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How To Tell If Clients Are Just Playing in Play Therapy · Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence

• 0:01
  Welcome to Next Level Play Therapy.
• 0:05
  A weekly podcast dedicated to supporting the next generation of child and adolescent therapists to provide exceptional play therapy services.
• 0:14
  We'll explore all things play therapy.
• 0:17
  To elevate your work with children and adolescents using the therapeutic powers of play.
• 0:23
  I'll discuss practical tips and ideas so you can provide a transformative experience for your young clients and make a real difference in their lives.
• 0:33
  So get ready to take your play therapy skills to the next level and make a lasting impact in the lives of children, adolescents, and families.
• 0:46
  Welcome to this week's episode of Next Level Play Therapy, where we talk about all things play therapy, and this week we're gonna talk, talk about a topic that comes up all the time.
• 1:03
  I get asked this question all the time, so whether you're new to play therapy or you're a seasoned play therapist.
• 1:12
  We have all wondered this question, and I'll be honest.
• 1:16
  Sometimes I still wonder this question that we're gonna talk about today, which is how do you know if your clients are just playing or if it's actually therapeutic?
• 1:32
  Underneath that question is usually a couple of things.
• 1:37
  One is.
• 1:39
  Especially for new play therapists.
• 1:42
  One is they're paying money.
• 1:45
  Parents are paying me money for this, so I wanna make sure that I am justifying why they need to bring their child so they're investing time and money.
• 1:59
  And so as a, as a play therapist, I wanna make sure I'm doing the right thing and not.
• 2:07
  Not wasting time or, or just playing when parents are, are paying money to bring their child.
• 2:17
  And I wanna justify to parents and prove to parents that they're, this is real, that play therapy is valid.
• 2:29
  I wanna justify to other professionals.
• 2:32
  That are also working with this client that it, it's a real thing, that play therapy is a valid treatment modality.
• 2:42
  Those are, those are the key things that really underlie this question.
• 2:49
  The other way of thinking about this question of, is my client just playing.
• 2:58
  Or are they doing actual therapy?
• 3:01
  In the play therapy session is, um, understanding a couple of things.
• 3:11
  One is understanding that the very nature of play therapy itself, the very nature of your playroom and your training, and I would include therapeutic presence.
• 3:28
  In the playroom sets play therapy apart from just playing, like just playing with their friends or just playing in in daycare, or just playing with their parents, or just playing with whoever by themselves.
• 3:45
  The very nature of the structure of play therapy sets your playroom.
• 3:53
  Their experience with you apart from all of those things.
• 3:58
  So from its core foundation, play therapy is essentially a different experience and we are, as play therapists, one of the things that sets play therapy apart from other.
• 4:16
  Expressive arts modalities is the therapeutic powers of play.
• 4:22
  We help children access the therapeutic powers of play through the use of a therapeutic model, so a play therapy model within the context of a safe and secure.
• 4:40
  Therapeutic relationship.
• 4:42
  And so that framework in and of itself sets play therapy apart.
• 4:49
  So foundationally play therapy is different.
• 4:54
  And so when you're not sure what's going on with your clients and play therapy, rest in that.
• 5:01
  So what I wanna do today is I got a whole list and I have my.
• 5:07
  My notes, those of you on video, uh, you'll see me pointing up into the beyond.
• 5:14
  I have all of my notes of what I wanna cover.
• 5:17
  Um.
• 5:19
  So I'm, I'm gonna reference those, but there are quite a few things that I wanna get through in a short period of time to kind of give you some things to think about when you are wondering, is this just playing or is my client actually doing therapeutic work?
• 5:41
  And that is the topic that we are going to discuss today.
• 5:46
  Before we do that, I would love to know who's here.
• 5:50
  So if you are watching the livestream, or even if you are watching the livestream replay, I livestream every week.
• 5:59
  Today I am doing a different day.
• 6:01
  Today is I am, uh, the livestream is happening on Tuesday.
• 6:06
  I normally do them on Wednesday, but I am traveling tomorrow to New Mexico.
• 6:14
  Very excited about that.
• 6:16
  Um, I am traveling to do a two day training for a child advocacy program for some and a community therapist for who are working to address trauma with children and adolescent, so I'm super excited about that.
