Latest / The Play Therapy Circle / Episode 18- The Pandemic Ripple Effect. How CCPT Supports Children who are Beginning School

Transcript

Episode 18- The Pandemic Ripple Effect. How CCPT Supports Children who are Beginning School · The Play Therapy Circle

0:07
Hi and welcome to an episode of the Play Therapy Circle.
0:12
I'm Kylie Ellison, a therapist, clinical supervisor and play
0:16
therapy trainer, and I'm so grateful you're here.
0:20
This podcast is a space for thoughtful, soulful
0:23
conversations about child centred therapy, play based work
0:27
and what it means to show up with presence and compassion,
0:31
both for our clients and for ourselves.
0:34
Whether you're a seasoned play therapist, a student just
0:37
starting out, or someone deeply passionate about working with
0:41
children, you belong here. Hey everyone, welcome back to
0:49
the Play Therapy Circle podcast. I'm your host, Kylie Ellison,
0:53
and I am so glad you are here. Welcome everyone to episode 18,
1:00
you guys. For those of you who are
1:02
watching on YouTube, yes, that is in fact a pink microphone.
1:07
I got an upgrade, you guys got an upgrade.
1:09
Our old microphone Rest in Peace had been around for about 7
1:15
years. So it broke after the last
1:19
podcast episode. Very sad.
1:21
So of course on brand, I had to get a pink microphone for the
1:25
next 1. So for those of you watching on
1:27
YouTube, you'll be able to see it.
1:29
For those of you listening on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, it's
1:33
it's amazing. I'm very happy with it.
1:36
I had matching headphones, but of course I couldn't like make
1:40
it properly work today because me and IT don't usually mix.
1:44
So I will try that for next time.
1:46
But I hope all of you are well wherever I am connecting with
1:50
you today. We are now in 26 countries.
1:55
You guys, I am just beyond thrilled that we continue to
1:59
reach more and more of our community.
2:01
Across the globe, so. I am so genuinely grateful to
2:06
everyone that is listening. I hope that you are finding it
2:08
useful and helpful. That is absolutely always my
2:11
intention and it's very much for us to connect in this space in
2:15
the circle about Child Centre play therapy and why we love it
2:20
so much. So I'm so grateful for all of
2:23
that support and it has been so fun seeing the reach and more
2:27
people checking us out. So thank you so much for
2:31
listening. It really does mean a lot.
2:33
I'm I'm starting this. Episode off today actually
2:36
before I do that. Sorry, my neurodivergent brain
2:39
wants to jump between topics. I want to check in with you all.
2:42
So how are you doing? How's your week been?
2:45
I'm actually recording this on Friday afternoon, you guys like
2:51
I'm actually enjoying it that much that I want to do it like
2:54
out of business hours like what is this?
2:56
Well, actually, no, I have actually done this before out of
2:58
business hours. That's a lie, but I'm actually
3:01
doing it on a Friday afternoon when I could be chilling, but
3:05
instead I have just been so keen to do this particular topic
3:11
today. It's a little bit.
3:12
Different to our normal content. So I just want to preface that
3:16
I've got so many prefaces for this episode just to make sure I
3:21
am doing all of the things and recognising all parts of this
3:24
conversation. But the topic I want to talk
3:27
about today has been something that has been ruminating for me
3:31
for some time now and I just felt that call to share this
3:38
information and start the conversation.
3:41
So I definitely want to preface this episode by saying that I'm
3:46
purely sharing general information only guys.
3:51
So this is not a substitute for advice or counselling.
3:54
So if you are in need of mental health support, as we give in
3:58
our disclaimer at the beginning of every episode, please contact
4:01
Lifeline on 13/11/14 or Kids Helpline ON18551800 in Australia
4:09
or wherever relevant in your country.
4:11
I also want to caveat this by saying that this topic that I'm
4:15
going to talk about today is really about starting to
4:22
highlight and validate for anyone working in the child
4:27
centred play therapy space who is seeing an increase in
4:31
children with anxiety and separation anxiety in the four
4:34
to six year old age group. So I need to put another caveat
4:39
to say that this episode in no way is intended to have any
4:47
conversation other than talking about the research and talking
4:51
about the mental health of children.
4:53
So I know that there is many, many opinions on this topic, but
4:58
I'm going to talk about the impact of the pandemic of
5:02
COVID-19 on what we are seeing in current practise.
5:07
So in the episode I've, I've put in the title 2025 because I
5:12
think that this is very emerging research.
5:15
There is a good body of research already out there talking about
5:19
this topic, but I just couldn't give an exhaustive overview in
5:25
this episode. I would be talking for days you
5:27
guys, to cover all of the research material and outcomes.
5:32
So this is. Very much intended to begin that
5:35
conversation for those of you working in the play therapy
5:38
space right now in the Child Centre play.
5:40
Therapy space Who? Are seeing an increase in that
5:45
population of children, 4 to 6 year olds with anxiety and
5:49
separation anxiety. So how I want to tackle this is
5:53
to talk about the data because that's really important.
5:56
I want to talk a little bit very briefly guys, because there's
5:59
just so much out there. I want to acknowledge I guess
6:02
some of the more global literature recognising that we
6:04
have a global play therapy circle community.
