Latest / Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence / Want to Be Part of a Play Therapy Community?

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Want to Be Part of a Play Therapy Community? · Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence

• 0:02
  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
  We'll explore all things play therapy to elevate your work with children and adolescents using the therapeutic powers of play.
• 0:23
  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.
• 0:34
  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
  So welcome to this week's episode of Next Level Play Therapy.
• 0:52
  And I have some exciting news to share today.
• 0:56
  You're probably going to want to stick around to the end if you're interested in this opportunity.
• 1:01
  And I thought I would take today's episode to talk about being part of a play therapy community and what does that mean?
• 1:12
  I've been talking about that a little bit over the last couple of episodes.
• 1:17
  What I find when I'm talking to people is that they are feeling kind of isolated.
• 1:24
  This might be you.
• 1:25
  If this is you, I would love to know what your thoughts are on this.
• 1:30
  If this is what you've experienced, but what I'm, what I'm finding is that people are feeling like they are kind of isolated as play therapists because it is.
• 1:42
  It is more specialized than general mental health because in grad school, let's face it, in graduate school, most of most of you probably like me, your university program focused on adults.
• 1:59
  It did not focus on children or maybe it took a class, right?
• 2:03
  Like I took a class on diagnosing children, children's mental health issues, but I had been introduced to play therapy in the 1980s when I was a special education teacher.
• 2:18
  So I knew what it looked like.
• 2:20
  I knew what it was.
• 2:22
  And I couldn't find it anywhere.
• 2:25
  Now things have changed a little bit because there was no internet back then.
• 2:29
  And fast forward several years being in private practice with people who mostly served adults, or maybe the private practice, they, they say they work with kids and they, and I don't, I don't mean to be, um, disrespectful here, but my point is to make a point about, my point is to make a point.
• 3:01
  What I, I'm trying to highlight here is that sometimes there are agencies that we're in, they may have a playroom.
• 3:11
  They may say that they work with children and they don't have anybody using play therapy and there's no one to help you learn play therapy.
• 3:24
  Which can can feel really isolating and overwhelming because you're not sure if you're doing the right thing or maybe you're in private practice and you're just in a group sharing office space with others who work with adults and they don't work with kids.
• 3:45
  So that those are some of the things that I've been hearing about.
• 3:49
  And I thought, you know what?
• 3:51
  I have been kicking around this idea in my head for about the last year and a half.
• 3:59
  You can ask my amazing virtual assistant Mae I bring it up with her all the time.
• 4:04
  I'm like, I have this idea.
• 4:06
  I don't know.
• 4:07
  And him in the high about it.
• 4:09
  So finally, I just decided, you know what, I'm going to do it.
• 4:12
  I'm going to put it out there because I keep hearing people who need to be or want to be or need to be part of a community because maybe where you live, there aren't any other play therapists around.
• 4:28
  Maybe where you live there's not a huge community of play therapists, or maybe you're in a part of the country, I mean, a part of the world, and part of the country in the U. S. where, um, play therapy isn't very well known.
• 4:45
  I live where, where I used to live on the east coast right outside Washington, D. C. we had a really vibrant play therapy community.
• 4:56
  I moved to the west coast eight and a half years ago and there isn't a vibrant play therapy community near me, especially in the state where I live.
• 5:09
  And it was hard to access things about play therapy and hard to access support.
• 5:19
  And if I was going to access it, I had to drive a really long way.
• 5:25
  So I don't, I don't know if that's you.
• 5:28
  I would love to hear about that your experiences.
• 5:33
  I would love to know who's here.
• 5:35
  So if you're, if you're watching, please feel free.
• 5:40
  I'd love for you to post your name in the comments, join the conversation.
• 5:46
  What population do you work with?
• 5:48
  Where do you work?
• 5:50
  What have your experience been like having a community of like minded play therapists around you to support the work that you're doing.
• 6:01
  How many of you have had a rough day and maybe you have a really rough client and you're just overwhelmed and frustrated, maybe feeling like you're not doing a good job.
• 6:18
  Or your imposter syndrome kicks in, you're second guessing yourself.