• 6:35
  Um, oh.
• 6:37
  Shout out to all of the affirming hearts people and all of the, all of the people in, uh, the Hobbs, New Mexico area.
• 6:46
  I'm super excited about seeing you guys tomorrow.
• 6:50
  And, uh, so I'm doing the, I'm doing the live stream a different day.
• 6:54
  For those of you listening on the podcast, it did not affect you one little iota.
• 7:00
  It's this episode still drops.
• 7:02
  Podcast episodes drop every Thursday.
• 7:06
  Alrighty, so if you're watching though, or um, watching the replay, feel free to post your name.
• 7:14
  I would love to see who's here.
• 7:15
  Post your name in the comments.
• 7:18
  What population you work with, what, what play therapy modality that you use.
• 7:26
  And for those of you who are listening on the podcast, feel free to pop over to my Instagram channel where I am also going live, um, which is renewing hearts training.
• 7:39
  And, uh, feel free to message me.
• 7:43
  Uh, post a comment in the, in the comments, and let's get started for today.
• 7:49
  Oh, one more thing.
• 7:51
  If you find this information helpful, please feel free to share it across your social media platforms.
• 7:57
  Share it with your colleagues who you think might benefit from it.
• 8:02
  And if you're watching on YouTube, feel free to hit that subscribe button.
• 8:09
  To hit the notification bell so that you'll know, one, you'll know when I go live, but you'll also know when there's a, uh, new episode.
• 8:17
  So those of you who are, uh, watching the live, just so you know, once, once the live stream finishes, it automatically populates, um, into, uh, a recording so you can always access them.
• 8:34
  Alrighty, so today's topic is.
• 8:38
  How to tell if play, if your clients are just playing in play therapy.
• 8:47
  So I, so like I said, if you're in the play therapy space, if you are a play therapist, the likelihood you have ever sat with your clients and had this experience and I'm about to share is.
• 9:06
  I would go so much as to say 100%.
• 9:10
  Like we all wonder this, we all have to sort through this and figure it out.
• 9:19
  How many times have you sat in your play therapy session next to a client?
• 9:26
  And your client is drawing flowers, sunshine, and maybe some puffy clouds and some grass, and they've done this session after session after session.
• 9:44
  They've been quiet quietly drawing or maybe just chatting away about this and that while they're drawing.
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  And how many of you have had that happen?
• 9:55
  And in your mind by the third or maybe fourth session, you are wondering, are they just playing?
• 10:04
  Is this actually working?
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  Am I helping this client?
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  Like.
• 10:13
  Is this is play therapy working.
• 10:16
  So raise your virtual hand, right?
• 10:19
  Raise your virtual hand if you have ever had that happen.
• 10:24
  And you are not alone, my friend, because we have all had that experience.
• 10:30
  And so, and this is a question that comes up all the time in Play Therapy Academy.
• 10:37
  So Play Therapy Academy is my online.
• 10:40
  Kind of, I call it my VIP play therapy program for those, um, child and adolescent therapists who really wanna double down and.
• 10:52
  Fine tune and hone their skills to learn play therapy and become a play therapist.
• 10:59
  And I'm super excited to announce, and I'll talk more about this at the end, I'm super excited to announce that my, my new online play therapy membership play therapy Elevation Circle is getting ready to launch.
• 11:15
  So this I, what I tried to do is take all of the things that make.
• 11:21
  Play Therapy Academy.
• 11:23
  Amazing the core parts of it and make it more accessible.
• 11:29
  'cause Play Therapy Academy is small, it's very structured, and it has to be for the RPT credentialing process.
• 11:39
  But for, there are a lot of people that aren't interested in, um, maybe pursuing Play Therapy Academy at this time or pursuing their re um, registered play therapy, a credential, or maybe you already have it.
• 11:53
  Um, and still would like a place of like-minded play therapist to do exactly what we're gonna talk about doing today.
• 12:05
  And that is.
• 12:07
  How do you figure out if it's just playing?
• 12:09
  How do you know what's going on in the session?
• 12:12
  So today I am gonna go through some things for you to think about, but the reality is the, the most effective way for you to answer the question of whether or not there's just playing or what, if anything, is therapeutic, or what is therapeutic or what exactly is going on.
