Key elements for therapists

Introduction

• Disclaimer: The speaker is jet lagged and feeling spacey due to recent travel from South Africa.
• The speaker attended a workshop on contextual therapy combined with expressive arts, attachment, and dissociation.
• The speaker expresses affection for South Africa and a desire to live there.
• The speaker identifies as a play therapist.

Objectives

• The objectives are assumed to be available elsewhere, as the audience is "smart" and can read.

Sustaining Energy as a Counselor

• A key question to consider during counselor education: "What are you going to get out of this?"
• Many therapists experience burnout because they don't consciously consider what sustains them.
• It's important to identify what brings energy, sustains motivation, and makes the work feel worthwhile.
• Unlike adults, children rarely express direct gratitude or acknowledgment of the therapist's impact.

Sources of Sustenance for Play Therapists:

• Wearing unique clothing, such as britches with tie-dyed dinosaurs.
• Engaging in play with children.
• Perceiving and listening to children in a way that differs from other adults in their lives.

Importance of Recognizing What Sustains You:

• If you're not conscious about what sustains you, you will eventually experience burnout.

Stake in the Ground

• Stake in the ground: Defining your commitment to something you do.

• The speaker's original stake in the ground for Adlerian play therapy:

  • Motivated by a little girl's feedback about the speaker's inauthenticity in the playroom.
  • The girl pointed out the speaker was more fun outside the playroom (