6:08
I want to talk a little bit about how the neurobiology of
6:11
what kids experienced during that time that has had an impact
6:17
on what we are seeing now in current day in 2025, How child's
6:21
any play therapy can help because that's absolutely
6:24
essential and important as always to bring it back to CCPT
6:27
and what we love so much. And I want to start the
6:30
conversation about some of those strategies we can offer to
6:33
parents. I really am keen for feedback
6:36
guys after this podcast. If there is.
6:38
Further topics you would like me to talk about, There is a whole
6:42
population of kids who are now teenagers who were preteens
6:47
during COVID. That is another body of research
6:50
all on its own to look at. So that might be another topic I
6:53
do down the line, but I want to talk about that 4 to 6 year old
6:56
age group specifically. I'm going to make sure in the
6:59
notes of this podcast that I will list the references that
7:02
I'm going to talk about today so you guys can check them out for
7:05
yourselves. And to make sure that I am
7:08
following my practise guidelines as a registered counsellor as
7:11
well. So this is a.
7:13
Very interesting topic for me. It's been something that I have
7:17
been presenting on at conferences for the last couple.
7:20
Of years I've had the. Opportunity to present at a few,
7:23
including the Early Childhood Australia conference last year.
7:28
I think that was, yeah, I might have been last year.
7:31
Because I have started. To dive into and read about and
7:36
I'm certainly not an expert and this is certainly not exhaustive
7:39
guys, there is so much out there.
7:41
But just in the beginnings of reading through some of those
7:44
research articles and the data and the statistics that are
7:47
coming out of it, I think are important to share so that for
7:52
you as child centre play therapist, you can begin that
7:54
conversation with your clients and your families in that space
7:57
and for them to be able to access this research and to talk
8:00
further about it. So you best believe I have lots
8:04
of notes to read off. So for those of you watching on
8:07
YouTube, this is probably. Going to be a really boring.
8:10
Episode in terms of watching me talk, because I'm going to be
8:14
like referring to notes the whole time.
8:16
I think that it's really important because I want to get
8:18
this information right. I want to get that information
8:20
out there in a way that's accurate in terms of reflecting
8:24
what I have found so far. And I definitely encourage you
8:28
guys to do your own research in this space.
8:30
This is purely an introduction and really, as I said at the
8:33
beginning, an intention around validation for our
8:37
practitioners, but also our families.
8:40
So please feel free to share this episode with parents as
8:42
well or caregivers. Who are also.
8:45
In this space and struggling as well.
8:48
So I want to start off I unfortunately because I'm a
8:50
little egocentric because I'm Australian, I'm going to start
8:53
off with the Australian data guys.
8:54
Sorry for those of you globally who are listening, I promise
8:57
I'll get to you in a SEC. But I want to start off with
8:59
what's happening in Australia right now.
9:02
And I think one of many studies guys and data collection tools
9:07
has been the Australian Early Developmental Census, Early
9:11
Development Census, sorry, which is a large national measure of
9:15
children development as they start school in Australia.
9:17
So I want to talk about the 2024 AEDC, the Australian Early
9:22
Development Census. So you can find that online as
9:25
well. And with this particular census,
9:28
they collected data from 288,483 children in 7368 schools via
9:39
16,723 teachers. Yes, I read my notes, you guys,
9:45
for somebody who usually bounces on topics.
9:48
I'm being very disciplined today you guys.
9:50
So over 94% of in scope children in those schools participated.
9:54
So we've got a. Pretty.
9:55
Large, I mean, it's not significant.
9:57
But it's a it's. A large cohort, right?
9:59
So what they looked at was 5 domains of what they are
10:05
assessing when children start school.
10:07
So they're assessing physical health and well being, social
10:10
competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills,
10:15
communication skills and general language.
10:17
So in 2024, the proportion of children who were on track when
10:23
they started school in those five domains dropped from 54.8%
10:28
in 2021 to 52.9% in 2024. So what we're seeing in our
10:35
least disadvantaged areas was around 61% of kids were on
10:39
track, but in our most disadvantaged areas about 41%
10:43
were on track for starting school.
10:46
So what we're seeing in terms of declines in that domain, where
10:50
the biggest declines were, were in social competence and
10:54
emotional maturity. I know for anyone listening who
10:57
is a child centre practitioner in Australia right now, I know
11:01
those statistics do not surprise you.
11:04
How are the children in your practise in that 4 to 6 year old
11:08
age group coping with social competencies and emotional
11:13
maturity? My guess is not great, not
11:17
great. So we're going to unpack some of
11:20
the factors that have influenced that.
11:22
But I wanted to start off this conversation with the data
11:25
because that's really important that we have those facts behind
11:27
us. Or at least the.
11:29
Start guys. It's not.
11:30
Exhaustive. It's not exhaustive.
11:31
A meta analysis. Let's talk about our global
11:34
friends across across the globe, across the 25 other countries
11:40
around the world who listen to our podcast, those practitioners
11:43
who are working and using play therapy in their clinics and
11:46
spaces. So what we have found other meta
11:49
analysis in more recent literature has identified
11:56
elevated prevalence of anxiety symptoms and disorders in
11:59
children and adolescents during the pandemic.
12:02
Anxiety symptoms and disorders during COVID-19 pandemic in
12:06
children and adolescents in 2023 report significant impacts
12:10
globally. And I will quote the academic
12:13
literature that I am referencing here today guys.
12:16
So that will be in the notes of our podcast.