• 12:33
  The best way to do that is to be in a community of like-minded play therapists who actually get it to kind of help look at what's going on with your specific client.
• 12:45
  But today I am gonna run through some things to think about to help you answer that question.
• 12:53
  And then if you're interested, definitely wanna stay tuned to the end.
• 12:58
  And I'm gonna talk a little bit about.
• 13:00
  How to get into play therapy, elevation circle, what is it?
• 13:04
  And all, and all of that.
• 13:06
  So let's go ahead and get started.
• 13:09
  The first thing we wanna do is really think about the difference between activity and process.
• 13:17
  So this is really, um, um, activity is more like what is it that they're doing, what is it that they're.
• 13:26
  Engaged in during the session.
• 13:29
  So are they making food in the kitchen and they're serving you?
• 13:34
  Or maybe they're are doing restaurant play where they're cooking the food or they've directed you to cook the food and it has to be served, and then there's a cash register and the, there's gonna be somebody collecting money and paying for this, or, or maybe they're doing art and they're, they're drawing flowers and sunshine and grass.
• 13:56
  And puppy clouds and birds, um, several sessions in a row.
• 14:01
  So how do, so that's the activity.
• 14:04
  It's what it is that they're doing.
• 14:07
  Process is what's going on underneath the activity.
• 14:13
  Um.
• 14:15
  So what's that internal emotional or psychological work that they're doing?
• 14:22
  What's at the root of the play is really what we're looking at.
• 14:26
  And one of the things that you wanna keep in mind is children can access the therapeutic powers of play.
• 14:37
  The healing.
• 14:39
  One of the therapeutic powers of play is positive emotion.
• 14:44
  How do you build relationship with children?
• 14:49
  How do you build safety for children?
• 14:53
  It's different than how you do that with adults, with children.
• 14:59
  It requires you to play with them.
• 15:03
  They need to feel safe.
• 15:06
  And experience positive emotion in order to feel safe.
• 15:12
  So just by the very nature of engaging fully in that play process within your playroom, again, remember.
• 15:24
  Fundamentally, the structure of play therapy is fundamentally different than the playground or, or, um, playing with friends.
• 15:37
  There's, there's a fundamental difference.
• 15:39
  Which is not to say that those other things are not healthy and therapeutic, but the question is how do I know if they're just playing?
• 15:49
  And it's not really beneficial or therapeutic for me to tell parents to bring their child every week and pay, pay this money to me to see their child for 45 to 60 minutes.
• 16:02
  That to justify the children need to engage.
• 16:09
  In their social engagement circuits, in order to feel safe to do that, they have to experience positive emotion.
• 16:18
  So just by the very nature of playing in the play therapy space, they're engaging therapeutically through the process of.
• 16:30
  Experiencing positive emotion within the context of a safe therapeutic relationship.
• 16:37
  And so just like in traditional talk therapy, there are times with your, maybe your adult clients.
• 16:47
  Or maybe even some of your, your older adolescents there, there may be times when you, when you are talking and maybe you're just talking about superficial things, maybe you're checking in about their life, maybe you're checking in about, you know, some mutual interests that you have.
• 17:08
  What's the purpose of that?
• 17:10
  There is a therapeutic purpose.
• 17:13
  The therapeutic purpose is establishing safety and rapport.
• 17:18
  So if you, if you think about it that way, playing and accessing the therapeutic powers of play of positive emotion is gonna establish that safety within the relationship.
• 17:38
  And also understanding how this relationship is gonna work, which is another therapeutic power of play, is relationship building.
• 17:48
  I mean, you watch kids do that on the playground all the time.
• 17:51
  They, especially the younger, they are, they don't, they don't need to do your, a whole history of this is my mom, this is my dad.
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  I live at this place.
• 18:00
  My favorite color is this.
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  They don't, they just get in and play and through their playing, they figure out how this relationship with this person works.
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  And so.
• 18:14
  Just by the very nature of being in that therapeutic relationship, they're gonna be engaging in activity.
• 18:22
  And at the very least, the process underneath that activity is feeling safe, understanding how this relationship works.
• 18:34
  That's the foundational, um.
• 18:39
  Critical area for any therapy, talk.
