Latest / The Play Therapy Circle / Episode 12: Limit Setting in CCPT - The ACT Method

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Episode 12: Limit Setting in CCPT - The ACT Method · The Play Therapy Circle

0:00
Hi there and welcome to the Play Therapy Circle.
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Before we begin, Please note this podcast is for
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informational and educational purposes only.
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It does not provide therapeutic advice and listening does not
0:14
create a client therapist relationship.
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All views expressed are my own and any case example shared have
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been de identified to protect privacy.
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If you're seeking personal support, please reach out to a
0:27
qualified mental health professional in your area.
0:33
Hi and welcome to an episode of The Play Therapy Circle.
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I'm Kylie Ellison, a therapist, clinical supervisor and play
0:42
therapy trainer and I'm so grateful you're here.
0:45
This podcast is a space for thoughtful, soulful
0:49
conversations about child centred therapy, play based work
0:53
and what it means to show up with presence and compassion
0:57
both for our clients and for ourselves.
1:00
Whether you're a seasoned play therapist, a student just
1:03
starting out, or someone deeply passionate about working with
1:07
children, you belong here. Hi everyone, and welcome back to
1:14
the Play Therapy Circle podcast. I'm your host, Kylie Ellison,
1:19
and I am so glad you are here. Welcome everyone to episode 12.
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Yep, we are definitely in the double digits now.
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This is good fun. I hope you guys are enjoying the
1:32
podcast episodes and getting lots of useful information out
1:36
of it. That's certainly our intention.
1:38
I hope you guys have all had a great week.
1:40
It is Thursday here. I'm recording on a Thursday, and
1:43
we are in the end part of school holidays.
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Kids are going to go back to school next week, so that's very
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exciting as well. For those Mamas out there
1:53
listening, who dads, who carers, you get it.
1:57
We're going to be glad they're back at school next week.
1:59
But how fast is this year going? Like literally, guys, I cannot
2:03
believe it's now October. So for any of you guys putting
2:07
up your Christmas trees, I see you.
2:09
I'm all for it. I see you.
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All right, let's get straight into the podcast episode today
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because this is another really important one for our practise.
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And so I really want to make sure that we cover the
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information for you. This is especially useful or
2:26
aimed at beginning play therapists who are starting
2:29
their training journey or have begun in private practise or
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clinical work. Wherever this podcast finds you
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to breakdown and better understand what limit setting is
2:43
in child centre play therapy. I'm really mindful that this is
2:47
a very important topic, so I want to do it justice.
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So hopefully I do, but I also want to recognise that when
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we're talking about the skills of CCPT, this is definitely one
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that is a little bit harder than the ones we've talked about
3:02
previously. So far in the podcast, we've
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covered tracking and reflecting feelings.
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We're now going to kind of that next level of skill development,
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which is limit setting. When I started my training 10
3:13
years ago, no eleven, No 10 years ago, it'll be 11 years in
3:16
February when I did my training. It goes down in my memory as one
3:21
of those experiences in my first workshop in child centre play
3:25
therapy where I really struggled with limit setting.
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And at the time the feedback I received was that it was
3:34
potentially something that on a deeper level I may struggle
3:39
with. And it's important, you know,
3:42
for me to look after that and take care of that.
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What I want to say is that for this method that we're going to
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talk about today, this is the ACT method known very well by
3:54
Gary Landreth in that space of child centre play therapy, my
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journey. And I want to normalise for any
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of you listening who are struggling with doing limit
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setting, that's OK. I think that continuing to work
4:09
on your practise, continuing to gain that experience and
4:12
knowledge, ongoing training or all of those good things help
4:16
and clinical supervision help to build your practise skills.
4:20
For me, it wasn't so much about being able to put limits in
4:24
place. And I think that it's important
4:26
that we seek that feedback and understand more deeply our
4:30
practise and our work. But for me, it was purely that I
4:34
was really stuck on how many words I had to say.
4:38
So I found when I was doing the ACT model that it was a lot of
4:41
words that needed to come out quickly because often time kids
4:46
are moving between resources and play sequences and so you don't
4:49
have a lot of time. And for me, it was around really
4:53
just memorising and remembering those words to say that I was,
4:56
that I was getting the most stuck on.
