Latest / Play Therapy Podcast: A Master-Class in Child-Centered Play Therapy / 426 | What's Wrong with Our Field? CCPT-ish

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426 | What's Wrong with Our Field? CCPT-ish · Play Therapy Podcast: A Master-Class in Child-Centered Play Therapy

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  You're listening to the Play Therapy Podcast with Dr. Brenna Hicks,
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  your source for centered and focused play therapy coaching.
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  Hi,
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  I'm Dr. Brenna Hicks,
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  The Kid Counselor.
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  This is the Play Therapy Podcast where you get
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  a master class in child-centered play therapy
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  and practical support and application for your
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  work with children and their families.
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  In today's episode,
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  we are continuing with the What Is Wrong with our Field series.
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  And thank you for all of you that have reached out to me about this series so far and
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  shared with me how impactful it's been and
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  how encouraging it has been.
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  That's always my goal is that it's relevant and it's useful.
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  So thank you for your comments and sharing your thoughts about it.
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  Today we're going to talk through.
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  Well,
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  I was gonna say that this might be the most important one,
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  but I think all of them are equally important.
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  This is just the one that I'm most so boxy about,
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  CCPT-ish.
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  This is what is wrong with our field in so many ways,
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  y'all.
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  We have
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  all of the modifications and the variations and the dilutions and the
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  fusing of this and this and that,
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  whatever,
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  and oh my gosh,
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  it's not only hard to keep track of,
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  but it's not what
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  CCPT is meant to be.
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  It's not what therapy is meant to be.
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  So I want to deep dive,
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  CCPT-ish,
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  and
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  this is something that we have to combat.
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  We,
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  we have to take a stand.
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  We have to be all in,
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  and we have to understand that that is
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  the path forward
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  for our field to be sustainable.
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  So,
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  I want to dive into that really quick reminders before I get in though.
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  Y'all are running out of time.
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  If you want to come see me in outside of Indianapolis,
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  it's actually technically Zionsville.
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  But if you want to come see me,
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  you're running out of time.
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  Registration closes on the 21st.
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  So if you've been thinking,
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  waiting,
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  on the fence,
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  planning,
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  whatever,
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  minus like 5 days.
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  So y'all need to bust a move and get going.
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  I literally cannot wait to see you.
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  The venue is amazing.
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  The weather's gonna be amazing,
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  and it's just gonna be a really fun time.
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  We've got a VIP event on Friday,
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  conference on Saturday.
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  So,
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  please make plans to come and go to iamccpt.live
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  to
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  get registered and all of that,
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  signed up,
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  so on and so forth.
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  You can check in the show notes for any information that you need.
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  All right.
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  When we think about CCPT-ish.
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  This is.
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  Hold on,
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  let me tell you a really fast story.
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  I think ish is a noun.
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  So
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  technically,
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  if you say CCPT-ish,
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  it's an adjective,
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  but
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  there have been many times that someone has said like,
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  Hey,
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  you think we're going to be there about 7?
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  And I'll say,
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  ish,
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  and Eric hates it.
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  Like
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  he is convinced that that is
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  not something I should say,
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  not a word,
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  whatever.
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  I feel like it's very clear.
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  It's like.
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  Yeah,
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  maybe sort of,
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  kind of like ish.
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  So I,
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  I have in the past said ish as a noun,
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  and he really resents that.
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  So,
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  I'm using it now as an adjective like CCPT-ish,
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  CCPT-esque,
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  CCPT sort of.
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  OK,
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  here's
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  what's happening.
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  We have a model
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  We have a proven,
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  empirically supported,
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  data-driven,
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  known model with known outcomes.
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  Research abundantly proves CCPT is effective.
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  That is predicated
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  on CCPT
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  being used.
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  Don't,
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  don't let that fall deafly here.
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  If we have a model that's proven,
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  it was proven because it was CCPT.
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  The second you change it,
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  the second you add something or take it away or
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  influence it with something else
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  or change it
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  or modify it or think about,
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  oh maybe we'll do this,
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  now all of a sudden
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  there is no empirical support.