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  Therapy and play therapy, any other expressive arts therapy.
• 18:47
  Those things have to be established.
• 18:50
  And also sometimes there are ebbs and flow in the therapy process.
• 18:57
  Sometimes just like in traditional talk therapy, sometimes you might have had a couple of really.
• 19:04
  Heavy duty conversations, and maybe the next session or two, they're a little more, they're, um, superficial just because we're, you know, it's the turtle in the hair fable, right?
• 19:19
  The, the who's gonna win the race.
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  Not the fastest, but the one who can persevere through all the stages of change.
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  Stay in the change process.
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  Until they're able to complete the process and that, and it's not gonna, it's not gonna be linear.
• 19:40
  Sometimes it's, you know, goes around in circles or back and forth for a little while.
• 19:47
  The key is getting through all of the stages of play therapy and, um, being able to feel safe through that process and hanging in there.
• 19:59
  So some of the things that, like if you're thinking about like what are some signs that might be an activity or just an activity and I, and I even hesitate to say just an activity because still we're looking deeper and we're looking at a variety of things.
• 20:17
  A lot of times in Play Therapy Academy, or even now, 'cause I started the beta version of Elevation Circle.
• 20:24
  Um, which is gonna relaunch in August.
• 20:27
  Elevation Circle is one of the things that we talk about is like, what is it going on in the session?
• 20:34
  And maybe your fear is they're not doing anything.
• 20:38
  And then we get in there and we start looking at all these different things and, and we realize, oh, there's actually a whole lot going on that happens so many times.
• 20:49
  Um, so I hesitate to say just an activity.
• 20:53
  But there are times what you're looking for is where are they in the change process?
• 20:58
  What stage of play therapy are they in?
• 21:01
  And what is, what is underlying this activity?
• 21:05
  So here's the thing to think about when you're thinking, is it, is it just an activity?
• 21:12
  You are learning to listen deeply.
• 21:15
  To what is going on and what is being spoken in the playroom through play, right?
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  We always say play is the language of children.
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  So as a play therapist, you're learning to listen deeply.
• 21:28
  And what do I mean by that?
• 21:30
  What I mean by that is, um, you're looking at.
• 21:35
  Is the child emotionally flat or are they dysregulated?
• 21:41
  What is, what is their behavior?
• 21:43
  What are their words communicating to you about what their play is communicating?
• 21:50
  You're also looking at, you're not just taking one session, you're looking at the whole process.
• 21:57
  You're looking at.
• 21:59
  Beginning, middle, and end from session to session to session to session.
• 22:05
  And you're looking at what even the subtle changes, is there any variation in their play?
• 22:14
  Is it, is it the same flower over and over and over?
• 22:18
  Are they using the same colors over and over?
• 22:21
  Is it the same story?
• 22:23
  I once had a client who.
• 22:26
  Used the San Tray process, but kept the San Tray closed and there were certain miniatures that he used every single session.
• 22:40
  For months, it was the same storyline.
• 22:46
  But here's the thing, there were subtle differences.
• 22:52
  In the sessions, like maybe two or three sessions.
• 22:55
  It would be the same storyline, the same characters.
• 22:59
  And then, uh, then, and, and the next one, he would like introduce something slightly different.
• 23:07
  When I thought about this play and what was going on in this child's life, what I realized was.
• 23:16
  This child's very foundation at home because of divorce and separation and high parent conflict, like lots of custody conflict, courts were involved.
• 23:32
  This child's very foundation didn't feel solid.
• 23:37
  It felt, you know, if you've ever, or you, you build your house upon the rock or you build your house upon the sand, the sifting sand by the ocean, right?
• 23:46
  What's gonna be more solid?
• 23:47
  Well, typically the house on the stone, there's no solid foundation for this child to develop a sense of safety and security.
• 23:56
  And in the session, he was able to use that to try and work through what was going on.
• 24:03
  But every session for months was the same play.
• 24:10
  But when I got in there and really looked at what was going on.
• 24:15
  In the child's life and in the play, and the subtle shifts throughout that process, you could see there was actual therapeutic process going on underneath.
• 24:30
  And so sometimes what you'll find also is there might be like a pause in the process, and it might be just that they need to take like a. An emotional breather or a break, so to speak, from the heavy work of what's going on in that play process in the same way that an adult would need to do that.
