 31:21
  Cathi Spooner: Is it done in a like, um, kind of an exaggerated?
• 31:26
  Cathi Spooner: I can't do this.
• 31:28
  Cathi Spooner: I'm kind of helpless.
• 31:30
  Cathi Spooner: So there are a lot of different nuances that you would look for in that and reshuffling the room.
• 31:38
  Cathi Spooner: That's interesting.
• 31:40
  Cathi Spooner: Um, anyway, those are some things to think about.
• 31:42
  Cathi Spooner: I probably have to see it to to get a better sense of what's going on.
• 31:46
  Cathi Spooner: Then we have says 1 particular child wanted all the toys to himself.
• 31:55
  Cathi Spooner: What would you say about.
• 31:56
  Cathi Spooner: That often happens.
• 31:58
  Cathi Spooner: That's a really good point.
• 32:00
  Cathi Spooner: That often does.
• 32:01
  Cathi Spooner: I mean, think about it.
• 32:02
  Cathi Spooner: It's toys.
• 32:03
  Cathi Spooner: Children think toys are magical.
• 32:05
  Cathi Spooner: I don't.
• 32:05
  Cathi Spooner: I don't know when I was little, I, I wanted all the toys too, when my kids were little, they wanted all the toys, any new and shiny thing.
• 32:13
  Cathi Spooner: I think that gives you a sense of the child too, and kind of their personality wiring, I also think you know, what is this a child that doesn't have very much and the toys in the playroom are awesome and make them happy.
• 32:30
  Cathi Spooner: There, there are a lot of things you could say about that.
• 32:33
  Cathi Spooner: I would say the though generally like your playroom.
• 32:36
  Cathi Spooner: It's not uncommon that they want, want your toys.
• 32:40
  Cathi Spooner: It's not common that sand tray miniatures find themselves leaving my office without my knowledge.
• 32:50
  Cathi Spooner: So Suman says tables and chairs creating an office like space.
• 32:55
  Cathi Spooner: Oh, for a doctor's room.
• 32:57
  Cathi Spooner: Okay.
• 32:58
  Cathi Spooner: Yeah.
• 32:59
  Cathi Spooner: So what are they doing for the doctor's room?
• 33:02
  Cathi Spooner: What is the doctor doing?
• 33:04
  Cathi Spooner: I would say, um, what is the patient doing?
• 33:09
  Cathi Spooner: So here you're looking at, it's the doctor.
• 33:11
  Cathi Spooner: So you're looking at some nurturing kind of healing, and you're also looking at the nuances around what's going on with that.
• 33:20
  Cathi Spooner: So that's a great question.
• 33:22
  Cathi Spooner: Alrighty.
• 33:22
  Cathi Spooner: So let me do a quick recap for today.
• 33:27
  Cathi Spooner: Oh, I think I already did.
• 33:28
  Cathi Spooner: I got off track.
• 33:29
  Cathi Spooner: So I think I did a recap for play themes.
• 33:32
  Cathi Spooner: trained play therapist and then the third thing that we talked about is really how do you understand play themes and behaviors, which we kind of just did with some of those examples.
• 33:44
  Cathi Spooner: How do you understand them?
• 33:46
  Cathi Spooner: And this is to me, this is those also highlight really the need to get into the specifics of what's going on.
• 33:55
  Cathi Spooner: There are so many nuances to looking at play behavior statements being made.
• 34:03
  Cathi Spooner: What are they saying to you?
• 34:05
  Cathi Spooner: What are they saying the toys or what are they saying in their play interactions during the play therapy sessions with you and how they're engaging with you or not engaging with you.
• 34:20
  Cathi Spooner: And what do all of these things help us to understand about your client?
• 34:25
  Cathi Spooner: What do they help us understand about what clients need and how can we as play therapists support that during the play process?
• 34:35
  Cathi Spooner: So that is it for today.
• 34:38
  Cathi Spooner: If you're interested in Play Therapy Academy, um, I'll tell you a little bit about that if you're interested because I do have a few spots left, and I have three spots left, and when those are gone, they're, they're not available, um, and get more openings.
• 34:57
  Cathi Spooner: So Play Therapy Academy is an online play therapy program, and in the program, there are twice a month online meetings where we do case consultation.