12:19
So globally we are also seeing in meta analysis and increase in
12:24
anxiety. The study that I'm, I'm talking
12:27
about in particular for that global data found that the
12:31
pandemic period, in the pandemic period, sorry, the prevalence of
12:35
any anxiety symptoms was higher than pre pandemic estimates,
12:40
though numbers vary by country. So what does this mean when we
12:45
look at the data in relation to what we're seeing in the
12:48
playroom or what we're seeing in those referrals and
12:51
presentations of kids starting school?
12:54
So kids are essentially from what we're reading, entering
12:58
school with weaker readiness for school in those social and
13:03
emotional competencies. We also have an increase in
13:07
global anxiety, which in essence kind of gives this sort of
13:11
perfect storm when we look at that entry of children into the
13:16
school setting in relation to the mental.
13:19
Health. So this is.
13:21
Starting to, I guess, structure our conversation around why we
13:27
might be seeing some of these issues now where we haven't
13:32
necessarily seen seen the same statistics before.
13:34
So I want to reference here, I guess in this next section,
13:37
talking about in your clinics and in classrooms when we are
13:43
hearing reports from parents and teachers and educators.
13:48
As well as the children that we're working with in the
13:50
playroom, what are we hearing, what are those presenting issues
13:53
for that 4 to 6 year old age group?
13:56
So the biggest 1, and I would say anecdotally for me,
13:59
absolutely. So for you, those of you.
14:01
Listening or watching, I'm not sure if this resonates for you,
14:05
but separation anxiety guys, in that 4 to 6 year old age group,
14:09
how many of you are working with kids who are struggling with
14:12
separation anxiety or parents are reporting or schools are
14:15
reporting? I've actually had supervisors
14:18
tell me in recent months and again, I feel like the impact of
14:23
the pandemic is certainly not consistent.
14:27
So different states in Australia had different experiences,
14:30
different countries around the world have had different
14:32
experiences. So I don't want to generalise
14:34
here. But when we're talking about
14:36
some of those difficulties, what we're finding is things like
14:40
kids not wanting to separate at school drop off.
14:43
And I'm, I'm hearing that from my supervisors, but I've even
14:45
heard stories of class, sorry, education settings.
14:51
So schools, for example, primary schools here in Australia,
14:55
having to have staff at reception to help with that
14:58
transition for kids who are highly anxious separating from
15:02
their parents at drop off and needing to help buffer that to
15:06
help separate that child and transition them into the
15:09
classroom setting. Like this is something that
15:12
certainly I've been working in child protection and, and the
15:16
community services support sector for the last 20 years.
15:19
That's not something I have necessarily heard consistently
15:22
in my career. So there seems to be an uptick
15:26
in this at the moment and that impact is being felt across
15:30
families and across schools. So difficulty with separating or
15:34
dropping off, worrying something is going to happen to their
15:37
parent. So struggling to be away for the
15:41
whole day from school and needing to see them or needing
15:44
to talk to them during the day, refusing to stay at school.
15:47
So simply just not being able to cope and needing mum or dad or
15:51
or carer to come and pick them up.
15:54
Generalised anxiety guys as well.
15:57
What are we seeing here? So worries around illness,
16:00
what's going to happen, worrying about germs, having an unsettled
16:04
routine, changes in peer relationships and certainly
16:09
across this cohort, that hyper vigilance, hyper arousal state.
16:13
Another big area that we're starting to see in terms of
16:17
presenting issues is social and emotional delays.
16:20
And again, I don't think that this is a surprise for anyone
16:24
who is working in this space right now as a child centre play
16:27
therapist in your community. So what does that look like when
16:30
I say social and emotional delays, Trouble making friends,
16:35
trouble sharing, navigating conflict, negotiating,
16:40
regulating big feelings like anger or frustration, troubles
16:44
with transitions? All of the above all.
16:47
Of the above. So if you are seeing that for
16:50
your child or for your client, you are not alone.
16:54
And I know that I use that term a fair bit when I'm talking to
16:58
our incredible Circle community in terms of play therapists.
17:01
But I think that this is a message that needs to go beyond
17:04
just us to those families and our communities to know that and
17:08
validate that this is not just you.
17:12
This is not in isolation that something like this is happening
17:15
right now. And I want to start that
17:17
conversation and normalise that conversation around talking
17:21
about some of these struggles and stresses that families are
17:24
experiencing. So we can lean into the data
17:28
with this. We can lean into so many studies
17:29
as well, guys. But we could lean into that AEDC
17:33
census data that I mentioned at the start for our Australian
17:35
cohorts where it does say that there is declines in those
17:40
social competencies and emotional maturity, the data
17:43
saying that. But we're also seeing that in
17:46
the presentation of kids that school readiness and as I
17:51
mentioned earlier, attendance issues.
17:53
So showing fatigue, more reluctance to come or to stay,
17:59
clinginess at the school door or clinging to their mum or dad or
18:04
caregiver, like I said earlier, and struggling with that
18:07
separation, needing longer times to transition into the
18:11
classroom, struggling to settle. All of those things come under
18:15
those presenting issues. So when we're looking at this
18:21
globally, not just in Australia, but linking to that pandemic
18:25
context, we acknowledge that for the kids that are four to six
18:30
years old right now when they were born and during those first
18:34
couple of years of life. I'm going to talk about the
18:36
neuroscience in a SEC, but if we talk about it more in a context
18:39
perspective that particular cohort when they were little.
18:43
Had fewer preschool hours or may not have even attended kindy or
18:47
daycare at all. They had less peer interactions,
18:51
social interactions, and play play.
