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Play Therapy with Children & Teens Experiencing Eating Problems · Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence

0:02
Welcome to Next Level Play Therapy.
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A weekly podcast dedicated to supporting the next generation of child and adolescent therapists to provide exceptional play therapy services.
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We'll explore all things play therapy.
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To elevate your work with children and adolescents using the therapeutic powers of play.
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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.
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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
Hello, welcome to this week's episode of Next Level Play Therapy and I am very excited about my guests today.
0:56
Um, Leah Evans works a lot with children and adolescents who have experienced various in sundry eating problems.
1:08
And this is something that, so Leah is in my Play Therapy Academy program and one of the things that I thought about is when I was thinking about guests and having guests on and I thought, oh my gosh, we have so many talented people in the Play Therapy Academy program that, and, uh, and we kind of share information and learn from each other and different resources and Leah's kind of our person that we go to for kids who have eating problems.
1:43
So I thought, you know what, I feel like this is a, an important topic in the play therapy community because it is something that can be misunderstood and if it's not fully understood, like what are the roots of the problem.
2:00
Like I usually talk a lot about case conceptualization and why it's important in order to really fully understand the roots, so then you know what to do.
2:12
And if you're not really understanding what's going on, then you may think it's just behavioral or they're trying to get attention or all the other things that are not really helpful to really get help and support for the clients that we work with.
2:29
So I thought I would ask Leah to come on and be a guest and we could talk about um, what are some things that maybe as play therapist or child and adolescent therapist, we want to think about or look for?
2:49
What are signs and symptoms, all these kinds of things that might give a better understanding of how to effectively help our young clients that we're working with?
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So I was very happy when Leah said yes.
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And so that's what we're gonna talk about today.
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So for those of you who are watching live, I would love to invite you to comment, ask questions, join the conversation.
3:20
I mean, while we have Leah, we might as well take advantage of asking some questions, is kind of how I look at it.
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For those of you who are watching live.
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The only thing that we ask is that you not post specific or ask specific client questions because it is a public format.
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We do want to maintain privacy for clients.
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We would love to know who's here, who's watching where you're from, what population you work with, so, please feel free to comment.
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Say hello, join the conversation.
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For those of you who are watching on the replay, then we still invite you to ask your questions and comments.
4:05
Um, those of you who may be listening for the podcast, again, feel free to comment, join the conversation.
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I would love it if you'd leave a review.
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We, it's always helpful to get that feedback.
4:19
So with that, uh, I'd like to introduce my guest, Leah Evans.
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She is in the Houston, uh, San Antonio area in Texas.
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So Leah is in private practice, she works with children adolescents.
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She's a licensed professional counselor, and also a registered play therapist through the Association for Play Therapy.
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So, welcome, Leah.
4:47
Um, and I would love to invite you to te you know, tell us a little bit more about your practice, the population you serve, and that you're working with.
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And Oh yeah.
4:59
Leah also does teletherapy, but in Texas, she's only licensed in Texas, so.
5:05
All right.
5:05
Welcome Leah.
5:06
Hello.
5:07
I work, yeah, in San Antonio.
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That's where I'm physically based and uh, the practice that I currently work for is a statewide practice.
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Our company's goal is to improve Texas's mental health rating because uh, so far it hasn't been super stellar and so we're trying to be part of the positive change in order to move us up the list.
5:36
'Cause we're kind of close to the bottom when it comes to mental health care in.
5:41
Oh, that's awesome.
5:42
Yes, so we have, Nevada is actually last.
5:46
Oh really?
5:47
That's where I live.
5:49
Yeah.
5:49
They're working really hard Yeah.
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As well to kinda improve things as well.
5:54
But that's awesome that you're in that statewide mm-hmm.
5:58
Agency trying to make a difference.
6:00
Good for you guys?
6:01
Yes.
6:02
We're able to care for and offer support to clients in the state of Texas.
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And then, um.
