Play Therapy Community Inspiration, Information, & Connection For Child Therapists Around The World | Adhd, Autism Spectrum

“Is my kid addicted to video games?”  I hear that question all the time from parents.  The word “addiction” is thrown round a lot these days… Video game addiction is not actually in the diagnostic manual per se, but some families have a real issue with their child being clued to a video game for many hours of the day. Sometimes, this is at the detriment of the social relationships play, family relationships, getting things.  To steer away from the term addiction, which could be used totally appropriate here, I want to go to little bit deeper  with this topic. As a hypnotherapist that helps people transition from being a smoker to a nonsmoker, the term addiction can sometimes leave people feeling stuck and held captive by something larger than them.  I prefer to use the word habit, just because habits are much easier to change.   It’s all about perception and mindset, especially with our kids. I just had an episode with Dr. Temple Grandin, perhaps the most famous person with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the wor

I’m really excited about this episode with Dr. Temple Grandin!   She’s so inspirational to me and many around the world.  She has written so many books on Autism!   In this episode, she talks about what it was like growing up for her with Autism, what helps and what doesn’t.  She also provides some great tips for parents, teachers, and therapists to help raise kids that have a sense of purpose and a strong work ethic that can go on to thrive in emotionally, socially, and occupationally. I first heard of Dr. Grandin from a friend of mine, Stephanie Sanders.  She is the Speech Therapist and the author of the FILTER Approach that I had on the podcast way back in episode 28.  If you haven’t listened to that episode, please do.  It’s a good one!  I love Stephanie and her work.  Her book is fantastic.  It provides a step by step curriculum to help children with social communication skills.  I worked with her when I was a school counselor and had the opportunity to really see her work help some of the same kids I wa

I love Sandtray Therapy!  In my early days as a therapist, while I was working towards licensure Tammi Van Hollander was very influential on growth as a, then, aspiring Play Therapist (to be).  She has a private practice in Ardmore, PA. Her passion and enthusiasm to helping people through Play Therapy is contagious.  Since then, I have had years of experience with Sandtray, but will never, ever forget how much she taught me.  I will always feel so very grateful to her and her work Sandtray work.  This episode has been a dream of mine for a while now.  We recorded it 2x due to technical errors, but finally got it out there.   Here are some notes from our conversation on Sandtray Therapy. Sandtray Therapy it quietens the entire nervous system and it helps to turn off the thinking brain. It can go much deeper than talk therapy.  For children, their language is play.  Little toys called toys, called “miniatures” are placed in the sand to tell stories.  It surpasses the limitation of words, which is especially he

Tiffanie Trudeau, LMHC, LPC, CSAT, NCC is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of Florida as well as a Licensed Professional Counselor in the Commonwealth of Virginia and District of Columbia.  She earned a Dual Bachelor's of Art degree in Psychology and Criminology and a Master’s of Art degree in Mental Health Counseling.  She has advanced training in:  Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Sexual Assault Response, Critical Incident Stress Management Debriefing (CISM) and Sexual Addiction Therapy. In This Episode:    What is “sexting”:  Sexting refers to the sending and receiving of sexually charged material that may consist of words, images or both that are intended to sexually arouse and are sent via digital means.     What puts the child / teen at risk for this behavior?   Curiosity  Attention-seeking – separate oneself from peers Self esteem boost – to feel attractive Peer pressure – being directly or indirectly coe

Episode 42, When a Child is Shamed   In This Episode:   It’s important to understand what shame is and what isn’t Shaming is when someone induces humiliation, embarrassment, and a feeling of guilt, regret, or deep sadness on another person. Shaming is not motivating, although that is a common misconception.  Sometimes people think “if they feel really bad about what they did, then they won’t do it again.” But it doesn’t work like that.  It is in essence a trauma that can cause long term maladaptive behaviors.  Many people that struggle with addiction, relationship issues, and other tough life struggles often have shame in their past.  My friend and podcasting colleague, Robert Cox has a really good podcast episode on this his podcast, Mindful Recovery.   GUILT AND SHAME RIDDING THE SOUL OF TOXICITY  The link http://mindfulrecoverypodcast.libsyn.com/guit-and-shame-ridding-the-soul-of-toxicity Making mistakes is actually a healthy part of child development.  Allowing your child to make and learn from mistakes w