18:55
You guys fewer. Extracurricular activities, that
18:58
wasn't a thing as much during COVID as you guys know.
19:01
And again, restrictions looked different across the globe, but
19:05
certainly social distancing meant that a lot of that play
19:09
based activities wasn't as accessible during that time.
19:13
There was less of a regular routine because we were kind of
19:16
responding to crisis as it kind of occurred, more parent
19:21
mediated screen time and fewer transitions.
19:24
So these are just some of the factors here, guys.
19:29
And I'm going to talk about now that neuroscience, but I think
19:32
it's really important to acknowledge that there was a
19:35
missing time period for these kids when they were one and two.
19:39
So zero to 1, one to two, two to three, where they were not able
19:45
to engage with their peers in their community settings,
19:49
sometimes even at parks or recreational facilities.
19:52
They were restricted to their home environments often, which
19:56
meant there was not as many peer opportunities for social
20:00
connection. And so though some of those
20:04
rituals, I'm going to talk about this a little bit more later,
20:06
but some of those rituals that you would have as a beginning
20:09
parent or for those children in that age group.
20:13
I know for myself and I'm again talking to Brisbane and I'm
20:16
talking to. I guess when when my kids born
20:19
2012 and 2013. So like a while ago, you guys,
20:24
we would have things like, you know, play groups where you
20:28
would meet. I remember I'm taking my kids to
20:32
the child health, the local public kind of health system
20:36
clinic where they offered free play groups.
20:38
So you could go and mix with kids of a similar age.
20:42
You would have activities at libraries and things run by the
20:46
local council and activities in the park and all of those things
20:50
that are offered to children during that time and for parents
20:53
as well to help them connect and be able to, you know, just
20:57
debrief with another parent in the trenches of, you know, that
21:01
first and second and third year of life for kids.
21:04
None of that was available around that time or it looked
21:07
different in many senses. So it was online a lot of the
21:10
time. So kids missed out on that
21:13
opportunity for skills practise, for being able to emotionally
21:16
regulate, navigate conflict with their peers, be able to engage
21:21
in self help, be able to resolve conflict if it if it came up in
21:25
terms of their relationships with others and their social
21:28
connections, being able to process feelings.
21:31
So that they could cope with their anxiety.
21:33
Not a lot of those opportunities were around during that time.
21:37
And so we're starting to see some of this context linked to
21:40
the data. So I want to talk about why this
21:43
particular cohort of kids. Is a little different.
21:47
What I have started to say to parents and to supervisees is
21:51
that we would be. Doing, and again, I'm carrying
21:55
this by saying this is just my conjecture guys, and just my
21:57
anecdotal experience waving all of the flags.
22:00
Guys, true transparency here, but I think that it is doing
22:04
somewhat of a disservice to this population to compare them to
22:09
what we. Currently know around child
22:11
development theory and those benchmarks for what children
22:14
should be achieving. This is a different population
22:17
and we need to recognise and honour and validate and
22:20
acknowledge that. So what do I mean by that?
22:24
Why are they different so? Let's look a little bit at the
22:27
prenatal and infancy influences. So while the pandemic
22:33
neurobiology data is still emerging, and I said this at the
22:36
beginning, this is going to be a a pool of research that is going
22:42
to constantly grow and evolve in the next 10/15/20 years.
22:46
So I definitely encourage you guys to be keeping up to date
22:50
with some of that research if you can, to understand what are
22:53
the current implications for practise.
22:55
But what we are seeing in the emerging data is that there is a
22:59
growing evidence of exposure to prenatal stress or maternal
23:04
anxiety during COVID relating somewhat to potentially impacts
23:10
on how the. Child and the infant's brain
23:13
grew and how it was changed. So some of the information that
23:18
we're starting to see in the literature is examples like say
23:22
smaller amygdala volumes. So that part of the brain that's
23:27
important for emotional regulation being smaller than
23:32
their same age peers in say a different timeline, so 5, five
23:37
years prior. So we're starting to see higher
23:40
negative affect and other I guess kind of byproducts of some
23:46
of that exposure. I often share as well with
23:50
parents when we are considering some of that in utero exposure
23:55
to anxiety and stress and what that means for bubs when they
23:59
are born, for when babies are born that sometimes they are
24:02
born slightly elevated in terms of that stress and anxiety
24:06
symptomology themselves. So they are more dysregulated.
24:10
Cry more, more difficult to settle all of those.
24:13
Those things and so I won't go into that in too much detail,
24:16
but I, I want to emphasise here that we need to start the
24:21
conversation about acknowledging that this was an incredibly
24:25
stressful time for parents. I just don't want to share and
24:29
talk about this topic without very impact empathically
24:34
acknowledging. That this was a really tough
24:37
time for everyone. So this is definitely not a
24:42
conversation around looking at causes, but we're looking at
24:46
those contributing factors and we were all doing the best we.
24:50
Could. At that point of time with the
24:52
information that we had. So we are having that
24:56
retrospective kind of analysis now and we're starting to see
24:59
some of the data emerge. So I just want to give so much
25:03
grace and love to all of those parents who were pregnant during
25:06
that time. I couldn't even imagine what
25:08
that would have been like in terms of some of those
25:10
restrictions. I believe, or I understand for
25:13
some parents there was restrictions in the hospitals in
25:18
terms of who could be there and who could be present, what those
25:23
medical appointments leading up to the birth look like.