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Some clinicians are multi-state, um, licensed it, it would just depend, um, since we are a private practice, it's a private group practice, so everybody has their own specialties.
6:25
Uh, my specialty is typically, uh, an age 18 and under, and I work primarily, or I try to work primarily with eating disorder behavior.
6:37
Um, body image issues and then anything that could possibly co-occur with that.
6:43
So I see a lot of anxiety or I will see, um, sensory self-esteem, um, just, uh, anything that could interrupt someone's ability to thrive.
6:57
And so that's one of the main things that we look for when assessing for, um, disordered eating behaviors or a full-blown eating disorder is, is there a failure to thrive in the child or adolescent, which could be seen by like, is their growth stalled out or even regressed in a way that is not appropriate to their, uh, the normal growth curve based off of their uh, her or genetics and the national average of like how growth should look for certain age groups and per their gender and stage of life.
7:37
Um, there can be, a big relation, a big link between anxiety or, or needing a sense of control.
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And so food is one of those things we feel as though we can control what goes into our body, how much, et cetera.
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And then, um, sometimes or oftentimes there's a co-occurrence of a need for safety.
8:00
And so, uh, food satiates us and keeps us alive and gives us energy.
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And what happens if food no longer feels safe due to, um, I don't know, cognitive distortions or even like a traumatic event, with feeding that has happened across the lifespan.
8:19
So that's my passion, is helping people thrive through eating and appreciating their body for what it can do versus, um, giving into some of the negative or mixed messaging that we can receive from culture or from, uh, the social ideal.
8:41
Yeah, and I think that's one of the thing, you know, like all those things that you were just talking about, I think in Play Therapy Academy, I think that's one of the thing that's kind of struck me whenever you, uh, present clients and also feedback that you get is the, it's such a multi-layered and I, I, I would say, broad in some ways.
9:10
Like it's not like you used the term disordered eating and when you, when you present your cases, also you'll talk about all of the different factors.
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So for those of us who are also listening, we're all like, oh yeah, thinking about all these different things.
9:29
And I think that's one of the things that I thought would be beneficial for a discussion, right?
9:38
Because, um, it isn't something that we talk about and it's, it's not narrow.
9:44
It's not like you have an eating disorder or you don't have an eating disorder.
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There's lots of, um, layers, lots of different factors, and I, I, I'm a big proponent of in the very beginning.
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Getting a lot of information to begin that case conceptualization.
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Now your play therapy model is gonna influence what you do with it in sessions, and assessment is ongoing.
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But if we get some information in the beginning and ask questions and do that case conceptualization, it's at least a starting point.
10:28
And when, when you're talking about children with disordered eating, it could be so many different things, like you just ran through a bunch.
10:38
And I'm gonna read this comment from Melissa.
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Welcome Melissa.
10:43
So Melissa's an LPC.
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MH oh and an RPT Woo.
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Yay.
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Registered Play Therapist in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
10:54
And I'm guessing you guys are pretty cold these days.
10:57
Uh, I'm working towards my certification to be an eating disorder specialist.
11:02
This topic isn't discussed as often as it should be when it comes to children and adolescents.
11:09
Thank you.
11:10
I, I, I agree.
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And that's one of the reasons I thought it would be so helpful to have, um, have Leah on today.
11:18
So I'm, I'm wondering, Leah, if you could talk about maybe some of the things to look for, like when you're maybe doing your initial information gathering or maybe as you're going along working with clients, what are some things that you look for that give you an indication there might be something going on with the eating that maybe kind of crosses over that line from, maybe it's, you know, like typical developmental behaviors versus, oh, there might be something going on.
12:01
We might need to look at this.
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And then like, how do I know when to refer to a non-mental health professional?
12:10
And you know, what are some of those professionals that you may think about and what, what might be like more mental health versus not mental health.
12:24
Yes.
12:25
So for adolescence, the assessment of behaviors or conceptualizing the full case of what's going on can sometimes be easier.
12:39
I'm gonna put quotes around it because there are, different questionnaires and assessments that you can have the client answer for you.
