Garry Landreth is my Homeboy

This past summer I spent a season amongst the narwhals, sand trays, doll houses, and play sets. I was lucky enough to do my 150 hour practicum experience with a fantastic Registered Play Therapist, Sandra Vest. This experience was extremely valuable for me and so rewarding. I've always known I wanted to do therapy in the school environment, however, great days there had me considering getting my doctorate and sliding into private practice. However, a cursory glance at tuition rates and malpractice insurance had be running for the hills. Private practice, you guys are the real MVPs.

While none of us are registered play therapists, there are definitely techniques and skills from the play therapy field that can be used in a school counseling environment. It goes without saying that whenever you use techniques you aren't formally trained in-you must be careful. You don't want to make a ton of weighty assumptions based off what the children choose to do with the toys during play time. Here's a few important points to consider when considering play therapy techniques:

1. The child should be completely free to determine how we will use the time. The child leads and the therapist follows without making suggestions or asking leading questions.

Often times in counseling sessions we, as school counselors have an objective or plan in mind to move forward. A large chunk of theory used in school counseling focuses on solution-focused therapies that have quick and simple resolutions to students' presenting problems. Play therapy is not like that. Admittedly, this is not a quick therapy technique at all. It can take months or even years to find resolution to the issue. In play therapy, clients have the option to work through and process their problems in their own time and their own way.

Note, the child determines how we will use the time. WE. Aka, as long as it is appropriate and within reason, the Registered Play Therapist is to do what the student asks. One session sticks out in my mind where a young girl, resembling Angelica from Rugrats in more than one fashion had us play Simon Says. For FORTY MINUTES. When she left I was sweating, exhausted, and felt like less of a human. However, that is the way of play therapy. Also, I guess I could have used the exercise.

Sometimes play therapy sessions can be god awful- boring and quiet. That 40 minutes can feel like a lifetime as you silently watch a muted child make a scene in a sand tray. However, it is not your duty to ask questions, pull information out of them, teach them, or even initiate new behaviors. In Pre-K, students aren't usually able to verbalize what is bothering them. Allowing students to play with strategic toys during their time with you can help them process their feelings and move forward.

2. The play therapist's major task is to empathize with the child, and to understand the intent of the child's actions, thoughts, and feelings.

At the root of all counseling relationships, regardless of age or theory is empathy. Sometimes it is hard to understand the difference between empathy and sympathy. Folks not within the counseling world use these words interchangeably. That's maddening, btw. However, empathy makes a person a great counselor. Sympathy? Well that just renders a counselor ineffective. Websters defines these words as:

Sympathy as "feelings of pity or sorrow at someone else's misfortune."

Empathy is the "ability to to understand and share the feelings of another."

Notice the difference? Sympathy is almost derogatory and treats the child as if they are a charity case worth pitying. Empathy allows a therapist to understand and corroborate the feelings of another. Share the feelings and therefore ensure a mutual bond and trust. It's the difference between "I feel sorry for you" and "I understand what you're going through."

3. The therapist's next task is to communicate understanding to the child by appropriate comments whenever possible by verbalizing the feelings that the child is actively experiencing.

We must be empathetic to everything the client is saying and feeling. In many ways we should mirror the student's feelings when we're in session. We should be totally engaged in the session (regardless of how boring it is to watch the top of a child's head for 40 minutes as they color). We should be making statements that show engagement:

"I see you've drawn a purple tree there."

"I notice you put the bed in the kitchen."

You cannot express engagement by evaluating their work in any way such as the following:

"That's a beautiful picture you've drawn with the ocean and the beach."

"Why did you choose to color your house black? That seems odd."

if you begin to evaluate their work they will do things specifically to please you. If a child asks you, "Do you like my picture?" Ask them what they think of their picture. If they like it, say something like, "I love that you like your picture." We are not here to critique their therapeutic expression. Criticizing the child's work can be counterproductive to increasing child self-esteem and positive self-image.

4. The play therapist is to be clear and firm about the "limits" that are placed on the child.

I know my original point almost makes it seem like some heathenistic environment that allows children to do WHATEVER they want. That is simply not the case. There are limits and they are simple. They are as follows:

A.) Do not allow students to break or destroy toys within the playroom.

B.) Students have to leave play therapy rooms as they were when they came.

C.) Toys cannot be brought into the playroom and they cannot be removed from the playroom. Same with artwork, this information cannot be taken home. Those pieces stay with the therapist in a chart or folder until the conclusion of therapy.

D.) Child cannot just leave the playroom as they wish. They will stay through the entire session unless they must go to the restroom.

5. If you're interested in using play therapy with students, here is a list of the some essentials you'll need to get started:

Hand puppets Band-aids Bendable doll family

Costume jewelry Rope/ribbons Crayons

Dart gun Doll Dollhouse

Dollhouse furniture Handcuffs Masks

Nerf balls Bottle Playdoh

Popsicle sticks Play cars Telephone

Toy soldiers Tape Paper

Blunt scissors Building blocks Egg cartons

If you already have experience in the play therapy environment, consider getting certified at a School-Based Registered Play Therapist! It's definitely in the plan for me if I get hired on at an elementary school! If not, I hope this article helps anyone considering integrating play therapy into their elementary school counseling routine!