25:25
So many different impacts there guys of what they went through,
25:31
parents who had had a baby during that time.
25:35
So what are we? Looking at when we're talking
25:37
about the early brain development.
25:39
Of this cohort. Between zero to three years of
25:42
age, so that 2020 to 2022 timeline for those kids born
25:47
during that time, we know that the brain is highly experienced
25:51
dependent. That's what the research tells
25:53
us. So it's dependent on that
25:55
relational input, those experiences of connections and
25:58
interactions with others. The brain depends on that Co
26:02
regulation because when babies are born, they're born to
26:08
connect with and attune with their primary caregiver for
26:12
survival. It's part of their growth and
26:14
development when they're little until they have some of that
26:17
independence themselves and that maturation.
26:20
So they look for Co regulation from their parents.
26:23
So if parents were struggling and stress during that time,
26:26
that would have been really difficult to do.
26:28
So again, showing so much grace and compatibility.
26:31
Passion for parents during that time, because that would have
26:33
been really hard, that would have been really difficult.
26:35
But they're also dependent on those peer and play experiences.
26:40
They matter for those development of those connections
26:43
in the brain in those early years.
26:46
So when that typical practise around say daycare, kindy
26:51
playgroup, library time, whatever that looked like free
26:55
peer play in the playground at the local park, when that's
26:59
disrupted, they may miss some of those opportunities to establish
27:04
those those guidelines and I guess kind of pathways to help
27:09
the child to be able to establish those skills.
27:12
So definitely in terms of social input, if we kind of build on
27:17
this a little bit more to talk about that regulation practise.
27:21
Kids learn self regulation, emotional recognition, and peer
27:26
interaction primarily through in person play.
27:29
That's what we know from the literature.
27:32
So again, if we think of the context of that time, often that
27:36
wasn't an option for some of our kids in our communities.
27:39
And again, it's going to differ globally for those of you
27:42
listening across the globe. But obviously then those
27:46
experiences of peer negotiations, repeated
27:48
separations and reunions through drop off and pick up from
27:52
playgroup or daycare or whatever that looked like that was
27:56
restricted. Those experiences or
27:58
opportunities to have that experience were restricted
28:01
during that time. So again, we look to the data
28:05
and to that census that I referenced earlier in Australia
28:09
that talks about social competency and emotional
28:12
maturity as showing the largest declines which suggest those
28:16
exact functions as being impacted.
28:18
That's what the research and that particular census tells us.
28:22
So further expanding on this about what makes this cohort
28:27
different is those developmental milestone lags.
28:30
This is some of the research is starting to show us those lags
28:35
being present. So if you are a parent listening
28:37
and you are seeing that in your particular child who meets that
28:41
cohort age group. You're not alone.
28:46
You're not alone. So children who were between
28:50
1:00 and 3:00 or in those first couple of years of life during
28:52
the pandemic when play dates, daycare, group care, after
28:58
school, before school care, all of those things.
29:00
So not so much the school care, but definitely the daycare and
29:04
kindies and play groups and preschools.
29:06
Where those routines were altered.
29:08
They may not have had as many opportunities to practise
29:11
independence, peer conflict, shared attention and social and
29:15
emotional regulation. This is what?
29:17
Our data is showing us, so the result is at an age of four to
29:21
six, they might be arriving at school needing to catch up.
29:25
They are showing us through their behaviour, through their
29:28
emotional expression, sometimes through their verbal
29:30
communication as well, and certainly in the playroom that
29:34
they are behind in terms of having some of those skills
29:37
around emotional regulation, navigating peer conflicts,
29:40
navigating big feelings themselves and how to express
29:43
them appropriately. All of those things they are
29:46
potentially behind in. So we're seeing this lag when
29:51
this cohort of four to six year olds start the school year and
29:55
start the school term. So I realised in all of this
29:58
conversation around schooling, I forgot to caveat in terms of
30:02
Australia. So, and again, I'm talking to
30:04
Queensland in Australia because everywhere is different, right?
30:08
Depending on your country and your location.
30:10
So for Queensland it's roughly 4 1/2 year olds to six year olds
30:17
that will start the school year at that particular age.
30:22
So we are seeing those four to six year olds starting to
30:26
transition into school this year and next year.
30:29
So our school year starts the end of January, beginning of
30:32
February here in Australia. So we are seeing that this year
30:36
and we will absolutely see more of that presentation next year,
30:40
the beginning of next year. So why is the neurobiology
30:45
important here and why does it matter?
30:46
So when children are repeatedly in states of hyper vigilance,
30:51
hyper arousal, which we know often comes connection with
30:57
feelings of anxiety, which may have been triggered by or been a
31:02
part of that experiences around parental stress, the lockdown,
31:06
unpredictability, reduced peer connections and interactions,
31:11
lots of different factors, The brain stress systems.
31:14
So obviously the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal
31:17
cortex may adapt differently. So what does that mean when we
31:22
say that they may adapt differently, We're talking about
31:24
them being more sensitised to threat and separation and less
31:28
experienced in regulation. When I read that in the
31:31
research, that kind of helped me to connect the dots, I guess a
31:35
little bit in terms of how to explain it to parents that we
31:38
really are seeing a difference in that neurobiology for this
31:44
population of kids that has that output of so many things.