12:50
So like their eating attitudes, which goes into a little bit of body image, it goes into rigidity or the attitude about feeding and nutrition.
13:05
As well as, um, kind of ask questions about, um, is it behavioral or is it mental in more of a like behavioral would be, am I using it to find the feeling of safety or feeling control or is it like sometimes for the younger kids it can be like, this is how I get what I want.
13:31
So like a power struggle.
13:33
If we're, if we're talking about misbehaviors through like the standpoint, which is what I like to practice out of, I feel comfortable in that theory is what misbehavior is present and are we using food to enact that misbehavior?
13:50
And so that helps us figure out what need isn't being met and how can we, uh, shift the focus back to meeting needs and empowering our clients.
14:02
And so having an assessment tool like the EAT 26, which is um, eating attitude.
14:11
I forget what a T probably says for testing and it's 26 questions.
14:15
And so, um, especially for children who can read and comprehend what the questions are asking, that is a really helpful tool for assessment.
14:27
For younger kids who it would not be appropriate to use an assessment measure such as the EE 26, um, asking some of those case conceptual, um, questions during the parent intake intensity, frequency, duration.
14:47
I will ask a lot about what our mealtime's, like.
14:53
What is it like to, what is it like to eat with your child or like what do you observe?
14:58
And in hearing their answers, we can hear how much rigidity or how much distress is present around food.
15:10
And the same can go for, um, compensating, uh, compensating behaviors.
15:17
So like is there an attitude around control, not just with food, but with moving their body or with what they can and can't wear, et cetera,'cause it's all helpful information and it's determining is it disordered behaviors or is it a full-blown disorder?
15:37
And so the difference is also medical because of the failure to thrive for X amount of months.
15:48
Um, and typically that will be corroborated by a medical professional.
15:55
So I work pretty closely with dieticians.
16:01
Dieticians who are trained and competent in eating disorder behaviors as well as food attitudes because it can be quite dangerous to make a referral to a dietician if they are not trained.
16:20
Yeah.
16:21
Mm-hmm.
16:21
That's a great point.
16:23
And not saying that they're not competent or good at their job, and especially when it comes to eating disorders.
16:32
There's a lot of fear, anxiety, and control around what's on my plate.
16:40
Mm-hmm.
16:40
What am I eating?
16:41
What are you asking me to do?
16:43
There's a hyper fixation with health versus not healthy, and so if a dietician is not trained, comfortable or equipped to be able to, uh, redirect these conversations and even coach parents on how to redirect at home, then it's just not a good fit for this type of client.
17:08
Um.
17:09
And then medical professionals would be really beneficial for the blood work to see like if the, like let's say restriction has been going on for quite some time, there's going to be nutrient deficiencies.
17:23
And so, um, we will sometimes see that reflected more in, uh, internal measures like blood work or, uh, the uh, bone density scans more so than what can be physically observed or basing it off of things like the, the BMI and I roll my eyes 'cause BMI is outdated and not helpful.
17:50
That's it, that's its own podcast.
17:52
So, yeah, so I believe, and I work from a lens of collaboration is key.
18:04
And I know what my strengths are and I know what my strengths are not.
18:07
And so I did not go to medical school.
18:09
I did not do a dietetics internship, and so I wanna make sure that when my clients come to me, if appropriate, I'm going to refer them to a team that will help them reach their goals and come back to a life that's worth living and where they are thriving and their family unit is thriving as well.
18:35
Yeah, and I, you know what I, I think that's important also to, especially when you have, um, kids with more on your caseload with more specialized needs, thinking about, all of us have areas I, you know, in some ways we're, we may be more generalist.
18:57
In our, uh, the issues that we work with.
19:00
But I also think, uh, over time, uh, it's not uncommon that we begin to get more of like a specialized interest area.
19:11
And that's the area where we gain more knowledge, skills, and abilities.
19:17
And the, the same is true for collateral professionals.