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  And I don't have time to get into this because this would be a
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  very long podcast episode and I know y'all give me about 15 minutes tops.
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  So,
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  I know that I have to be short on this.
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  But if you look,
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  if you go back and study theory,
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  You study
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  orientation.
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  There are very clear criteria and terms for what makes something a theory.
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  That's why there are only a handful of true theories.
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  That's why there are only so many theoretical models,
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  because there's a very rigorous
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  proof process
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  that's that you have to go through to have something established
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  and acknowledged as a model.
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  CCPT
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  is a complete,
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  comprehensive,
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  thorough researched
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  model.
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  The second you start adding stuff in.
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  You integrate something,
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  you become eclectic in any way.
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  You do any kind of modification.
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  You deviate from the process.
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  You start
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  inserting something in that's not supposed to be there.
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  You say,
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  oh well,
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  I mean,
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  I'm going to be CCPT,
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  but then if this happens,
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  then this.
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  Any of those
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  changes.
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  We no longer have any
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  belief
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  nor support
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  that CCPT is going to work.
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  And you wonder why we're having the crisis that we're having
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  in
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  therapy right now.
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  We have therapists leaving the field
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  by the thousands.
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  We have,
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  I read an article recently,
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  Therapists are one of the highest
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  populations
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  that
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  struggle with addiction.
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  Because we deal with everybody's pain all day long and
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  we don't know how to take care of ourselves,
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  so we turn devices.
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  To
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  try to cope with
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  the junk that we carry around that's ours and others.
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  We have all of this stuff going on in the field and then to top
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  everything off.
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  We have more and more and more integration and eclecticism
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  and fusion
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  and
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  creation of new ideas that they're calling theories.
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  And we wonder why we can't support and sustain our work,
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  because
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  when you get frustrated that things aren't working,
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  when you feel confused
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  because you're not getting the outcomes that you were hoping for,
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  when every single day you're wondering if what you're doing is actually helping
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  or if it's actually meaningful or if it's purposeful in any way,
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  because you're literally just throwing something out there and going,
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  yeah,
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  maybe this might be what's going to help.
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  I'm not really sure.
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  When you have the unknown.
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  It's only because you're not falling back on the known.
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  This seems so simple to me,
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  and I,
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  I know I sometimes I preach this over and over and over again,
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  and I know some of you are probably like,
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  oh my gosh,
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  I've heard this,
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  but
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  nothing's changing,
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  y'all.
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  I mean,
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  it is like within the CCPT landscape,
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  it's changing,
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  but
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  nothing's changing in the big picture of therapy.
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  Look at what conferences are being advertised right now,
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  not just for play therapy.
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  I'm talking about therapy in general.
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  Any mental health intervention,
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  look at what is being
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  presented and promoted
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  in conferences and workshops and
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  and virtual trainings and
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  just read.
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  Just
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  take a look,
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  take an inventory,
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  go online and search mental health
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  CEU trainings
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  and see what pops up.
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  It's nonsense.
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  There,
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  there's no theory,
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  there's no orientation,
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  there's no model,
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  there's no grounding,
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  there's no adherence.
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  You wanna know what we've taken on as a field?
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  Oh,
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  this with this,
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  with this,
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  with this.
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  So it's these two models with this specific population,
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  with this kind of orientation,
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  with this
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  subset of a small set of group of people.
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  What are we doing?
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  Besides making everything muddy,
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  besides making everything confused,
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  and literally,
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  in my opinion,
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  unethically practicing therapy.
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  We are called to standards of ethics.
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  To make sure that what we are doing
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  is empirically supported,
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  we do not get the luxury
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  of being the masters of a client's fate
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  by just willy-nilly throwing something out into thin air and going,
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  Yeah,
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  maybe this is going to help you.
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  I really don't know,
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  but let's just try it out.
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  That is not therapy.
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  We have been trained,
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  we have graduate degrees.
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  We are called to standards and expectations
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  of we are going to know theory and we are
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  going to execute theory to the best of our ability.
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  I'm not talking about perfection.
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  I'm talking about to the best of our ability we're going to execute a model.