31:49
But that's just as an example that increased hypervigilance,
31:54
more sensitivity to threatened separation and less experience
31:58
in regulation. So the great thing though is
32:03
that we know it obviously gives us an understanding, but we can
32:09
obviously also look to the literature and the research on
32:14
child centre play therapy and why we can help.
32:18
So it's not all lost guys. It's certainly systemic.
32:24
I think would be a fair comment looking at the literature and
32:29
the emerging literature and certainly I guess anecdotally as
32:32
well, feedback from, you know, schools, educators, we, our
32:38
practise issues have the opportunity to connect with a
32:40
lot of kindies and across Queensland.
32:44
And yeah, it's pretty consistent that message around seeing this
32:49
particular population struggle the most in recent years with
32:53
that anxiety and separation anxiety.
32:54
So child centre play therapy is an incredible way to help
32:58
support these kids, to help them to transition to school, to help
33:04
them to cope with that first year of school and to be able to
33:07
build some of those skills that they need to be able to engage
33:10
in school, engaging in school. And then that kind of topic
33:14
around how to support them in the school setting.
33:16
I feel like as a whole other episode, you guys, I really just
33:19
want to keep it to under an hour.
33:22
This this topic, because I could talk about this all day and I
33:27
won't. So I'll pull myself back in.
33:29
But I do want to talk about why child centre play therapy works
33:32
and why it's so good for this particular cohort.
33:35
So we know in child centre play therapy and I know I'm I'm
33:38
preaching to the choir, you guys, that we provide that safe
33:41
space for kids where we can help them to connect, to experience
33:46
Co regulation, to role model what that socially acceptable
33:49
relationship looks like, as Gary Landers would say.
33:52
But let's dig a little deeper. So how can we help this
33:55
particular cohort? So we can certainly support in
33:58
that attachment and Co regulation space.
34:00
So for many of the these, oh, excuse me, I can't say my words
34:04
today, for many of these kids during these years, that's what
34:08
I was trying to say, they repeat and had less repeated practise
34:12
of separation or reunions in early years.
34:15
So we're kids and I think to my kids and those experiences of
34:20
going to daycare and you know, they went a couple of days a
34:23
week. And so I would drop them off and
34:25
pick them up and we'd have those set days and they would go and
34:27
have those play experiences and interactions with their peers.
34:30
And then I'd pick them up at the end of the day where for this
34:33
population, this cohort of four to six year olds that we're
34:36
serving now in our communities, they didn't have that practise
34:39
as much. So we can offer that safe
34:42
therapeutic space to do that and experience that with that
34:46
relationship between the child and us as therapists.
34:51
What else can we do? We can offer that sense of
34:53
mastery through that experiential learning experience
34:55
in the playroom, as you guys know.
34:57
So we know that some of those anxiety themes around separation
35:01
transitions change. Yeah, all of those big feelings
35:06
can be worked through through symbolic play.
35:09
We can help them to do that in their most natural mode of
35:12
communication, which is play. So we can help them to
35:14
cathartically process and make sense of it and help them to
35:18
feel that sense of empowerment. That's our goal.
35:20
That's what we do in play therapy.
35:21
In Johnson Play Therapy. We help to build those social
35:24
emotional skills. So we are directly responding to
35:27
that census, that AEDC census. I got that right where play
35:32
therapy can actively support that growth.
35:35
So we help through play children to practise negotiations, turn
35:39
taking with us, impulse control, emotional expression, internal
35:44
locus of control, all of those things that you guys know well
35:48
already having done training in child centre play therapy.
35:51
So we can meet that need and we can help connect and support the
35:55
development of that those particular skills for that
35:58
particular cohort. We provide that language and
36:01
self narrative development. So children practise that
36:04
emotional literacy and emotional learning through engaging with
36:08
us. We help them to negotiate roles,
36:10
tell their stories and helping them to understand their world
36:15
and what they've been through. So what I found most exciting in
36:20
my research so far, and genuinely there is so much more
36:24
research to go and I will continue to do that.
36:28
Reading up because I think. It's an ongoing building body of
36:32
research in this space, but one of the guidelines that I found
36:37
so super interesting, so I just wanted to mention it to our
36:42
Australian listeners, is the Royal Children's Hospital
36:46
Melbourne's clinical practise guidelines.
36:49
So I came across this as part of my research and just absolutely
36:54
loved it for our child centre play therapy practitioners in
36:57
the room who are listening where in this Australian Guideline for
37:02
Anxiety published in 2023, it acknowledged that play therapy
37:07
could be considered for children eight years and under.
37:10
Who are less likely? Or especially for those that are
37:13
less likely to engage in CBT or talk based therapies.
37:16
That's really exciting. We're seeing some of that
37:20
clinical guidelines and research coming out saying and
37:23
recommendations for practise saying that play therapy is a
37:28
great tool to access support for kids struggling with anxiety.
37:32
So I will definitely put the link in our notes so that you
37:37
guys can access it yourselves. It's, it's really exciting to
37:41
see that mentioned in Australia. So.
37:43
We know, and I'm going to talk about it a bit more later.
37:46
But we know globally because I know we've got our global
37:49
community as well. The meta analysis globally of
37:53
CCPT in school settings shows moderate improvements in
37:57
behavioural and emotional outcomes, so using evidence
38:01
based child therapy meta analytic summaries.
38:05
So it's really important that we look to the research and talk
38:10
about what are those meta analysis saying around the
38:14
application of CCPT to children. And we know for those of you
38:18
who've been studying this space for some time now, know that the
38:23
favourability of having play therapy in school settings to
38:27
work alongside education staff to support kids engaging in
38:33
school has a great research base.