19:23
Like um, I know when I worked with kids a lot more, when I was in private practice in Virginia, I had a team 'cause I, I did a lot more work with kids who had experienced trauma and so, uh, with foster care and, um, also just trauma for kids, not in foster care, but I would, I I would make sure to connect with people who knew how to work with trauma.
19:56
Like this was a really, really long time ago.
19:58
But also getting kids, because I have kids who are neurodiverse, we didn't use that word when they were little 'cause it didn't exist.
20:06
We use it now.
20:07
Um.
20:08
Who had eating disorders or, so I knew what to look for, so I would refer to like occupational therapists who had a specialty in sensory processing because not all of them did.
20:23
So I, I think that's a really good point that you raise in terms of making sure if you're working with this population, making sure that you're connected with a group of collateral professionals, pediatricians, dieticians, um, maybe other like occupational therapists who specialize with sensory issues.
20:51
Um, and knowing how to work collaboratively, but also making sure that you're ruling out any medical issues.
21:01
Mm-hmm.
21:02
Right.
21:02
That's really important too.
21:04
Yeah.
21:05
And um, I think, you know, you, you brought up also the work with parents being really important too.
21:13
'Cause I, so my kids were neurodiverse, I, I'm sure I said this in our Play Therapy Academy.
21:20
Anytime we like start talking about sensory processing problems.
21:24
'cause that was our oldest and the, the boy would eat nothing.
21:28
I mean nothing.
21:29
And I remember all my friends when he was really, really, they're like, oh, just wait him out.
21:34
And I'm like, I tried that once.
21:37
Mm-hmm.
21:37
He'll starve.
21:38
No, this boy can outlast me.
21:41
Yes, he will.
21:42
He will detrimentally get to that place.
21:46
And I kind of, yeah, knew that, so we figured out a way.
21:50
And my mom never forced food on us growing up.
21:54
And I was a super picky eater.
21:56
My husband was a super picky eater.
21:58
So we looked at, we, you know, we would look at each other and we're like, the boy didn't stand a chance.
22:03
Um, you know, but, but, um, eventually he, I mean, if it had anything like vegetables or anything.
22:13
Even one time we had, I, we, I tell this story all the time.
22:16
We, he laughs now we all laugh, um, in a good way.
22:20
Um, anyways, there was pizza and it always had to be cheese.
22:25
Like he couldn't, nothing else and it had to be a certain kind of pizza or, or there he wouldn't eat it mm-hmm.
22:33
There was this one pizza that had like parsley flakes on it and he, he.
22:39
He was like, I think he was like 12, 11 or 12 or something, and I took it outta the oven and he, he looked at it and he was like, I was like, buddy, it's, I promise you it's not vegetables, it's, it's seasoning.
22:56
And he'd be like.
22:59
Like, I don't know if I believe you.
23:02
I'm like, so I would get, I got the parsley.
23:05
I'm like, see this is the spice cabinet.
23:08
Yeah.
23:09
See this is parsley.
23:11
And I opened it up and I'm like, see, it looks the same.
23:14
It's a spice.
23:16
And it gives it, he gives it flavor.
23:19
And he was like, Hmm.
23:21
So he, he took a slice and this is our family.
23:25
Our family, uh, we laugh 'cause he takes these like the iest of bites like this and it's like tiny.
23:34
And we're like, okay buddy.
23:36
But you know, that's what they have to do.
23:38
Mm-hmm.
23:39
He, he is a good eater now.
23:41
Right.
23:41
But I think the point you're raising also is the working with parents.
23:48
Mm-hmm.
23:49
Um, and I think there's more awareness now than when my son was little and I. Kind of glommed on to all my occupational therapy friends.
23:59
I'm like, is this normal?
24:00
Tell me what to do.
24:01
Mm-hmm.
24:02
Um, right.
24:03
But we know more now in many ways.
24:07
Mm-hmm.
24:07
Um, because if, if you get into power struggles, it just makes it worse.
24:14
Mm-hmm.