• 6:23
  Did you do the right thing?
• 6:25
  Are you on the right track?
• 6:27
  You feel like you're not making any progress, feeling like you're just kind of walking down a dark tunnel, hoping someday you're going to see the light and get it figured out.
• 6:39
  This is where a community of play therapists can be really, really useful so that you can share ideas.
• 6:49
  You can talk about what happened.
• 6:55
  And get some feedback to find out whether or not you're on the right track, or maybe there are some other things for you to think about.
• 7:05
  To me, that's the power of being in a community.
• 7:09
  And now with a lot of people being online now, I think one of the silver linings that happened as a result of the pandemic was, um, that we got used to being online.
• 7:29
  So that part was good.
• 7:33
  Now we're used to being online and now we can connect in ways we weren't able to connect before.
• 7:39
  As I've been going online and doing these live streams and talking to different play therapists who were interested in my Play Therapy Academy which is my online kind of VIP, like consultation program.
• 7:57
  Really hands on lots of resources, courses.
• 8:01
  We meet twice a month.
• 8:02
  Do we have a community group chat?
• 8:05
  So lots and lots and lots of hands on experience, but it's a really small group.
• 8:11
  It has to be that way for credentialing purposes and continuing education hours, leaving it small in order to meet that criteria.
• 8:22
  But what I'm finding is as I'm talking to people all over the world is that maybe they're not ready for that.
• 8:32
  Or maybe they don't need that.
• 8:34
  Uh, maybe they can't afford that because that's a real concern, right?
• 8:39
  So I thought, you know, what else can we do?
• 8:41
  How else can we create community in a way that's a lot more accessible for people and it doesn't have some of the restrictions that the Play Therapy Academy has in order to meet the criteria for credentialing and continuing education hours.
• 9:01
  So that's what I that's what I decided.
• 9:06
  You know what?
• 9:07
  I'm gonna put my idea out there.
• 9:09
  I'm gonna let people know.
• 9:10
  Hey, here's what I'm thinking about.
• 9:14
  Get your feedback.
• 9:15
  What do you think about this?
• 9:16
  Is this something you're interested in?
• 9:18
  What questions do you have today?
• 9:21
  My plan is to answer questions about my my new membership, which is called the Play Therapy Collective.
• 9:31
  So collectively together we're awesome.
• 9:34
  I always say all our brains together are better than my one brain.
• 9:39
  Even with my 35 years of experience in the mental health field, I find it in Play Therapy Academy when we're all participating and staffing a case just the different ideas and different perspectives and different questions that people ask that spark more conversation is really really amazing.
• 10:05
  So that's today that's what I want to talk about post your name in the comments.
• 10:11
  Let me know who's here Let me know what questions you have.
• 10:16
  Let me know your experiences with not having a community around you.
• 10:23
  Or maybe you do have a play therapy community around you.
• 10:27
  Let's, let's talk about that.
• 10:30
  So.
• 10:35
  What did I, what have I learned from Play Therapy Academy that has given me, um, greater insight into the power of community, the importance of community, and the benefit of being part of a community for the work that you're doing.
• 10:57
  Our goal, right, your goal, Is to make a difference in the lives of your child and adolescent clients and the lives of their families, right?
• 11:08
  That, that you want to make a difference to help, to help them overcome whatever challenges they're experiencing.
• 11:19
  And being part of a community, in my experience, has been a big game changer in a lot of ways because now you're not doing it alone and you're getting other ideas, staying fresh, staying up on what's going on in the play therapy arena, place to ask questions where it feels safe.
• 11:40
  I would say that's one of the things that I feel most proud about with Play Therapy Academy is the ability to create a safe space for a play therapist to come and ask questions.
• 11:56
  Be vulnerable, explore maybe some things that are going on that might be blocking progress for their clients.
• 12:06
  You know, we're not going to do that unless we feel safe.
• 12:08
  So how can we create that safe space for more play therapists around the world and here in the U. S.?
• 12:19
  How can we support each other?
• 12:22
  How can we connect and share ideas, share insights, ask questions, spark discussion about play therapy?