38:35
So I encourage you guys to look that up.
38:37
Child centre play therapy and how it helps children engage in
38:42
school settings. So we know that for four to six
38:45
year olds, excuse me, they can't sit through long talk based
38:49
therapy sessions. So we know CCPT offers so many
38:52
benefits and I've talked about some of them already, but it
38:55
definitely gives that experiential learning experience
38:57
through movement, tactile play, narratives, fire toys, and it
39:02
absolutely is developmentally appropriate.
39:04
So we know that it ticks some great boxes there.
39:07
It also is important for us as part of our CCPD practise to be
39:11
collaborating, collaborating with parents and caregivers.
39:14
We do that anyway. We do our parent care
39:17
consultation updates as we've talked about in a previous
39:20
episode. So you know it, it can be
39:23
another opportunity for us to not only serve the children that
39:26
are struggling in the transition to school, but also that family
39:30
unit. So we know also too that there
39:32
is that opportunity around child parent relationship therapy or
39:35
filial therapy as well for parents.
39:37
So we can really work to upskill them with some of those play
39:40
therapy skills to support their kids at home.
39:44
We also know that we can definitely as child centre play
39:48
therapists, we want to connect holistically.
39:51
So that opportunity for us to connect with school staff, to do
39:55
in school observations where where possible and approved to
40:00
be able to offer psycho education and training to
40:03
educators and education staff. There is lots of different ways
40:07
that we can help support families using our child centre
40:11
play therapy modality. So I know that when I have been
40:16
talking to supervisees who are working with families in this
40:19
space, often times the questions are around how can I help
40:24
support the parents? What, what can I give them in
40:26
terms of those practical strategies for parents to be
40:29
able to navigate this right now? I think what has become part of
40:34
my practise over the last 12 months truly has been going back
40:38
to basics. And that sounds really, really
40:41
basic, right? But genuinely, when we look at
40:46
this cohort and when we look at our current families in our
40:49
communities that we're serving right now, they are so busy.
40:53
It's usually two parent households where they're both
40:55
working, most likely the part time or full time.
40:58
They're trying to navigate extracurricular activities,
41:01
going to school events and things on the weekends, school
41:06
holidays and and just day to day life.
41:08
So I know as a parent of a 12 and a 13 year old, I do not have
41:12
a lot of time. I do not have a lot of time.
41:14
So I think that it's really important that we acknowledge
41:18
that for the parents that we are connecting with that the first
41:22
stop in that intervention is asking the parents, how are you
41:26
doing? How are you going truly and
41:29
really working in those parent console updates to build that
41:32
connection and relationship between therapist and parent
41:35
carer so that we can start that conversation around them being
41:38
able to cope themselves. So whether that looks like their
41:42
own personal therapy, whether that looks like other
41:46
adjustments in the family dynamic or the family home, all
41:49
of those things are unpacked in time, right?
41:52
But I think at the very least, incredible empathy and
41:57
compassion and validation to our parents in the trenches right
42:01
now, because this is really tough.
42:04
This is really hard for a lot of our families.
42:07
And so just letting parents know, just as Gary Landreth
42:10
would say, I hear you, I see you, I understand, and I care.
42:16
We need to be doing that with parents as well.
42:18
We need to pare back, go back to basics and just give them
42:22
homework like what we talked about in filiotherapy or child
42:26
parent relationship therapy about that 32nd burst of
42:28
attention. Just pop your phone down, turn
42:31
everything off, and just spend 30 seconds of undivided time
42:35
with your child going back to basics to help them to be able
42:39
to help regulate themselves and their child to be able to build
42:43
that attachment and connection. And just starting really slow
42:47
and simple. So I think that that's really
42:49
important. I have also leaned into really,
42:53
as we always would do anyway, but I feel like for this
42:55
population even more so, starting with some of the basics
42:58
of the skills of CPT, of reflecting feelings, like we're
43:02
talking about emotional regulation as being part of that
43:06
missed step for some of these kids in relation to those
43:09
interactions and experiences in those formative years.
43:12
So how can we help do that Now? We equip parents with the same
43:16
skills that we use in the playroom.
43:18
Not exactly the same though, guys.
43:19
They're not going to be play therapists, but just some of
43:21
that language that they can use to help validate their child and
43:25
their child's feelings. Because I think often times as
43:29
therapists ourselves, we assume that that's something that
43:31
parents already know. My, my take for what it's worth,
43:34
is a lot of parents don't and and that's OK, That's OK.
43:38
That's what we're here for to help support them.
43:40
So really kind of going back to basics around that play time,
43:45
play time again, it sounds simple, but I think truly
43:50
troubleshooting with our parents to say, OK, let's have some time
43:55
where you just play with your child.
43:57
What does that look like? Is that on a Friday afternoon
44:01
after everyone's kind of finished their work week and
44:03
their schooling and their homework and you've got a window
44:07
of time before you cook dinner? Like we understand that the
44:11
schedules are so hectic for a lot of our families.
44:14
So practically looking at can we make this achievable and how to
44:20
help them to build that connection and to help kids to
44:24
play out. So certainly we would lean into
44:28
child parent relationship therapy if we wanted to equip
44:30
them with being able to do truly CCPT practise.