24:15
If you have your own, like, you'll talk a lot in Play Therapy Academy and you talked about it here a little bit also is, that, um, attitudes.
24:26
What are, what are family attitudes?
24:30
Yeah, around eating and some of that is generational.
24:33
Like I was really thankful that my parents never, I didn't have to fight against that in my head.
24:41
My parents were never that way or they're like, whatever.
24:44
I think once or twice my mom would try to, make us eat like mash turnips or something.
24:49
And my siblings, there were four of us, four against one.
24:52
'cause my dad was in the Navy, he was gone a lot.
24:55
So it was like four kids against my mom.
24:58
We all wait her out, so she can't hold all of us.
25:04
Yeah, she would try that once.
25:06
Yeah.
25:06
Maybe another time She tried one other time we were like, no, we're like.
25:10
We're like arm in arm.
25:11
No, we're, we're doing, we're boycotting.
25:13
We'll sit here until the cows come up the next day.
25:16
Right.
25:16
Yeah.
25:16
It's not gonna happen, mom.
25:18
Um, my poor mom, but, but, you know, but I didn't have to fight against that attitude, whereas some parents do.
25:27
Mm-hmm.
25:28
Sometimes it's generational, things that get passed on around eating and eat.
25:34
Eat.
25:34
You have to eat everything on your plate.
25:37
Yeah, that was big in my generation.
25:40
There also can be quite a cultural component too.
25:43
That's a really good point.
25:45
Yeah.
25:46
So I live, I live in Texas and we have a really strong Hispanic population and it's important to explore multi-generational.
26:00
Like you said, like attitudes around food of, in the same breath, like clean your plates.
26:07
You don't leave anything on your plate.
26:10
There are children starving who would give anything for this food, but then also having what's meant to be endearing, uh, what's meant to be loving and, and, um, you know, it's, it's a pet name, but calling, uh, pet names.
26:25
Oh, yes.
26:27
Comments about, uh, how somebody looks or the shape that someone's body is.
26:31
And so that can be really confusing too, and, and truly like no harm is meant by it.
26:40
Typically it's all out of a place of love, or it's out of a place of, like, our family values are not to be wasteful, and it can create that dialectic of like, okay, I have to finish my plate, but you're also calling me this name that's like super negative.
26:57
And to you it's a term of love.
26:59
But if my peers call me this, then it's, I'm being isolated from the herd and it.
27:06
It's not good.
27:07
And so it can, it can be a lot of figuring out how that can play into attitudes around food as well.
27:19
And then parents own, like you said, getting into power struggles or the rigidity around, like around sit here and finish your plate because we risk safety and trust if we do that to our kids.
27:39
Because if true, like let's say I, I have a undiagnosed food allergy and it was present from infancy because I would get, um, allergic reactions to, um, whatever I was being fed.
27:57
Was it, um, formula or was I having breast milk?
28:00
And so if I was.
28:01
Like having that trauma of a mild allergic reaction and like the swelling and et cetera.
28:07
Anything that can come with it.
28:10
And so then I'm hesitant to eat anything that reminds me of or looks like or has the consistency of something that I've had an allergic reaction before.
28:19
Yeah.
28:19
My parent, my safe person, like the person who's like whole job is my survival and my thriving is like, just eat it.
28:28
It's not a big deal.
28:30
Like you can't.
28:31
Leave the table until you finish it.
28:33
It creates this real feeling of, I can't trust anybody.
28:38
I just gotta look out for myself.
28:40
And that can make it really difficult too.
28:44
Um, unbraided the strands.
28:47
I think that's a good, good point about the, you know, from that attachment standpoint and how that relationship can either make the eating issues worse or help them through that process.
29:06
Um, like my son actually did try the pizza, and I, I think it's because of what you said, like, because he did trust me.
29:15
Mm-hmm.
29:15
And I, I, I didn't minimum I, by then, I, I, by the time he was three I, I was like, yeah, we're not doing them.
29:22
I don't know why my kid is different, but the boy goes to his own drummer and we just gotta follow along, right?