4:57
So if that's been an experience for you, again, I just want to
5:00
normalise it because almost 11 years of practise down the line,
5:04
I promise it does get easier. What has evolved, I guess, in my
5:09
practise framework where I didn't necessarily see the full
5:13
value in the beginning years of my practise, is that I
5:16
definitely see there's so many benefits in doing it early on.
5:20
And we're going to talk about that in terms of the delivery of
5:23
this method and how we do it in a SEC.
5:25
But I think that what I want to plant the seed for those of you
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listening is that obviously it's an important part of CCPT
5:32
practise and it's something that we learn in our training
5:35
experiences. But I think it's also when we
5:38
start working in this space, or maybe you're doing placement,
5:41
that you actually see that application of theory and
5:44
concepts into real time. And it's not until you get some
5:50
of that experience that I realised that limit setting has
5:54
so many functions, right? And I think one of them is
5:57
really around helping emotional regulation and Co regulation.
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And obviously that makes sense, but it was something that I
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needed to kind of see over my career so far and my experience
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to realise that it's actually more than just putting limits in
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a playroom. There is so many elements to
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this that makes it such an important tool for our practise.
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So I want to talk a little bit about why it matters.
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I want to talk a little bit about the actual method.
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And we're going to talk about some of those pitfalls to get
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you thinking about that in your practise moving forward.
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So why do we put limits in place?
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For those of you who are currently studying CCPT practise
6:35
or have done it recently, you will probably be able to tell
6:38
quite quickly to anyone that asks why we do it.
6:42
There's lots of reasons. And certainly for those of you
6:46
who are interested in more information in that space, I
6:48
definitely recommend textbooks like The Art of the Relationship
6:51
by Gary Landreth. That's a great one that gives
6:54
you a good overview of what the app model is and how to do it.
6:58
Certainly in that text it talks about so many elements of
7:02
benefit of putting limits in place, including protecting
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ourselves as a therapist and our physical well being, protecting
7:10
the safety and well being of the child as well, because that's
7:13
our responsibility, that's our ethical practise and
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professional guidelines to protect the safety of the child
7:18
too. The other big one is making sure
7:21
that we're protecting the resources and preventing where
7:24
we can, them being damaged or broken.
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There's certainly other considerations and so some of
7:30
those definitely relate to consistency, all of the limits.
7:34
So we are making sure that we're putting limits in place
7:37
consistently every session. It's not that we're picking and
7:40
choosing when we put those limits in place or for what
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reason. So definitely making sure that
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you're keeping it consistent across sessions and making sure
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that we are protecting our professional and ethical
7:51
guidelines and that we're we're facilitating A socially
7:54
acceptable relationship because that's incredibly important.
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And we've talked about that in previous episodes as well.
8:01
So definitely modelling boundaries, making sure that we
8:05
are providing safety in the space and making sure that we
8:08
are providing a structure to the session in that we want the
8:12
child to be able to express themselves freely to talk about
8:15
the things that they need to talk about through play.
8:17
But we want them to be safe and we want them to know that there
8:21
are important boundaries that we will hold if we need in the
8:25
playroom. It's definitely important that
8:28
we are offering that space. As I've just touched on in
8:31
permissiveness, we talked about that in one of our earlier
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episodes. But I think there's that balance
8:37
between permissiveness and holding that safe space.
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So I plant that seed for you to consider that both can coexist.
8:46
We can certainly offer that space for kids to be able to
8:49
express themselves, but we want them to be able to do it in a
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way that is going to be safe for them and safe for us.
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So it's definitely important when we are doing limits in
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child centre play therapy that we're doing it without
9:03
necessarily any kind of guilt or shame.
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That's really important when we're communicating this.
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So we're always leaning into our tenants of CCPT of that
9:12
congruence, empathy and unconditional positive regard.
9:15
And that happens in the same way when we're setting those limits.
9:18
So it absolutely happens in our tone of voice, in our delivery
9:23
of the limit, in our non verbal communication, including our
9:26
body language and then also the words that we're using.
9:30
So I encourage you guys to be mindful of all of that when you
9:35
are communicating this particular limit.