• 24:54
  The other thing you wanna think about is like, when is it, when is it process?
• 25:00
  So this is the looking deeper, right?
• 25:02
  We're looking at what's going on.
• 25:04
  And what you're doing is you're noticing subtle shifts over time, noticing any forward progression or backwards regression.
• 25:14
  Right?
• 25:15
  I know those were, I, I use doubling my words.
• 25:19
  Um.
• 25:20
  So what you're looking for, are you noticing metaphors that are emerging in the play?
• 25:26
  The flower is dying, right?
• 25:29
  So you're noticing now the bright, bright, shiny, new sparkly flower.
• 25:36
  Now there's some subtle changes to the way it's being represented.
• 25:41
  And is there any like emotional energy going on or subtle shifts in vulnerability creeping into the story or what you're seeing?
• 25:53
  So one of the things Daniel Siegel talks a lot about in interpersonal neurobiology is really that whole idea of.
• 26:05
  Within and between within me.
• 26:08
  So we're tapping into our resident circuits to get a sense of what is going on within the client and between us that's gonna give you information as you learn how to read the cues.
• 26:23
  Of each child in the playroom, there's also, so you're, you're looking how things change subtly.
• 26:32
  So maybe you see the, the sunshine now there's some storm clouds, so you're looking at growth and then maybe some destruction.
• 26:44
  Right?
• 26:44
  I had a client for months, months, months.
• 26:48
  Similar thing.
• 26:50
  Again, another high conflict family.
• 26:53
  Divorce situation, um, months, he would build again outside of the, outside of the sand tray.
• 27:01
  Right.
• 27:01
  That's kind of interesting too.
• 27:04
  So my, all over my playroom would build these scenes and there would be these elaborate scenes.
• 27:10
  He'd set 'em all up and then one by one.
• 27:14
  Knock them all down.
• 27:15
  That happened for months.
• 27:18
  Um, are they inviting you in maybe before they just played by themself and kind of kept you at a distance, but maybe at some point they're inviting you in Right.
• 27:32
  Or.
• 27:33
  Maybe they're wanting to know what you think of what they drew in their picture, right?
• 27:40
  So you're noticing what has changed.
• 27:43
  You're noticing the shifts over time and how do you tell the difference in the moment.
• 27:52
  So, um, here's where you're really tuning into what's happening.
• 27:59
  Within and between you and your client, you're tapping into your resonance circuits to read what's going on.
• 28:07
  You're looking at the tone, you're looking at the energy, you're looking at language that's being used.
• 28:14
  You are identifying what the themes are in the.
• 28:19
  The play therapy process, and you're tapping into your resident circuits, which could also call your gut tapping into your gut, right?
• 28:28
  And you're looking at shifts over time.
• 28:32
  Also, you're keeping in mind that the very nature of being in the playroom with you is an indication that.
• 28:43
  This is a different space.
• 28:45
  There's a way in which you use your play therapy model.
• 28:50
  That's the theoretical model to help your clients access the therapeutic powers of play within the context of a safe and secure relationship.
• 29:00
  Your play therapy model is gonna have.
• 29:04
  Stages, it's gonna indicate what do you do in that stage of play therapy?
• 29:09
  What does your client do in that stage of play therapy?
• 29:13
  What are the tasks to be accomplished in that play therapy process?
• 29:18
  Because one of the underlying questions that, that I didn't, I forgot to mention earlier, the other question is, are they just playing?
• 29:27
  And does this even matter another way of.
• 29:31
  Really asking that or thinking about that is how do I know when my client's ready to end play therapy?
• 29:39
  And in order to figure that out, you have to figure out what's going on in the sessions where they are in the change process.
• 29:46
  That, and that's where your play therapy model comes, comes into play.
• 29:51
  And so using that play therapy model, by its very nature, your playroom creates.
• 30:01
  A different experience.
• 30:02
  That therapeutic process creates a corrective healing experience that is different than from other places in their life.
• 30:16
  The questions that you wanna ask yourself is, what is this doing for the child?
• 30:23
  What is the emotional undertone going on with my client with this play?
• 30:30
  And are they kind of stagnant?