29:29
Mm-hmm.
29:31
And how you can use that relationship.
29:35
So the, the work with parents, especially when we're working with kids, is really, really important.
29:42
And Melissa asks, how do you see, diet culture, conversation impacting the behaviors and attitudes, which I think that's an awesome question.
29:53
That's a great question.
29:55
Um, I see this in, in my work personally.
29:59
I see it more with, uh, older, older kids.
30:03
So like elementary and upwards tip.
30:07
Typically it's.
30:08
In what I've experienced in my playroom or in my sessions, it is a little more rare for the younger kids because they are, it's just there's the social, the way they connect socially is through play and through like shared likes and dislikes, and there's really not that much awareness.
30:29
I don't wanna say, I don't wanna make it like blanket term and be like, there's not.
30:37
What shape or what someone's play or whatever looks like is not as important as, but how good are you at freeze tag?
30:46
Or like, how many are you playing Roblox and what's your username?
30:52
Right?
30:52
So, um, I see it more like the diet culture and the cultural ideal and the social impact on body image, food, attitudes, and self-esteem in the children who are older and who are, uh, more aware that that messaging exists because they might be seeing it, they're hearing it and seeing it on the TV shows that they're watching on the media, social media, video games.
31:28
It's.
31:29
It's everywhere.
31:31
And so it's, and also it can be present in the home, like depending on parent or siblings attitudes around, uh, their bodies, food and movement or the types of comments that they make in passing about themselves or about others can have an impact on the internal dialogue that our clients model and create for themselves because they're absorbing it in every setting that they're in.
32:04
Mm-hmm.
32:04
And so part of the parent consultations that I do, and even starting at the intake process can involve asking questions about like, what's your relationship like with food?
32:18
Or, what's your relationship like with exercise or, what, what kind of attitudes might be expressed in the house.
32:29
So, and, and just figuring out from there if, if that can be having an impact and if, if so, how, how big is the impact?
32:40
Yeah.
32:41
Which kind of brings me to that, um, question of like, because we're play therapists, right?
32:48
We wanna access the therapeutic powers of play.
32:52
And you use two models.
32:54
You'll use Child Centric Play Therapy for the younger kids, um, for the really little kids, and then you also use Adlerian Play Therapy.
33:04
So can you just kind of talk a little bit about, uh, like how you work with this issue in play therapy?
33:15
Yes.
33:15
So for my younger clients.
33:20
Clients who are who would benefit more from, or who appear to be more comfortable with a more, um, child-centered approach where they lead and I follow and I just tune in and track and reflect and, um, I'm just there fully present with them.
33:40
I find that the toys that they use most are having a clay kitchen that has, um, not only food, but also the utensils like pots, pans, cups, plates, et cetera.
33:59
And then as much of a variety of food as I can provide for them.
34:04
If not the really imaginative kids will be like, this is et cetera, and they'll be like, okay, you just served me this.
34:11
And just kind of stay present with them and engage in the pretend play.
34:17
Another toy that I see they tend to gravitate towards is hungry, hungry Hippos, the board game, which, um, a lot of kids like it, because it's loud and it's fun and it's super active.
34:34
And I've found when working with kids, especially kids who have feeding issues due to some sensory sensitivity or sensory distress, or even like little T trauma from, um, like having an allergic reaction, or even to them it might be a big key trauma.
34:51
Um.
34:53
They have benefited from hungry hippos because the marbles can be whatever they want it to be.
35:00
It doesn't have to just be hippo food.
35:02
It could be, it could be poison, it can be gross, it can be delicious.
35:07
And the version of the game that I have has multiple colors for marbles.
35:14
And so the traditional game is one yellow marble and the rest are red.
35:19
But for the game that I have, I have, I have colors, I have blue, green, red, and yellow.
35:25
And so they can pick out, like only eat the yellow because if you eat any other color, it's gonna poison you.