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So when we're talking about the ACT model, what are we
9:41
specifically discussing? So the ACT model, Simply put,
9:45
provides limits using the ACT method.
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So A stands for acknowledging the feelings or the need, C is
9:54
communicating the limit and then T is targeting the acceptable
9:58
alternative. It's certainly in terms of its
10:01
benefits, offers us the opportunity to put those
10:04
therapeutic limits in place whilst also communicating that
10:08
empathy and being able to stay in our core tenants, which is
10:11
important. Additionally, I think one of the
10:14
key benefits that has become really apparent for me in the
10:17
last couple of years in my practise, which is why I am more
10:21
and more passionate about limit setting in play therapy, is
10:23
because when we provide that alternative, when we're
10:27
targeting the alternative in that T definition, we're
10:30
actually offering an opportunity for kids to be able to make an
10:33
alternative choice and do so to empower some of those human
10:38
capacities that we talk about in goal settings.
10:40
So we really are helping to build self direction, self
10:45
responsibility, self control, all of those good and important
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human capacities that often are part of our goal and treatment
10:53
goals for kids that we're working with.
10:55
So it has that added benefit. Like I said, there's so many
10:58
different layers to it. And I think that it's truly an
11:02
empowering approach where we can actually put the child
11:06
continuously in the lead by offering those boundaries.
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So what are we talking about here when we're starting off?
11:13
If we break it down with the first letter being a for
11:16
acknowledging the feelings for those of you again, who have
11:20
already done CCPT training or in the midst of it, you would know,
11:24
reflecting feelings. And we covered it last week in
11:26
our episode as well. But really starting off again,
11:29
for those beginning play therapists, a good way to
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deliver this first line of the ACT model is to start with you
11:36
or you are. So you're feeling really angry
11:39
right now. You're so angry and you really
11:43
want to hit that. So we are definitely reflecting
11:47
those feelings as well as at times that need behind it as
11:51
well. So you are so angry and you
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really want to shoot me. That's acknowledging the
11:57
feelings. We do that definitely with that
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intention of empathy. It also by proxy also helps with
12:06
some of that de escalation in the moment.
12:08
If the child feels heard and validated and experiences that
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empathetic understanding from us, our goal is certainly to
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help them to regulate and Co regulate with us and to be able
12:20
to become more present in the room.
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So we are validating those feelings, reducing that shame
12:26
and inviting that regulation. As I said, see, so when we're
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going through the ACT model, we've done acknowledging the
12:32
feelings, now communicate the limit.
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So we then let the child know what they can't, can't do in
12:38
that space. I often lean into the Cochrane
12:42
and Cochrane method, Nancy and Jeff Cochrane, who have a
12:45
textbook child centred play therapy.
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And in that text, they talk about communicating the limit as
12:50
starting with in here. Sometimes that's helpful.
12:53
The ACT model itself doesn't necessarily require that first
12:57
prefacing words, but it might be something that might be helpful
13:00
for you. So I share all of the
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information for you to consider. So something I do is in
13:06
reflecting those feelings first. You're feeling really angry
13:08
right now and you'd like to shoot me in here.
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I'm not for shooting. So we really let the child know
13:14
that this is the boundaries of the space and this is the
13:17
expectations of that behaviour. So we really want them to know
13:21
what that limit is in the playroom of what they can and
13:24
can't do. And then we're essentially
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providing them with an alternative or redirecting.
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You can shoot the punching bag and stand, you can chew the tent
13:33
and step. Whatever you decide is that
13:35
alternative option that helps that child to continue to be
13:40
able to express those emotions that they are sharing with us,
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but in a more socially acceptable way, which is that
13:47
barometer for our limit testing. So that is the ACT model in its
13:53
totality in terms of the breakdown of that language.
13:57
I think one of the things that I, again, like I said earlier,
14:00
really struggled with is at times that we have children that
14:04
will be very busy, that will have very heightened emotions,
14:08
who will be very fast in some of their play and their therapy
14:11
work. So I think it's also important
14:15
to understand realistically what does those limits look like in
14:19
real time in the playroom. So I think there will probably
14:23
for you be times for those of you listening who may only get
14:27
to communicating the limit because the child is running and
14:30
going so fast that you're trying to do limits every few seconds,
14:34
right? And that's obviously an example.