• 12:33
  So, one of the things that I've learned about Play Therapy Academy is the, the thing that members will say over and over and over, and you can even listen to some of my previous episodes where I've had Play Therapy Academy members participate, share their knowledge and wisdom and specific topics where they specialize.
• 13:03
  And then also talk a little bit about how Plea Therapy Academy has been helpful.
• 13:08
  One of the things they will always say.
• 13:11
  Is the power of community, the power of connecting and sharing ideas and getting insights from others and looking at things in a way that they hadn't thought about even with their client that kind of maybe breaks through some of that, uh, where they're blocked and not sure what to do.
• 13:37
  Having that conversation in uh, in the group setting allows the opportunity to work through blocks.
• 13:47
  And then you don't feel as overwhelmed and burdened and feeling like you're doing a terrible job and then you feel inspired, reinvigorated to get back in there and keep going and even pats on the back.
• 14:03
  That's one of the other things.
• 14:05
  When you're feeling like maybe you just did the worst job ever, and you think, oh my gosh, I just totally blew it, then we talk about that and realize, oh, you didn't blow it, actually.
• 14:21
  You actually, there were actually a lot of really good things going on, and having the opportunity to get other feedback and to figure out what themes are, in the play therapy session, and I hear this all, all, all the time.
• 14:38
  All that time.
• 14:40
  Which is, Oh, it didn't really work.
• 14:42
  They just were really concrete and it, I don't think it was really effective.
• 14:48
  And then we look because they have a video to share and we find out, Oh my goodness, it worked really, really well, or.
• 14:54
  They have a photo or a of sandtray or a picture and we look at the themes and we realize, oh, they actually did use it and they are making progress and they're doing a really good job.
• 15:08
  And if there's any other, you know, areas where maybe they can the play therapist can, um, maybe even get more insights and more ideas and more resources to keep going and continuing to help their client make the progress.
• 15:28
  That's a lot of what we talk about in a community where you can get that support.
• 15:34
  So one of the things that I hear as well, several things actually that I hear all the time from people when I'm talking to them around the world.
• 15:45
  about being part of a community is that I'm the only play therapist in my practice, there aren't others around.
• 15:54
  So no one really understands what I'm doing.
• 15:58
  I don't have anywhere to get support.
• 16:00
  Um, and I feel like I'm doing a good job, but I feel like fumbling along away and trying to figure it out.
• 16:11
  Another thing that I hear all, all, all the time is that for people fresh outta graduate school just getting started working with children, really excited and then they are in an agency where they have a supervisor whom, who quite possibly, usually I hear all the time, they're really good supervisors and they really, value their supervisor.
• 16:37
  The only problem is their supervisor doesn't work with kids.
• 16:41
  and doesn't know how to use play therapy.
• 16:45
  So they're not able to get that support there, and they need some, some help and some support from a community where they can learn play therapy specific things.
• 16:58
  Another thing I hear all the time is maybe you're more seasoned as a play therapist, but maybe you're, um, in a group, uh, group, group practice by yourself, or maybe sharing office space with others, and you're the only play therapist, and sometimes you feel a little stale with ideas and could just use some support around you to stay up to date on things, maybe share your expertise, Um, with others as well as get feedback and support from other people.
• 17:34
  So these are things that I hear all the time.
• 17:38
  The thing is, the other thing I summed, I hear a lot also is maybe finances are really tight.
• 17:44
  That's a real thing, right?
• 17:46
  Especially if you're right at a grad school and you don't have a lot of money coming in and, uh, or maybe you're in a, in a country where your pay differential is is lower than what it is here in the U.
• 18:03
  S. even that maybe finances are tight and making that financial commitment every month isn't really doable, but you still want support around you, um, then what do you do?
• 18:22
  Right?
• 18:22
  And that's what gave me the idea for Play Therapy Collective.
• 18:29
  So I'm gonna, I'm gonna answer some questions that come up a lot.
• 18:33
  One, which is, what's the difference between Play Therapy Academy, Play Therapy Collective, which is, the new program that I want to get off the ground.