35:32
And that gives you, that gives me information of like reflecting, hey, sometimes it's really dangerous to eat food, or sometimes it doesn't feel safe to try new things because you're not sure what will happen.
35:45
Um, so I found Hungry Hippos is really beneficial for my play with kids or their play with me, I should say, um, in determining attitudes around food or just how they approach eating.
36:03
For older kids or adolescents.
36:10
I've been really leaning into the Adlerian exploration of what is culture and then how do our values tune into that?
36:20
So, um, in some of the trainings that I've gone to for Adlerian, play therapy, for individuals, for families, et cetera, there's this image of culture as an umbrella, and then everything underneath the umbrella is part of included in the culture, and that can be spiritual, educational, familial, individual, social, et cetera.
36:45
All these things of like what defines culture for you?
36:50
And so seeing the aspects of letting a child or letting an adolescent share with me what's part of their culture, and then doing like a values exploration or a strengths garden of like, how do your values come out in your culture?
37:09
And then how is it challenged by your attitudes around eating, trying new foods, or even body image and self-esteem.
37:20
And so all of this brings us back to what need, which crucial C is not getting enough attention.
37:31
Or how can we use the strong crucial Cs to help bring up the crucial Cs that are missing.
37:40
So I, is this person needing more courage?
37:44
Are they feeling a loss of connection?
37:48
Do they not feel like they count unless they're X, Y, and Z?
37:54
So, or do they not feel capable?
37:56
Like, I can't chew meat because one time I chew, I was trying to chew meat and it choked me and I ended up having to get the Heimlich or something.
38:07
And so that can really impact the ability to feel like their needs are being met.
38:15
And so, mm-hmm.
38:17
Those are more direct approaches that I can take.
38:20
And it really just depends on what is appropriate for, uh, what my child is playing through when we're together.
38:30
Yeah.
38:30
That I, that is really, I was listening intently 'cause I was thinking those are awesome really good points and different things to think about.
38:41
So when you're, when you're.
38:43
Um, working with clients and using play therapy some different strategies for people to think about, and I love that example you gave about Hungry, hungry Hippo.
38:55
I think that's awesome when you think about it.
38:58
I was thinking, oh my gosh, that's such a good point.
39:02
So, yeah.
39:03
So, um, as we're wrapping up, I was, um, so you're a member of Play Therapy Academy and I was wondering if you would just share a couple of like really brief, um, things about for you, what is Play Therapy Academy been, like for you and, um, you know, what got you interested in it?
39:26
Yeah, I would love to.
39:28
I was reflecting on it.
39:30
This month actually is my one year of being in Play Therapy Academy.
39:35
Academy.
39:35
Oh, that's, oh, that's right.
39:36
Yeah.
39:37
'cause it was after the, um, play therapy conference.
39:42
Yeah.
39:42
So in, um, October 23, I was fortunate enough to, have the stars align and have my budgeting skills work out where, um, uh, one of my really good friends slash colleague and I went to California for the APT conference.
40:04
So the, the big conference.
40:06
And I was at your, uh, attachment focused family play therapy, and you had done a little like informational of like, if you wanna learn more, refine your skills, uh, Play Therapy Academy.
40:20
And I looked into it because I had been feeling for a while of I feel confident enough in my play therapy skills, like I know that I am competent in the basics, and because I feel so strongly about collaboration is such an important part of this process in being a professional is like I would really appreciate more specific opportunities to collaborate.
40:51
Because I work in a group practice and I have the opportunity to collaborate, and I really do benefit from my coworkers insight.
41:02
Not everybody works with children or adolescents.
41:05
And so having that really specific play therapy, um, supervision and group interaction was important to me.
41:16
And so again, like the stars aligned and budgeting worked out and it's like, okay, I can afford this and so it's important to me.
41:23
I want to do it.
41:24
And one of the most enriching parts of Play Therapy Academy for me has been having the outside perspectives.
41:37
Hmm.
41:38
I really benefit from when I am encouraged to zoom out by others.
41:45
And so not being so like, here's what I think it is and here's what I believe and I'm gonna like be really like small, focused.