• 30:33
  Maybe they stalled out, are they shifting a little bit?
• 30:37
  Maybe they, regressed.
• 30:39
  Regression is usually an indication of something going on in their life, or maybe they're going a little bit deeper.
• 30:46
  So, or is it symbolically?
• 30:49
  Are they using, what is the, what's the theme?
• 30:52
  Going on in the play therapy process, and again, this is where your play therapy model matters because it's gonna help you decode what, what is going on in the play therapy process.
• 31:07
  I like using a neuroscience and attachment lens as kind of my foundation.
• 31:13
  'cause I feel like.
• 31:15
  Um, across any, I would say all the play therapy models, I usually try to stay away from all and none.
• 31:23
  That being said, I feel like neuroscience and attachment theory can be integrated easily into all the different play therapy models.
• 31:34
  So to me, if that's foundationally, if you look at what their nervous system is doing, what is it saying about their, their attachment?
• 31:44
  Capacity and how is that influencing their life?
• 31:48
  Then you kind of get a good sense of you can use that.
• 31:52
  I mean, you can use that in all of your plate therapy models.
• 31:56
  Um, and here's, here's another thing to think about.
• 32:01
  So let's say you're not sure.
• 32:05
  What do you do when you're not sure?
• 32:07
  'cause that's gonna happen even now.
• 32:10
  I've been doing this decades.
• 32:13
  I sometimes do not know what is going on in the moment, and at that point it doesn't matter because what matters is that I'm fully attuned, tapped in, present, congruent, holding space for unconditional positive regard and empathy that by its very nature, is healing and you are not gonna get anywhere unless you have that.
• 32:42
  Foundationally.
• 32:44
  So when you're not sure, don't worry, don't rush.
• 32:49
  Don't feel like you have to pull in an activity to make sure it's working.
• 32:54
  When you notice your kind of anxiety is going a little bit like, ah, I don't know what they're doing, um, it's okay in that session.
• 33:06
  Just be fully present, stay curious about what's going on.
• 33:11
  Do some tracking and reflecting, reflect back in non-leading ways.
• 33:17
  What's going on?
• 33:18
  Your client will show you what they need.
• 33:22
  That's one of the things that I love about Child-centered play therapy.
• 33:27
  Um, as a, as an adult, as a play therapist, you have got to learn how to let go of control, which is so hard for grownups.
• 33:37
  Found, I would say foundationally I, I love child-centered play therapy for that very reason.
• 33:45
  I use more of an integrated approach overall for young kids.
• 33:50
  I'm strictly child-centered play therapy.
• 33:52
  One of the things child-centered play therapy is brilliant about is letting go of control, trusting your client.
• 34:03
  And that un that unconditional positive regard, using that therapeutic, that, that therapeutic use of self for the healing process.
• 34:16
  So when you're not sure, lean into that.
• 34:20
  When you're not sure, just at make reflections, non-leading.
• 34:24
  So if it's a question, it's, it's leading.
• 34:27
  Just reflect, oh, you're drawing that flower.
• 34:32
  Oh, you're, you're, um, oh, that guy's really angry.
• 34:37
  Or, oh, you wanna make sure that I pay for my food, or you wanna make sure that I get to order what I like.
• 34:47
  So you, you can reflect.
• 34:49
  Then see what they do with that.
• 34:52
  And then you're also gonna track the process like you're, after the session, you can think back, I usually do this when I'm doing my progress notes.
• 35:02
  Like, um, as I'm identifying themes and I'm kind of thinking about their treatment plan and where are they in the process, um, I'll kind of think about, oh, where are they?
• 35:14
  What changes have they made?
• 35:16
  So after the session, you can reflect back in the session.
• 35:19
  Just be fully present in the moment.
• 35:21
  Make non tracking state, non-leading statements, and be curious, just settle in.
• 35:28
  To the therapeutic relationship and holding space and co-regulating.
• 35:33
  And yes, you can set limits when you need to.
• 35:36
  Set limits, um, be patient.
• 35:39
  Sometimes safety needs to come before they can get to that symbolic work of play therapy.
• 35:47
  So why does all this matter?
• 35:52
  Um, really it's validating that it's okay not to know sometimes.
• 35:58
  Um, you don't always have to know everything all the time.