14:37
It's not what will always happen in the playroom, but I want to
14:40
give you that full picture for those especially starting out
14:42
the field. So it may be that you need to do
14:46
that communicating the limit before then being able to go
14:49
back to reflecting feelings and maybe targeting the alternative.
14:52
But ultimately what we aim to do is that step by step process of
14:56
reflecting those feelings, communicating that limit and
15:00
targeting the alternative or offering that redirection.
15:03
And the goal of it really is that over time, we hope that the
15:07
child will begin to build those alternative ways to express
15:11
themselves that are safer for them and for us.
15:15
And so in effect, we're building some of those skills and
15:17
capacity to be able to express their emotions, to emotionally
15:21
regulate, to be able to engage appropriately with another.
15:24
There is so many benefits, right?
15:27
So these are all of the reasons why and I think even for say
15:32
therapists who have been working in the, I want to say maybe a
15:34
couple of years, maybe longer. I think if you've been out of
15:38
that initial training that you've done to become a play
15:41
therapist, I think sometimes those limits can become a little
15:44
bit LAX. So if I'm talking to you, hi,
15:48
anyone listening who is 234 years plus who maybe isn't
15:53
necessarily following that model anymore in the sense that they
15:57
maybe have adapted it in some way to see their practise, what
16:02
I would suggest is it's always good to do a little refresher.
16:05
So I'm really glad that you're listening to this podcast today
16:09
because I think it's a good reminder to be able to stay true
16:12
to the approach and true to our protocol, what child centre play
16:16
therapy is all about. And so making sure that you're
16:19
putting those limits in place, regardless of how long you've
16:22
been working with the child. When I'm talking about, you
16:25
know, more seasoned play therapists who might be a little
16:27
bit more relaxed in their approach, I think we can also
16:30
get that way with children we've been working with for a long
16:33
time where our bandwidth I guess for their testing of limits
16:37
might be a bit longer because we know them well.
16:40
I think that I want to certainly express in this broadcast today
16:44
the importance of us reflecting on our practise and where some
16:48
of these limits maybe need to occur more or potentially
16:52
earlier. Because I think the other
16:53
pitfall we can come into, we're going to talk about pitfalls in
16:56
a second. But I think one of those
16:58
pitfalls can often be around letting the play play out, no
17:03
pun intended, and missing the opportunity early on to put
17:06
those limits in place. And I know that for beginning
17:09
play therapists, sometimes it can be around the fact that they
17:12
don't want to interrupt the play.
17:14
They want the child to feel like they can fully express
17:17
themselves, feel like they can certainly be able to tell their
17:21
story in their way and miss that opportunity to put those limits
17:26
in. So for those of you listening
17:27
who are beginning play therapist, I definitely have
17:29
that strong message of if it impacts your ability to stay
17:34
congruent. If we go back to our very much
17:38
important core tenets of CCPT, of empathy, congruence and
17:41
unconditional positive regard. If you are no longer present in
17:45
the room, if you're no longer able to be congruent, if you're
17:48
no longer able to hold a space of empathy and unconditional
17:52
positive regard, it's time to put a limit in.
17:56
I hope that makes sense because I think that so much of the work
18:01
and what we've talked about in previous episodes is that
18:04
empathetic understanding. Carl Rogers believes and spoke
18:08
in his theory about, if nothing else, to affect change, there
18:12
needs to be that environmental functionality of that empathetic
18:16
understanding, that relationship with the child.
18:19
And if we don't have that, we are not necessarily promoting
18:24
enough of a space where we're able to really connect with the
18:28
child and help them with their therapeutic goals.
18:30
That's not to say that we can't do it, it's just when we are
18:33
really connecting with our CCPT framework and protocol, it's
18:37
important that we lean into these important skills,
18:40
including limit setting. We talked about last week
18:42
reflecting feelings as being another incredibly important and
18:45
pivotal part of child centre play therapy.
18:47
So we have different elements of course, but today's episode is
18:51
so much about limit settings. So I want to encourage you guys
18:54
to do your own self reflections after listening to this episode
18:58
of those clients where maybe their behaviour is quite
19:01
challenging in the playroom or their play sequences are quite
19:04
challenging. And really taking notice of when
19:09
you start to feel like your congruence is impacted.