41:53
So zooming out has been really beneficial because even if I'm just kind of like say I'm explaining a diagnosis or say that I'm explaining a behavior that I see in doing that even opens up.
42:09
Oh, I missed this before'cause I was too small.
42:14
But by zooming out and by having other people share their observations or share what they hear or don't hear has been so beneficial for me, not just with my clients, but in how to translate it in a parent session or in those parent consults so that they can connect with it as well.
42:40
And so being part of Play Therapy Academy, I feel has really made it go from being all up here for me to mm-hmm.
42:49
Let me explain it in a way that makes sense and, um, is research based and is, uh, helpful to the treatment plan.
43:01
Yeah.
43:02
You know, from, and I, I think that's one of the things that I really enjoy about Play Therapy Academy.
43:08
We have people from all, um, stages of their professional development.
43:17
From people who we've had people who are still in graduate school but needed support 'cause they were working with kids, but not getting in the support to people newly graduated with their master's degree and really wanting to embark on this journey to more experienced people.
43:35
And what I find is like we benefiting from everybody's feedback, like even the, even the brand new people have such good insight.
43:46
And then people like you who are more experienced and we have your insights, and that just kind of that synergy with everyone in there.
43:58
And the, the learning that it provides has been, um, really for me, really rewarding and kind of nice to see how it all comes together.
44:09
And I learn things too, like.
44:12
When you do your presentations or when other people do their presentations, I feel like we're always learning and growing.
44:19
Mm-hmm.
44:21
So I, um, we are gonna be wrapping up, so I wanted to let people know if they want to get in touch with you, Leah.
44:31
Uh, we've posted in the description, uh, link.
44:36
If you want to get in touch with Leah, she's in Texas.
44:40
She's in the San Antonio area.
44:42
If you wanna contact her and maybe talk a little bit.
44:46
Get some information, um, for those of you who are in, and then we're gonna post that also in the comments, so it's in the description, but there's also a link in the comments that you can contact Leah.
45:01
And then also if you're interested in Play Therapy Academy, then, just, you can pop over to my website at rh play therapy training.com.
45:13
You're gonna wanna, uh, go on the supervision page.
45:18
There's more information on there.
45:21
If you're interested in Play Therapy Academy, just book a video call with me and we'll chat and see if it's a good fit for you.
45:29
It's how I met Leah.
45:31
Um, and then, um, if it's a good fit, I have a couple of openings left.
45:37
When the openings, um, get filled, then they are gone.
45:42
So if you're interested, I would highly encourage you to.
45:46
Um, schedule that call with me soon.
45:50
And so that is it.
45:52
I feel like we could have talked for like another hour, to be completely honest.
45:56
I just love this topic, so Yes.
46:00
Yeah, it's such, I think it's a really, really much needed topic, so I appreciate you coming on and sharing your time and your talent with us.
46:13
Um, and that is it for today.
46:17
So I'll see you guys next week.
46:20
Actually, I have another, um, person who's gonna be a guest from Play Therapy Academy talking.
46:26
She's experienced with Somatic experiencing EMDR.
46:31
Um, she's just a lot of expressive art, so I'm really excited about that as well.
46:36
So tune in next week and I will see you guys next time.
46:46
Thank you for joining me on this episode of Next Level Play Therapy.
46:50
I hope you found the discussion valuable and gained new insights and ideas to support your work helping children, adolescents, and families heal.
47:00
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review.
47:05
Your feedback helps to improve and reach more people who can benefit from this information.
47:11
Remember.
47:12
Play therapy is a powerful tool for healing and growth.
47:16
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.
47:27
If you have any questions or topics, suggestions for future episodes, I'd love to hear from you.
47:34
Connect with me on social media and visit my website at Renewing Heart's Play Therapy Training to stay updated on upcoming episodes, trainings, and resources.
47:46
Thank you once again for listening to Next Level Play Therapy.
47:50
Until next time, keep playing, learning and growing.