• 18:42
  Play Therapy Academy is, um, and if you're interested, message me or hop over to my website.
• 18:50
  I'll give more information about that.
• 18:51
  I have like two openings if you're interested.
• 18:56
  Play Therapy Academy is more, is a much smaller group.
• 19:00
  We meet twice a month.
• 19:03
  We have a schedule where we staff cases.
• 19:06
  You know exactly when you're going to be staffing a case.
• 19:11
  When you're staffing your case, it's very individualized.
• 19:14
  You have, we have a much smaller group.
• 19:19
  And so you're getting a lot of feedback.
• 19:23
  I also have courses, play therapy courses in the program.
• 19:30
  These have continuing education CEs with them for play therapy.
• 19:37
  They're very, um, focused on teaching skills and and being able to use them for your registered play therapy credential.
• 19:51
  Um, and then we also have a group chat.
• 19:54
  So, in between our twice a month meetings where we focus on case consultation, staffing cases, then we have a group chat where it's a private group chat.
• 20:08
  Again, it's just the members of the Play Therapy Academy community.
• 20:12
  And then you can ask questions, get resources in between.
• 20:16
  So the, the, it's, it's really hands on.
• 20:20
  We have an amazing group of people in Play Therapy Academy.
• 20:27
  And it's limited in size, though, and it because there are these are for meeting credentials, the expectation for group size and continuing education is much higher.
• 20:43
  That's always going to increase the cost.
• 20:46
  Because those are more specialized and I have to meet certain criteria.
• 20:53
  And in order to do that, I have certain things that I have to do that are very time consuming.
• 20:59
  And in order to make this happen for the people in Play Therapy Academy.
• 21:05
  And so what I realized was Play Therapy Academy itself is an amazing experience for people.
• 21:14
  And everyone who's come out of Play Therapy Academy has always said they've grown their skills.
• 21:21
  They love the power of the group.
• 21:24
  They look forward to our meetings.
• 21:27
  Like we have people, I've had Play Therapy Academy members who say, Oh, I don't want to miss because this is where this is my, my self care being part of this community is my self care.
• 21:39
  So I really don't want to miss it.
• 21:42
  And, um, so I thought to myself, well, how can I take, because I'm hearing from people all over the world here in the UNS, US, and then all over, I have people contacting me and they're, they don't need Play Therapy Academy.
• 22:00
  They don't need that level of contact and probably the expense is a little too high for them.
• 22:09
  So I wanted to figure out how to create a community that had all of the amazing things.
• 22:17
  Of Play Therapy Academy, which is staying up to date on the latest play therapy trends, having the ability to staff the keys and get some ideas, having resources available for play therapy, and having a community like a community group, not a Facebook group, but a community group where you can connect with each other between sessions.
• 22:46
  So, and how can I do that in a way that meets a certain price point to make it more affordable for others at a much, much, much lower rate?
• 23:00
  So here's what I had in mind, and it's a, it hasn't started yet.
• 23:06
  I'm launching it this week.
• 23:09
  My idea is to do a founding member program where you can get in on the ground floor for a dollar.
• 23:18
  Like the first 30 days for a dollar.
• 23:21
  You can come in, try it out, be part of creating what you want.
• 23:27
  So if you were going to be creating your ideal play therapy community, what would that look like?
• 23:33
  So what I'm thinking about doing is that we'll have once a month meetings where we may have a training about play therapy specific things.
• 23:47
  We may have a guest speaker on a specific topic.
• 23:52
  We may staff cases to get feedback so you can kind of grow your skills And then have the online community where when you're in the play therapy collective asking questions in between the group meetings.
• 24:12
  And for the group meetings because we're meeting, I anticipate we're going to have people from all over all over the world.
• 24:21
  I, my plan is to change the meeting time so that it meets a variety of time zones.
• 24:28
  Also, if you can't make the meeting, that have it recorded so you can have access to it for about 30 days.
• 24:38
  That way it's much more flexible fitting into your schedule.
• 24:42
  We don't do that in Play Therapy Academy.
• 24:44
  There's no recordings.
• 24:46
  Uh, we don't record the group meetings for that.