• 36:04
  Even in adult talk therapy, we don't know it.
• 36:08
  We sometimes don't know, and sometimes we have to lean in and trust the process.
• 36:13
  It looks a little different in play therapy 'cause we're using play and we're showing up differently.
• 36:21
  It's still the same underlying principle that sometimes.
• 36:25
  We have to trust the process.
• 36:28
  And what that means is we trust that if we have a secure therapeutic relationship, that, and we lean into our theoretical model, that that will help clients access the therapeutic powers for of play for healing, and they will go through the stages of change.
• 36:46
  So.
• 36:48
  In those, those moments where you're not sure, lean into stillness is okay.
• 36:56
  You are co-regulating and sometimes you are holding space for safety.
• 37:01
  When you feel like your clients might be avoiding or struggling a little bit, it's okay.
• 37:08
  You, you can trust the process to get there.
• 37:12
  So that is it for today.
• 37:14
  And if you are interested, I feel like the best way to do this though, it is really hard to do this work on your own.
• 37:23
  Um, and one of the things that I have loved, and if you ask any Play Therapy Academy member when I'm not around.
• 37:32
  Um, they will tell you all the same thing because it's the same thing that I love about play therapy, the academy.
• 37:40
  And that is the power of the group.
• 37:42
  The power of the wisdom and the energy and the support of different eyes with different insights, different giftings, different theoretical lens.
• 37:56
  How as a group we can hone in.
• 38:00
  Support each other and figure out what is going on so that you have a well grounded, um, fra, uh, foundation of support to guide you through what's happening in play therapy.
• 38:18
  For that reason, I am getting ready to open up registration again for my brand new online play therapy membership.
• 38:29
  Called Play Therapy Elevation Circle.
• 38:32
  So, um, right now, I, I have a wait list, so if you're interested then you can sign up for the wait list.
• 38:41
  You'll be the first one to be notified so you get more information about what it is.
• 38:48
  Um, so I'm gonna talk a little bit more about that in a couple minutes.
• 38:51
  I want to do a recap though.
• 38:55
  So just as a recap, how do you tell if.
• 38:59
  Clients are just playing in play therapy.
• 39:03
  So children access the therapeutic powers of play.
• 39:07
  That in and of itself, that theoretical, um, model to access the therapeutic powers of play.
• 39:14
  Within a therapeutic, a strong therapeutic relationship creates that corrective experience.
• 39:22
  One of the therapeutic powers of play is positive emotion.
• 39:27
  Accessing positive emotion.
• 39:29
  Children need to feel safe to do that.
• 39:31
  They need to engage and play and experience positive emotion to be able to use play therapy to establish and understand how this play therapy relationship works.
• 39:44
  Um, the other thing that you're gonna be looking at is.
• 39:50
  There's activity, there's what are they doing in the play therapy?
• 39:54
  Like what they're, how are they're playing?
• 39:56
  What are they doing with the toys versus process?
• 40:01
  And so process is the underlying psychological and emotional process that they're going through.
• 40:10
  The deeper part that you don't see underneath.
• 40:14
  Of what is going on for that client.
• 40:17
  And so basically what we know is that play therapists are gonna listen deeply to what is being communicated through the play.
• 40:27
  You're gonna tap into your resident circuits, you're gonna look at what they're saying and what they're doing.
• 40:34
  You're gonna look for subtle changes.
• 40:37
  Over time, maybe they're progressing, but maybe they're, then they regress.
• 40:43
  Maybe as they're in the process of moving to a new, new, the next stage of play therapy, they might regress a little bit and go back and forth for a little while.
• 40:54
  It's not gonna be a straight, straight, linear process.
• 41:00
  It's back.
• 41:00
  It's back and forth and all around sometimes, and eventually they will make it through each stage.
• 41:07
  So you're looking at the subtleties of what is going on.
• 41:12
  Notice all of the details of what is going on.
• 41:16
  Notice that from session to session to session, how are they interacting with you?
• 41:24
  How, how are they interacting with the toys?
• 41:27
  What are they saying?
• 41:27
  What are they not saying?
• 41:28
  What's getting used?
• 41:29
  What's not getting used?
• 41:31
  All the things.