19:13
And maybe reflecting on or making a plan around that
19:16
language with the ACT model of how you might be able to put
19:19
that limit in next time. I'm always, always saying every
19:23
session is about information gathering.
19:25
And so again, for those beginning play therapists who
19:28
maybe have started work with clients and feel like you've
19:32
missed the mark, you missed some important limits and you're
19:35
really kind of beating yourself up about it and feeling really
19:38
bad about it, it's really important that you don't do that
19:41
obviously. And more so take the opportunity
19:44
for growth and learning. If we have had a session that
19:47
has been particularly challenging for us as a play
19:49
therapist, importing those limits in place, we always have
19:53
the opportunity to have another go in the next session when we
19:57
see the client a week later or whenever it is that they're
19:59
scheduled. So we take that opportunity to
20:02
do a little bit of preparation work to have an idea of, okay,
20:06
if Johnny comes in and starts trying to shoot me with a Nerf
20:09
gun, I know what language I'm going to use to put that limit
20:13
in straight away. So being prepared in a lot of
20:17
ways helps to alleviate that anxiety, especially for
20:20
beginning play therapist. So definitely doing some
20:23
preparation work and having some ideas in your head of that
20:26
language you're going to use so that you feel more confident in
20:29
that next session is so important.
20:32
So what are the benefits of the ACT model?
20:35
Because I've talked a lot about them, but let's do a little bit
20:37
of a summary here. So it definitely, even though it
20:41
seems counterintuitive when we're talking about putting
20:44
limits in place with children in the playroom, it actually helps
20:48
to build trust. I think that this is an
20:51
important thing to remember because I know in working with
20:55
families over the last few years, it's definitely important
21:00
that we are helping to upskill and support parents and carers
21:04
alongside the children that we're working with.
21:06
And I think that certainly in modern parenting practises,
21:09
certainly I can talk to here in Australia, there is certainly a
21:12
movement towards parents really jumping in and helping their
21:16
kids and being really sort of involved and not necessarily
21:21
giving children a space to struggle or sit in the
21:25
uncomfortable or navigate things for themselves.
21:28
And I think unfortunately with that, it then builds this
21:32
mistrust in adults in not being able to constantly or
21:35
consistently hold those boundaries.
21:37
So we actually helped offer a really unique space in the
21:40
playroom where we acknowledge their autonomy and their right
21:44
to self expression and their right to lead the agenda of the
21:47
play, but we hold that emotional boundaries and that emotional
21:50
space for kids. And so by doing that, in
21:53
providing some of those limits when we need to, it actually
21:56
builds trust. They feel heard and respected.
22:01
So I plant that seed again, for anyone who's wondering about
22:04
what are some of those key benefits, that's definitely one
22:06
of them. It also, in building on what I
22:09
just said, helps model those respectful communication and
22:13
boundary approaches. So we're actually helping to
22:17
role model what a socially acceptable relationship looks
22:19
like, which is so important. We want kids to be
22:22
therapeutically safe in the playroom.
22:25
It's not a free for all. We're not letting kids just
22:27
climb over the furniture and do whatever they need to do because
22:30
we want them to be able to express themselves.
22:32
Mustakas spoke about many years ago now that therapy cannot
22:35
occur without limits, and I agree.
22:38
I think we need those limits to help develop those skills for
22:42
children, and it also certainly empowers kids with an
22:45
alternative option instead of using punishment.
22:48
So we really do move away from that idea of consequences and
22:51
outcomes for kids and more about facilitating that internal
22:55
source of evaluation, that internal capacity to navigate
23:00
and manage conflict and different difficult situations
23:02
that come up. So we're actually helping them
23:05
to build those skills by sitting in that uncomfortable and
23:09
getting them to obviously redirect and use that
23:12
alternative response in order to develop those new skills for
23:16
expressing themselves. So lots and lots of benefits for
23:18
sure. What I want to talk about before
23:21
we finish up today is the pitfalls, right?
