Seeing the whole story:
    ​How play therapist self-awareness impacts play therapy narratives


    Presenters:     Mandi Melendez, MA, LPC, LMFT, RPT & Marshall Lyles, MA, LPC-S, LMFT-S, RPT-S
    Description: This 6-hour continuing education opportunity will employ a combination of lecture, group discussion, and experiential activities as participants explore the importance and impact of play therapist self-awareness. Child clients deserve to access their own narratives without interference from unexplored areas within the therapist. Play therapists have an ethical obligation to investigate person-of-the-therapist issues, including those related to socio-politically charged material. As play therapists are more mindful of their own developing stories, therapist to client attunement can be more prominent, which offers the possibility of the emergence, awareness and nurturing of play themes related to clients’ experiences with marginalization and oppression.
    Objectives:
    1. Discuss concept of “person of the play therapist”
    2. Identify likely sources of distress in play themes based on play therapists’ individual histories
    3. Evaluate how children’s experiences of marginalization and oppression show up in play behaviors
    4. Enhance skills for parent consultation and development of culturally-relevant treatment planning
    5. Explore personal goals for increasing multicultural competence in relation to common sociopolitical realities affecting play therapy clients
    6. Practice expressive arts-based self-care strategies specific to play therapists

    Workshop date: October 19, 2019

    Schedule:
    8:45 am – Check-in
    9:00 am – 10:30 am – Overview POTT and sociopolitical struggles affecting children
    10:30 am – 10:45 am – Break
    10:45 am – 12:15 pm - Practice strategies for increasing multicultural competence
    12:15 pm – 1:15 pm - Lunch
    1:15 pm – 2:45 pm – Working with parents
    2:45 pm – 3 pm - Break
    3:00 pm – 4:30 pm – Self-care strategies

    6 APT-approved direct contact education hours (sponsored by Marshall Lyles, APT Approved Provider 17-508) will be provided.
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    Cost: $150
    Payment for the first meeting is due at registration. Cancellation prior to 2 weeks of first meeting will be reimbursed minus a $50 fee. The training will take place at Nurture Family Counseling, 201 South Lakeline Blvd. Ste. 604, Cedar Park TX, 78613.
    Registration