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  If that's the model that resonates with us,
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  if that's what we believe is going to help.
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  Then we are all in
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  and we do it.
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  Why?
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  Because that is the only way
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  that we can guarantee
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  positive outcomes.
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  And so when we think about what is wrong with our field,
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  we keep trying to innovate.
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  That's the huge buzz buzzword right now.
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  Innovation in play therapy,
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  innovation in the playroom.
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  Innovation in our practice,
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  innovation and supervision,
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  y'all.
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  We don't need to innovate anything.
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  Until we figure out
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  how to go back to the basics and be adherent to what was laid out from the beginning.
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  You don't need to try to make something better that works.
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  You don't need to try to improve upon something that is effective.
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  Why are we innovating anything?
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  If we want to create a new theory
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  and actually go through the process of getting
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  it validated and proven and empirically supported,
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  OK,
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  that would innovate something in the field.
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  We can introduce a whole new theoretical model.
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  But it actually has to be proven
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  a functional and effective theoretical model.
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  Anybody can say,
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  oh,
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  I've developed this new theory.
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  What support and evidence do you have to back up this theory?
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  If you don't have any and it hasn't been categorized
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  as an actual official theory,
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  then that's just something that you're trying out.
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  We have to be so careful,
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  and I,
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  I'm not saying this in a critical way.
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  I'm not saying this in
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  any kind of judgmental way.
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  People don't know what they don't know,
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  and
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  Universities are perpetuating this,
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  CEU trainings are perpetuating this,
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  the field itself,
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  the practitioners within the field are perpetuating this.
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  We're thinking that we always have to have something new.
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  Something new is just shiny and novel.
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  It doesn't mean that it's effective.
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  We go back to basics and we go back to theory and we go back to one model
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  because that is what works.
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  So I deeply believe one of the greatest struggles
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  in our field right now
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  is the fact that we do not understand theory,
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  we do not adhere to a model,
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  and therefore we're left floundering.
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  And we keep introducing all these new concepts,
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  it doesn't change the fact that we're still not rooted in
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  a theory and an orientation.
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  So
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  safeguard against it,
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  be very vocal about the power of adherence.
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  And understand deeply
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  that if we're going to sustain
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  mental health services
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  and have the population at large
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  believe that we can help them.
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  We can't be throwing things at the wall and hoping that they're going to stick.
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  We have to very confidently know our theory,
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  adhere to the theory,
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  and present our theory
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  to help a client or a parent or a family
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  believe
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  that what we have to offer
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  is going to be effective.
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  And guess what?
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  When we are adherent and when we do know
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  the model and when we do confidently execute it.
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  They're going to get the positive outcomes that we promised,
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  and then they're going to say,
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  wow,
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  this really did work.
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  You wanna know what's happening all over the world every day right now?
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  Someone bails
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  on the therapeutic intervention
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  and they go,
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  I've been in this for 41 weeks and nothing has changed.
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  My kid's been in therapy for 4 months and I do not see 1 ounce of difference.
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  This all all therapy is is a money grab.
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  They just have you keep coming and they just keep taking
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  your money and you don't get any benefit from it.
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  These are all
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  quotes
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  from people.
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  Their frustrations with mental health services right now.
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  Why?
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  Because no one is rooted in theory.
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  We wouldn't be having these discussions if every single practitioner
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  had their model and they stuck with it.
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  So,
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  be the person that is wholly CCPT
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  that deeply understands the model
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  and executes with adherence and fidelity.
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  And then you know your parents are going to leave satisfied.
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  You know that child's going to leave changed,
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  and you know you're going to be completely
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  confident and competent in what you're doing.
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  Everyone wins in that scenario.
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  So,
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  we are CCPT,
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  never CCPT-ish.
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  Reach out to me.
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  I'd love to hear from you,
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  brenna@thekidcounselor.com
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  I love y'all.
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  We'll talk again soon.
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  Bye.
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  Thank you for listening to the Play Therapy Podcast with Dr. Brenna Hicks.
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  For more episodes and resources,
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  please go to www.playtherapypodcast.com.