44:35
But I think at the basic level, just getting parents to play
44:38
with their kids and not interrupt and not direct, just
44:42
just play with, just be with their kids for 15 minutes, 10 to
44:45
15 minutes, like that will have such an incredibly huge impact
44:51
on our kids if we can start to plant the seed for parents
44:54
around that. But to do that, parents need to
44:57
be able to be regulated and coping well themselves.
45:00
So you see how I started the conversation here about what we
45:03
suggest to parents around how are they doing?
45:05
First we need to check in with them.
45:07
How are they going? What steps do they need to put
45:10
in place? What self care do they need
45:11
themselves before? Then we start talking about that
45:16
time with their kids, but also being really mindful of that
45:20
connection time. I think definitely talking about
45:23
routines and there's so many different ways we can talk about
45:27
that. So I'm not going to go through
45:28
too much information right now. I don't want to overload
45:30
everyone, but I think having consistent bedtimes, wake up
45:35
times, predictable morning routines to help kind of support
45:39
that felt experience of predictability and consistency
45:42
and routine is very helpful, guys.
45:45
Very, very helpful to suggest parents having a gradual
45:49
separation plan, so having a bit of a ritual around that
45:52
separation at home, a consistent goodbye ritual, you know, kind
45:58
of building that process for kids to be able to tolerate
46:02
separation and building their internal safety.
46:04
And that doesn't happen overnight either.
46:06
So work shopping ideas with parents around how that could
46:10
look and what they could implement to be able to navigate
46:14
that separation gradually to support the child.
46:18
And definitely, I think helping to support that teacher family
46:23
partnership and helping to engage in that communication
46:28
between family and teachers and working with them to understand
46:33
the needs of your particular child or your particular client.
46:37
Co create that transition plan. What that could look like in
46:40
terms of mini routines at the start of the day, check INS, a
46:45
safe space or a safe activity for the child to engage in when
46:50
they first come to their classroom at the start of the
46:52
day to help really sort of build that structure of that
46:57
consistency and predictability. Sorry, these are definitely not
47:02
heavy clinical interventions guys, but they are evidence
47:05
informed practical strategies that parents can use now and we
47:09
know with the right therapeutic support we can shift this
47:12
trajectory. So while the data obviously
47:15
shows us this rising vulnerability for this
47:19
particular cohort around that anxiety risk for kids starting
47:22
school right now. We.
47:24
Know child centre play therapy works and play based
47:28
interventions works and having that connection and building
47:31
that system of support between the family, the child and the
47:35
school and us as play therapists.
47:39
So I really hope that this episode has connected with you
47:46
as I started the conversation saying I really genuinely want
47:50
to validate for anyone in the trenches of this, whether you're
47:53
a play therapist child and a play therapist or a parent or
47:56
caregiver yourself or working in the education space.
48:00
This is a tough time. And I really want to encourage
48:05
you guys to seek that support. Child centre play therapy is a
48:09
great way to do that thanks to those clinical guidelines we
48:13
have from the Royal Children's Hospital.
48:15
I'm so grateful for that. So the 2023 Evidence Based
48:19
clinical practise guideline for anxiety in children and young
48:21
people is absolutely must read. And we will provide the link in
48:26
our episode notes at the end of this episode.
48:29
But I think I just want to end this by saying that I am so
48:33
grateful for the opportunity to be able to have this and start
48:37
this conversation with all of you.
48:39
I hope that it has added to your toolkit of your understanding of
48:43
just what's what's kind of happening in our communities
48:46
right now. And it starts the conversation.
48:49
So please, please, please check us out on the socials.
48:53
Oh my God, I'm a millennial. I say the socials.
48:55
I, I, I swear I'm trying not to do that, but I still do it.
48:59
So check us out on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
49:03
We are on Apple podcasts and Spotify.
49:06
We would love to hear from you. So please leave comments.
49:09
Tell us how you found this episode.
49:13
Is there other topics that you would like me to cover in this
49:15
space? It would you like a longer
49:18
episode next time where we unpack this more with more of
49:21
the research and data? I'm really I just wanted to
49:24
start this conversation to get it going.
49:27
And as I said in the title here, it's titled the pandemic ripple
49:31
effect. And I really hope that this
49:32
conversation offers that ripple effective of wondering, self
49:36
reflection, understanding as a child centred play therapist
49:39
around how can we support this population?
49:42
And we know that play is the way for these kids.
49:45
So thank you so much for listening.
49:48
I actually have kind of done this as an extra episode.
49:50
I normally don't record on a Friday afternoon, as you guys
49:52
know. So I will be back next week with
49:56
more child centre play therapy content.
49:59
As always, please, please, please.
50:02
Even more so after this topic today, talking about how tough
50:06
our communities and our families are doing it right now.
50:09
Right now, in terms of our current space, Please also look
50:13
after yourselves, be kind to you and to each other, look after
50:18
yourselves and have a great weekend.
50:20
And I will talk to you again very soon.
50:22
So thanks so much for listening. Bye.
50:26
Thank you so much for being here for another episode.
50:29
Of the play therapy. Circle.
50:32
If anything resonated with you today, I'd love it if you could
50:35
follow the podcast, share it with a colleague, or leave a
50:38
short review. It really helps others find our
50:41
circle. And if you have a topic or
50:43
question you'd love me to explore, I'd love to hear from
50:46
you. This space is for you, and I
50:49
want it to feel like a conversation.
50:52
Until next time, take care of yourself and remember you belong
50:56
here.