23:23
So there's definitely pitfalls that we fall into as beginning
23:28
play therapists or maybe seasoned play therapists as
23:30
well. So I'm talking to both cohorts
23:32
with these reflections. I think definitely in the first
23:36
instance, and this was where I really got stuck, was wanting to
23:40
make sure that I got the language right.
23:42
But also there can be that element of over explaining.
23:46
So it can really feel like we need to scaffold and help the
23:50
child understand while we're putting the limit in and make
23:53
sure that it's being communicated in a respectful
23:55
way, but wanting to give all of that detail so they understand
23:59
why we're putting the limit in. At the end of the day, kids will
24:03
tune that out if it's too long and they will carry on
24:07
regardless. So we want to capture their
24:10
attention and we want to make sure that they understand the
24:13
limit in short responses to the child.
24:17
So keep it short. Here's my message.
24:19
We don't need to go into a huge amount of detail.
24:21
It's really about reflecting those feelings to the child,
24:25
acknowledging that we understand, but communicating
24:27
clearly in short, a short sentence what that limit is and
24:32
then offering them that alternative so they can express
24:35
themselves. Definitely one of the other
24:38
pitfalls I did mention a little bit earlier when it comes to
24:42
rapid play, where we don't necessarily get to do a
24:45
beautiful kind of sequence of the ACT model in its totality,
24:49
We can, though, also fall into that pitfall of missing
24:53
reflecting feelings. So we may just do that limit or
24:58
just do a redirection and completely miss that opportunity
25:01
for that empathetic reflecting. So definitely where you can and
25:06
make sure as much as possible we are trying to fulfil that ACT
25:10
model in the steps that are provided, but acknowledging that
25:13
if we don't do that reflecting feelings, the child may feel
25:17
dismissed or may not feel that validation of their feelings.
25:21
So important to remember too many alternatives.
25:25
I only usually give one, maybe 2, depending on the scenario and
25:28
depending on the behaviour. So we don't want to overwhelm
25:32
the child. This is another pitfall.
25:34
So feeling really clear about what could be your alternatives
25:39
for any of those really big feelings where we're worried
25:42
about our safety or the child safety or the toys, right?
25:46
So having ideas around, OK, I'm going to redirect kids to say
25:49
the punching bag, bot bag, Big Ted, the pillows, ball pit or
25:56
whatever you've got in your playroom, right, that you can
25:58
redirect them to in a Safeway. Maybe we have for those
26:01
beginning play therapists, have a catalogue in your mind of a
26:03
couple of those so that you feel ready to offer that if you are
26:07
on the spot and things happen quickly.
26:09
Another pitfall to kind of round this out that I want to mention
26:14
is not being consistent in following through with that
26:18
limit. And I think, again, I'm really
26:21
speaking to our beginning play therapist, listening because I
26:24
think it's something that we will be learning the skill of.
26:28
So give yourselves that empathy as well.
26:31
This is not easy and there might be times you'll miss it, but
26:35
making sure we certainly try and do better the next time in terms
26:41
of jumping more quickly on those limits in the next session so
26:45
that we feel like we are providing that consistency.
26:48
So we wouldn't let a child try to shoot us in the first session
26:52
with a Nerf gun then and redirect them and then not do it
26:56
in the second session and then turn around in the third session
26:59
and do it. There's that real inconsistency
27:02
of that which will challenge the child in understanding what that
27:06
limit is. It's an inconsistent messaging.
27:09
So we need to make sure that we are clear.
27:12
And again, for those beginning play therapists, it might be an
27:15
idea to reflect on what are the things that would challenge your
27:18
congruence? What are those things in your
27:20
playroom or those behaviours that could be compromised in
27:24
terms of that safety for yourself or the child or the
27:26
toys that will be limits for you and have a practise of that
27:30
before you see the child the next session.
27:32
Sorry that you feel confident enough when you go into that
27:36
session that you will be able to put those limits in place and
27:39
keep them consistent. Especially for our kids who
27:43
have, say, come from a trauma background or have high anxiety,
27:47
they are genuinely, I believe often at their core, seeking
27:52
adults who can hold boundaries for them.
27:55
And so they will be testing. Are you somebody that's going to
27:58
keep me safe? Are you somebody that's going to
28:01
hold those boundaries for me? And if you aren't, then I'm not
28:05
going to necessarily be able to regulate or be able to follow
28:09
those limits. So it's really important that we
28:11
are holding that safe space for kids.