• 41:33
  You're looking at the tone, the energy, the language, the themes, and tapping into your gut instincts or resonance circuits, right?
• 41:45
  What do you do when you're not sure?
• 41:47
  Settle in and trust the process.
• 41:49
  Be patient.
• 41:51
  Know that when you're holding that therapeutic space, your clients will tell you what they need.
• 41:58
  But the underlying question of that is also, how do I know when they're ready?
• 42:03
  To end play therapy.
• 42:05
  Well, you're gonna know when they need to end play therapy by your play therapy model and what stage of play therapy are they in?
• 42:14
  So you're, look, that's where you really need to make sure that you're using a play therapy model, because that's gonna help you decode what's going on when they're ready for termination, and how to know how to know all those things.
• 42:32
  So if, so, that kind of wraps it up for today.
• 42:37
  If you are interested in play therapy Elevation Circle, if you have ever thought to yourself, I wish I had another play therapist to do this work, to ask these questions, to figure out what's going on with my low client, then I have good news.
• 42:57
  So Play Therapy Elevation Circle is my new membership.
• 43:01
  That is online.
• 43:03
  We meet monthly for a consultation, uh, group dis discussing difficult cases, figuring out what's going on in sessions, getting ideas.
• 43:15
  Whether you're new or seasoned in play therapy, none of us can really do this work alone.
• 43:22
  I feel like we need a community of support and for play therapists, that community of support, I think includes like-minded play therapists, and having that space to get that support and figure things out can make a difference in.
• 43:42
  The, the outcomes you get for your clients, making a difference in helping them to heal.
• 43:48
  The other thing that we're doing in play therapy Elevation Circle is gonna be a book club.
• 43:54
  I'm super excited about a book club.
• 43:57
  Uh, so we're gonna take a play therapy book and we're gonna have a monthly book club meeting talking about the book, and then also how do you apply it.
• 44:07
  In play therapy, there's a community group in there to get support in between.
• 44:12
  There's some other benefits in there as well.
• 44:16
  If you're interested in learning more about play therapy Elevation Circle, then you definitely wanna sign up for the wait list.
• 44:24
  So we'll post some links to the wait list in the comments, but also you can hop over to my website.
• 44:32
  RH play therapy training.com.
• 44:36
  You'll see on, on the website, on the homepage, in the upper right corner, there's a join the wait list.
• 44:43
  Click on that link, sign up for the wait list.
• 44:46
  You'll, you'll get some emails with different, um, strategies just to some tips and things like that.
• 44:54
  But also you'll get notified when.
• 44:57
  Um, elevation Circle.
• 44:59
  Registration is open.
• 45:01
  It's only gonna be open for a short period of time in August, and then we're gonna close it up.
• 45:07
  So if you want to learn more about play therapy Elevation Circle, if you have been looking for a place where you don't have to figure it out by yourself, where you can get help figuring out what is going on in your session, you can get help with maybe dealing with some challenging parents that you're not sure what to do and you're trying to figure out how to engage them as your partner.
• 45:34
  Or maybe you just need ideas and you're running a little stale, or you need to know how to apply your play therapy model and you need a little hope.
• 45:42
  So if you're, if you're interested, pop over to my website at rh play therapy training.com.
• 45:51
  Click on the link to sign up for the wait list, and I will see you next week.
• 45:56
  Bye for now.
• 46:01
  Thank you for joining me on this episode of Next Level Play Therapy.
• 46:06
  I hope you found the discussion valuable and gained new insights and ideas to support your work helping children, adolescents, and families heal.
• 46:15
  If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review.
• 46:20
  Your feedback helps to improve and reach more people who can benefit from this information.
• 46:26
  Remember.
• 46:27
  Play therapy is a powerful tool for healing and growth.
• 46:31
  Whether you're a new play therapist or experienced, I encourage you to continue your learning journey to unlock the potential of play in your own work in relationships.
• 46:42
  If you have any questions or topics, suggestions for future.
• 46:47
  I'd love to hear from you.
• 46:49
  Connect with me on social media and visit my website at Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training to stay updated on upcoming episodes, trainings, and resources.
• 47:01
  Thank you once again for listening to Next Level Play Therapy.
• 47:05
  Until next time, keep playing, learning and growing.