This next Lessons from the Playroom topic is near and dear to Lisa's heart as she is a Certified Gestalt Therapist and Gestalt is one of the root theories of Synergetic Play Therapy. And not only is the topic important to Lisa, but so is her guest.  She is one of the Gestalt Play Therapy experts on the planet.  Yes, we’re talking about Felicia Carrol. 

Felicia Carrol is a LMFT, RPT-S, and founder/director of the West Coast Institute for Gestalt Therapy with Children and Adolescents - she is an international educator and the list of countries where she has done training would take the entire podcast to share. She's published several chapters and articles to support the play therapy field. Felicia was also a direct student and dear friend of Violet Oaklander who passed away in 2021.  

Join Lisa and Felicia in a most grounding and heartfelt conversation where you’ll: 

• Hear the background story of Gestalt Play Therapy including Violet Oaklander's amazing contributions to the field of play therapy;
• Become familiar with the wisdom of Gestalt Play Therapy, it's paradigm, and the 4 Pillars that Violet Oaklander created to form its structure;
• Discover (or rediscover) some often overlooked and powerful concepts that you might not be including in your therapy practice such as "being for” your client, the "self-nurturing" technique, and the benefit of establishing a dialogic relationship with your client;
• Learn one of the biggest misconceptions for Gestalt Play Therapy, as well as in the field of play therapy that continues to prevail today (hint: it’s about directive vs. non-directive modalities);
• Hear some personal and professional stories about Violet Oaklander - Get to know this lovely human being that made such an impactful difference in the play therapy field!

This podcast is dedicated to Violet Oaklander who took her final breath on September 21, 2021 at the age of 94. She was a child and adolescent therapist known for her method of integrating Gestalt Therapy theory and practice with play therapy. She wrote the groundbreaking book, "Windows to Our Children," which put the play therapy world on its side. 

Listen to today's episode and come back to your roots as a play therapist. Thank you, thank you, thank you Felicia!

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*Find more information and free resources to support you on your play therapist journey at https://synergeticplaytherapy.com/

* Interested in APT Approved CE credits and courses delivered to your living room? Take a look at all our play therapy training, available on our learning website:  https://learn.synergeticplaytherapy.com/