28:14
I want to talk a little bit before I finish up about our
28:17
practises in terms of that adaptability, especially for
28:22
being inclusive or having your diversity affirming
28:25
considerations. They're also really, really
28:27
important, right? So I just want to offer these
28:30
for your own reflections for those of you listening.
28:32
Certainly adapting some of those alternatives to sensory needs.
28:36
So maybe we might redirect them to a weighted ball or to a crash
28:40
pad or something that might be more reflective of that
28:44
individual child's needs. Very important.
28:47
Using language the child understands.
28:50
So keeping it simple, keeping it simple and short, guys, so that
28:54
it is something that the child will be able to comprehend.
28:57
Showing respect in terms of cultural norms around expression
29:01
and authority. And again, I think we can do
29:03
that in a number of ways. But certainly reflecting those
29:06
feelings and reflecting that struggle for kids if it is
29:10
something that is not typically part of their cultural norm and
29:14
holding that space with empathy and unconditional positive
29:17
regard. It's why it works so much,
29:19
right? Because we can do it across
29:20
cultures. We can do it across
29:22
presentations of kids, certainly collaborating with caregivers
29:26
and that could be parents, carers, grandparents, teachers.
29:30
There's, there's lots of different stakeholders in a
29:32
child's life, right? And being able to offer these
29:35
limits is one of those things that we often, certainly in our
29:39
practise, we will provide some of this information early on in
29:44
our intervention work with families because we really want
29:47
to work collaboratively and holistically with families and
29:50
family systems, right? But we also want to empower
29:53
parents and caregivers, caregivers and those supporting
29:55
the child to be able to use those similar strategies that we
29:58
use in the playroom to enhance those therapy goals and to see
30:02
progress for the child. We only get that hour once a
30:06
week potentially with a child, whereas parents and caregivers
30:09
are certainly there for the rest of the time.
30:12
So giving them those skills and knowledge is really important as
30:15
well. So look, that's just a brief
30:18
overview you guys of the ACT model because I'm coming up
30:22
again to 30 minutes. Yeah, I just talk a lot in these
30:26
broadcasts. Listen, I hope that this has
30:28
been helpful for you. I hope that it has been a good
30:31
reminder for those of you, I guess, looking at enhancing your
30:36
limit setting practises or if you're beginning in the field
30:40
and you just wanted to make sure that you're on the right track.
30:43
I'm really grateful that you are here and that you have stuck in
30:47
and there for the whole episode. Thank you.
30:49
Look, next week what we're going to tackle is something really
30:51
important. We're starting to move, I guess,
30:54
from those skills and into a lot of the elements of CCPT that we
30:58
love. So next week is going to be all
31:01
about the stages of CCPT. I know that's something for
31:05
beginning play therapists that we certainly tackle and get our
31:09
heads around and understand in that beginning work with
31:12
clients. So it's very important and very
31:14
useful part of our approach. So I'm looking forward to
31:18
sharing that with you guys next week.
31:20
Please follow us along on the Play Therapy Circle podcast on
31:24
Instagram. You can find us there and I
31:27
believe Facebook as well and check in with us, send us a
31:31
message, send us your feedback. If there is a topic that you
31:34
would like us to cover in the future, please follow us on
31:37
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31:39
And please give us our follow there too.
31:41
And we will continue to grow this podcast in the weeks and
31:44
months ahead to reach more and more of you practising in CCPT
31:49
who also feel that connection to child centre play therapy that
31:53
we love so much. So thank you so much for being
31:56
here. Have a wonderful weekend
31:58
wherever you are listening in your part of the world, and I
32:01
will catch you again soon. Bye.
32:05
Thank you so much for being here for another episode of The Play
32:09
Therapy Circle. If anything resonated with you
32:12
today, I'd love it if you could follow the podcast, share it
32:16
with a colleague, or leave a short review.
32:18
It really helps others find our circle.
32:21
And if you have a topic or question you'd love me to
32:24
explore, I'd love to hear from you.
32:26
This space is for you and I want it to feel like a conversation.
32:31
Until next time, take care of yourself and remember you belong
32:36
here.