Play Therapy Podcast

Listener Sandi from Iowa emailed me this question: "I am hoping you will assist me with a common issue I find in the playroom. Please share an example of how you respond to a child who doesn’t want to leave the playroom..." Thank you so much for emailing me this question. If you have been a play therapist for any amount of time, you'll encounter this issue.  In this episode of the podcast, I go over how to handle this situation, how to maintain your non-directed, child-centered approach, and how to keep yourself in check during this process.   Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapypodcast.com Play Therapy Training HQ: https://www.playtherapynow.com Email me: brenna@thekidcounselor.com Follow me on Twitter: @thekidcounselor   https://twitter.com/thekidcounselor   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 I go over the 3rd limit setting principle from CPRT, "If you can't say it in ten words or less, don't say it." Not only is this really important for therapists during limit setting, but it also helps to know how to articulate this to parents.   Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapypodcast.com Play Therapy Training HQ: https://www.playtherapynow.com Email me: brenna@thekidcounselor.com Follow me on Twitter: @thekidcounselor   https://twitter.com/thekidcounselor   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.

As part of the "mindset" of being a private practice play therapist, you have to value your time. Especially because we have clients (kids) who mainly can only come to see you during non-school hours (2-7pm). We all want perfect schedules with no "holes" so that our time is perfectly optimized. Listener Amber emailed me and asked how I handle clients who are bi-weekly, or monthly. These periodic clients can really cause havoc to your schedule and impact billable time. In this episode, I explain how I effectively juggle all my bi-weekly and monthly clients so that I have the fewest "holes" possible.   Specific topics: "Marinators" and "Security Blanket" clients: How to deal with them How to better handle the termination process How to fill the holes     Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapypodcast.com Play Therapy Training HQ: https://www.playtherapynow.com Email me: brenna@thekidcounselor.com Follow me on Twitter: @thekidcounselor   https://twitter.com/thekidcounselor   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, we cover the second of the limit setting principles, "limits are not needed until they are needed." This comes straight out of the CPRT training by Landreth & Bratton, with some practical application and stories from my playroom.   Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapypodcast.com Play Therapy Training HQ: https://www.playtherapynow.com Email me: brenna@thekidcounselor.com Follow me on Twitter: @thekidcounselor   https://twitter.com/thekidcounselor   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, I take on a question that was asked of my by listener Rachel.  She asked: "I’m wondering what you do in situations where you have concerns of abuse/neglect. Do you ever take a different role with the child for the purposes of safety or assessment? Do you ever do any teaching with kids when it comes to safety when you have concerns about the environment they live in not being safe? Maybe that’s not our job, but sometimes I feel responsibility to help teach kids about boundaries, safe touch, etc when I have concerns about what they are being exposed to".   So I categorized her question into three areas and addressed each one:   Do we take a different role? Do we move into a teaching/safety role? What do we do, how do we handle boundaries?   Thank you for your questions! If you have a question you can always email me at brenna@thekidcounselor.com and I will do my best to answer you in the podcast.   Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapypodcast.com Play Therapy Training HQ: https://www.playtherapynow.com Email me: brenna@thekidcounselor.com Follow me on Twitter: @thekidcounselor   https://twitter.com/thekidcounselor   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, I cover the first of the Limit Setting principles, "When A Child Is Drowning, It's Not The Time To Teach Them To Swim." This principle comes out of the CPRT training. What I mean by that is, when a child is "drowning", emotionally, it's not the time to teach a lesson, or impart a rule. In this episode, I discuss why this is such an important principle to follow, and to educate parents about.   Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapypodcast.com Email me: brenna@thekidcounselor.com Follow me on Twitter: @thekidcounselor   https://twitter.com/thekidcounselor   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.

This podcast explores the challenges of child-centered play therapy with older kids (11-14), emphasizing the importance of setting realistic expectations and considering emotional and physical maturity. It discusses the significance of play therapy for preteens and adolescents, highlighting the benefits of using a playroom for therapy sessions. The podcast explores child-centered play therapy with older kids, including the importance of modifying activities and maintaining verbal interaction. It also discusses the significance of providing activity-driven options and dedicated areas to engage older kids in play therapy. The chapter also emphasizes the need for play options for kids in the 11-14 age range and offers support for making the bridge to play therapy easier for older kids.

This episode is the last of the choice-giving principles. This principle comes straight out of the Landreth/Bratton CPRT curriculum. Topics I discuss in this episode are:   Age appropriateness of choices How many choices you provide The responsibility that comes with the choices   Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapypodcast.com Email me: brenna@thekidcounselor.com Follow me on Twitter: @thekidcounselor   https://twitter.com/thekidcounselor   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.

Last week I had, arguably, the most challenging session with a child that I've ever had to deal with. I've had a lot of questions from listeners about how to handle aggressive play, so I thought this would be good to debrief with you to explain how child-centered play therapy works in this situation.   These are the topics I discuss in this episode: A summary of my session Mess-making play Anger and aggression masks vulnerability Holding and/or restraining How to personally/internally handle something like this How to discuss what happened with parents   Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapypodcast.com Email me: brenna@thekidcounselor.com Follow me on Twitter: @thekidcounselor   https://twitter.com/thekidcounselor   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, I give my input to a listener who emailed me about their client's Mom, that was interested in sibling sessions. The listener wanted to know if there was anything that I would mention or do. I have done quite a few sibling and group sessions, and I want to share some insight from not only the CCPT model, but some tips from my own experience as well.   In this episode I discuss: Age and development considerations Issue consideration How to conduct the session   Podcast HQ: https://www.playtherapypodcast.com Email me: brenna@thekidcounselor.com Follow me on Twitter: @thekidcounselor   https://twitter.com/thekidcounselor   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.