Play Therapy Parenting Podcast

Sometimes, Play Therapy is described as "Magical" because people don't know why it works so well, it just does. In this episode, Dr. Brenna explains how play therapy works by telling a story of one of her clients who worked through his issues through play. He did it at home... not the play room... and his Mom witnessed, first hand, the "magic" of play therapy!

A video that I had to record as a result of a simple bumper sticker on a car in front of me… and it is now my personal mission to make every parent claim positive and encouraging traits about themselves! Watch all the way to the end so that you can be empowered to fight the critical and harsh way that we talk about ourselves as parents.

The more you understand the "wheel" of emotions, the more you can help your child communicate what they are feeling accurately. In this video, Dr. Brenna Hicks introduces you to Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions, and the theory of how it all fits together. You can use this knowledge to better Reflect Feelings to your child.

In this episode of the Play Therapy Podcast, Dr. Hicks explains why sometimes it's okay to simply "be" with your kid. You don't need to solve, explain away, or distract them from their current issue. Brenna gives several examples from her office, and from other Moms, how to meet the child in that emotional moment.

The four "Pillars" of Play Therapy are the foundational skills that Play Therapy is built on. Dr. Brenna Hicks gives an overview and examples for each of these skills. This video is foundational training for any parent looking to add Play Therapy skills to their parenting "tool box".   References: Cochran, N., Nordling, W., & Cochran, J. (2010). Child-Centered Play Therapy (1st ed.). Wiley.  VanFleet, R., Sywulak, A. E., & Sniscak, C. C. (2010). Child-centered play therapy. Guilford Press.  Landreth, G. L. (2002). Play therapy: The art of the relationship (2nd ed.). Brunner-Routledge. Bratton, S. C., Landreth, G. L., Kellam, T., & Blackard, S. R. (2006). Child parent relationship therapy (CPRT) treatment manual: A 10-session filial therapy model for training parents. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. Benedict, Helen. Themes in Play Therapy. Used with permission to Heartland Play Therapy Institute. 

In this episode of Play Therapy Parenting Podcast, Dr. Brenna Hicks talks about the play therapy skill, reflecting feelings, and why it's okay for parents to simply reflect a child's feeling back to them, and then stop! We tend to want to solve problems for our kids, or try to make our kids feel better, when sometimes, simply "sitting" in the child's emotion is what they need more.