• 24:50
  But in the Play Therapy Collective, my thought was because we're meeting at all, you know, we have people from lots of different time zones.
• 24:59
  It would be helpful to make make it available by recording in case you can watch it and then give it give access for about 30 days up until the next time that we meet.
• 25:11
  And we'll change the meeting times to allow for different time zones to be able to participate.
• 25:20
  And then also having resources in there like guides and workbooks, some video trainings in there, different things like that.
• 25:32
  I would be really, really curious for those of you who may be watching on the live stream today.
• 25:41
  What questions do you have about Play Therapy Collective?
• 25:45
  If you were to create your ideal community, what would you want in your ideal play therapy community?
• 25:54
  Um, so I, this week, I am launching the founding member program.
• 26:02
  So the founding member program is your ability to get in on the ground floor, be part of creating the experience.
• 26:11
  And it's only a dollar.
• 26:14
  It's a dollar for the first 30 days.
• 26:17
  Like it's just a dollar.
• 26:18
  And after 30 days, if you're like, nah, it's not for me.
• 26:23
  You just cancel your membership and maybe you stay on a few, few months after that.
• 26:30
  And you're like, ah, it's not really working for me.
• 26:33
  Uh, my hope is that it will work for you, but if you, or maybe, you know, life just gets too busy and you're not able to, it's just one more thing that just wrecks your brain.
• 26:44
  You can cancel anytime.
• 26:45
  There's no commitment, um, cancel anytime and it's a dollar to get started.
• 26:54
  So I am launching this week, so me, the registration is open now.
• 27:03
  If you wanna get in register today, I'm gonna put the information up on my screen for LinkedIn and YouTube.
• 27:12
  But if you're watching on Instagram, if you wanna be part of the founding member program for the Play Therapy Collective, then you're gonna wanna head over to RH play therapy training.com.
• 27:26
  That's Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training.
• 27:29
  So rhplaytherapytraining.
• 27:33
  com and join for a dollar the first 30 days.
• 27:39
  Registration is closing Sunday though.
• 27:42
  So on March 16th at 11 59, the doors are closing and you do like on March 17th, there's no access.
• 27:53
  It closes on March 16th.
• 27:56
  So if you want access, for a dollar, then now is the time to do it so that you don't miss out because on March 17th, you are not going to have access.
• 28:07
  And at some point in the future, I am going to, I am going to launch it officially.
• 28:12
  Once we kind of get the founding founding member program off the ground, I'm going to, I am going to launch it.
• 28:18
  It's not going to be a dollar to join and the price is going to go up.
• 28:22
  So it's, 1 for the first 30 days and then after that it'll be $47 a month and um, you can stay as long as you want or, or opt out at any time.
• 28:36
  There's no, there's no commitment in that way.
• 28:39
  So if you're interested, then definitely make sure you register, register today, for a dollar if you have colleagues who might find this information helpful, feel free to pass the information along, share it with your colleagues, share it with your friends.
• 29:02
  Um, and I look forward to seeing you in the Play Therapy Collective and working together and creating something really really amazing.
• 29:14
  So that is it for today.
• 29:17
  If you have any questions, please feel free to message me or post your questions in the comments.
• 29:27
  Um, I hope I've answered most of your questions.
• 29:32
  If I haven't just, just message me and, or post in the comments.
• 29:37
  And I am happy to answer those questions.
• 29:40
  So that is it for today.
• 29:43
  And I will see you next week.
• 29:49
  Thank you for joining me on this episode of Next Level Play Therapy.
• 29:53
  I hope you found the discussion valuable and gained new insights and ideas to support your work helping children, adolescents, and families heal.
• 30:02
  If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review.
• 30:08
  Your feedback helps to improve and reach more people who can benefit from this information.
• 30:14
  Remember, Play therapy is a powerful tool for healing and growth.
• 30:18
  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.
• 30:30
  If you have any questions or topic suggestions for future episodes, I'd love to hear from you.
• 30:37
  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.
• 30:49
  Thank you once again for listening to Next Level Play Therapy.
• 30:53
  Until next time, keep playing, learning, and growing.