• 35:11
  Cathi Spooner: There are case presentations.
• 35:13
  Cathi Spooner: There's a schedule about who's presenting when, so that you can learn from each other as well as my 30 years of experience and that just that synergism of as a collective group is really amazing.
• 35:29
  Cathi Spooner: Lots of support in the groups.
• 35:31
  Cathi Spooner: We have some really amazing people in Play Therapy Academy.
• 35:36
  Cathi Spooner: So in addition to those group meetings, there are also some online courses.
• 35:42
  Cathi Spooner: to support learning some of these core competencies of play therapy and getting those foundational skills.
• 35:51
  Cathi Spooner: So regardless of what model you're using, you will have some of these basic skills and you will also be learning how to use a theoretical model for your play therapy work with children, adolescents and families.
• 36:07
  Cathi Spooner: So in the comments, um, Dom is posting some links.
• 36:13
  Cathi Spooner: If you're interested in finding out more about Play Therapy Academy, you can pop over to my website at rhplaytherapytraining.com.
• 36:23
  Cathi Spooner: So that's Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training, rhplaytherapytraining.
• 36:29
  Cathi Spooner: com.
• 36:30
  Cathi Spooner: Go over to, you'll see the services tab, and then you'll click that and then click on the supervision page.
• 36:39
  Cathi Spooner: You can read more about Play Therapy Academy there.
• 36:41
  Cathi Spooner: If you're interested in scheduling a 30 minute video call with me, there's no charge for it's really, if you're interested in finding out more, you can schedule a 30 minute video call with me to talk more about how play therapy can help you.
• 36:59
  Cathi Spooner: I think it's important to make sure it's a good fit for people.
• 37:02
  Cathi Spooner: So that's why I like to make sure we have those video calls just to make sure it meets what you need.
• 37:10
  Cathi Spooner: And so you can schedule that.
• 37:13
  Cathi Spooner: You'll probably want to do that sooner rather than later because it is starting to fill up.
• 37:18
  Cathi Spooner: Also, if you're interested, maybe you don't need the, um, maybe you don't need the consultation part of it.
• 37:26
  Cathi Spooner: Maybe you're interested in some of the courses.
• 37:29
  Cathi Spooner: I do have some courses available, getting grounded in play therapy foundations, getting grounded in play therapy case conceptualization, getting grounded in play therapy treatment planning.
• 37:44
  Cathi Spooner: And in December, I'll be launching another course called Getting Grounded in Play Therapy Progress Notes.
• 37:52
  Cathi Spooner: These are available if you're, if you don't need Play Therapy Academy.
• 37:57
  Cathi Spooner: These are also available.
• 37:58
  Cathi Spooner: You can pop over to my website on the courses page and you could see those.
• 38:03
  Cathi Spooner: If you're interested in Play Therapy Academy, these courses are part of the Play Therapy Academy program, so you don't want to miss them buy them if you're really thinking about doing Play Therapy Academy, because they'll, they'll be included in the Play Therapy Academy.
• 38:20
  Cathi Spooner: But some people don't need the consultation, so I wanted to make them available for anybody who would find them useful.
• 38:29
  Cathi Spooner: Alrighty, so that is it for today.
• 38:32
  Cathi Spooner: Thank you for joining me again.
• 38:34
  Cathi Spooner: If you find this information helpful, please like it and share it across your social media platforms.
• 38:41
  Cathi Spooner: And I will see you next week.
• 38:49
  Cathi Spooner: Thank you for joining me on this episode of Next Level Play Therapy.
• 38:53
  Cathi Spooner: I hope you found the discussion valuable and gained new insights and ideas to support your work helping children, adolescents, and families heal.
• 39:02
  Cathi Spooner: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review.
• 39:08
  Cathi Spooner: Your feedback helps to improve and reach more people who can benefit from this information.
• 39:14
  Cathi Spooner: Remember, play therapy is a powerful tool for healing and growth.
• 39:18
  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.
• 39:30
  Cathi Spooner: If you have any questions or topic suggestions for future episodes, I'd love to hear from you.
• 39:37
  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.
• 39:49
  Cathi Spooner: Thank you once again for listening to Next Level Play Therapy.
• 39:53
  Cathi Spooner: Until next time, keep playing, learning, and growing.