Episode 41, When a Parent Feels Judged   In This Episode:   What does it mean with someone feels “judged”?  When you feel something in your heart that your mind knows isn’t true.  It can wreak havoc on family relationships. One thing that I remember from a pre-marital training called Pre-Cana was the emphasis of not sharing personal disagreements and issues with friends and family members.  When personal conflicts occur and get resolved within the couple relationship, but close members of the inner circle are made privy to one side of the issue, long after the issue is over, the knowledge of that deep, personal feelings of their often skewed (because they only heard one side of the argument) perception lingers.  And, the relationships suffer as a result.  It can’t be unheard, unfelt or undone. Feeling judged isn’t something that everyone deals with though.  Some people are more impacted by their caring what people think of them.  It has a lot to do with how we are wired, our own life experiences and the thing

Episode 40, A Parent’s Guide to Having a Productive & Helpful Meeting at School   In This Episode:   Many different types of meetings occur in the school setting.  For parents, the most common are parent / teacher conferences, IEP meetings, 504 meetings, meetings to address a specific concern and/ or gather information, and so on. ..   Each school has its own culture and each district and/or school has certain protocol, policies, and procedures that they follow.  Usually, these are readily available either on the website, the student handbook, calendar or request from the school.   Regardless of the type of meeting that you are attending and where you are attending it at, having a few basic elements in place can make a huge difference between a productive and helpful meeting to one that is not.   As a disclaimer, I worked as a teacher and a school counselor for years in a wonderful charter school so I am giving you my opinion from my limited view point.  Just like with any information, take what you need

Episode 39, Understanding the Aftermath of Trash Talk   In This Episode:   Let’s begin this episode with a clear understanding of what I mean when I mention “trash talk”.   My definition of “trash talk” is when someone intentionally attempts to degrade someone by speaking poorly of them a manner that involves defamation, malintent, and  purposeful degradation of another.  This is also known as poor mouthing, vilifying (this is a stronger version of trash talking) and bad mouthing.   Things can slip out of our mouths in a blink of an eye.  When it is truly trash talking is when it’s done by more than one comment.  I’ve heard it used in the world of sports and politics and I think it also applies in the world of parenting.   In my experience, trash talking is most present in situations of divorce, but it can also be present in family members’ relationships, friendships gone poorly, other relationships with members of an organization or company, with teachers or administration at school – it can be present in so

In This Episode:   Click Here for the Free Download: DISTRESS SCALE for Before / After Calming Techniques Today’s episode is all about what it is like when a parent struggles with anxiety, as well as some options to heal from and some coping skills to get through the trying times.   My work has been greatly influenced by my work in EMDR, Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing and reading books like The Body Keeps the Score by Dr Bessel Van der Kolk and Peter Levine’s Healing Trauma.   I think it’s important to begin with a discussion of what anxiety is and what it is not.  Mental Health clinicians use a book to clinically diagnose Anxiety Disorder called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  At the time of this recording, we are using the 5th edition.  Anxiety disorders can come in different forms. In this episode we’re going to look at symptoms and coping skills rather than a diagnosis. Anxiety can come in many different forms – Separation Anxiety Disorder (I see this most often wit

“When something bad happens you have three choices. You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.” Anonymous This week’s episode is all about our experience with Hurricane Matthew in Florida.   I invited my daughter Angel on the show to share her experience with it all as well. We discuss what it was like to prepare for it, leave our home, arrive at a nearby safe place, worry about friends and family, wonder if we would have a home to come home to, and our delight in the fact that damage was minimal and our community survived.  We also discuss what it was like to look at footage of the damage that Hurricane Matthew had in other places such as Haiti, Jacksonville, St. Augustine and more.   During our evacuation, we stayed at a hotel that accepted pets.  It was quite the experience.  The people at the hotel were super kind.  We did witness a few people showing symptoms of stress and low tolerance, but overall people were overwhelmingly positive.   My husband was at work the en

Parenting can get really stressful at times, especially if you have difficult circumstances.  Kids are so very different in regards to their strengths and special needs.  And, some situations are definitely more difficult than others.  Some children really require a specialized set of skills, as well as an environment that helps them function.  For example, parents of kids with ADHD really benefit from having patience and parenting strategies that help their child focus and to minimize impulsive behaviors, as well as helping their child with organization skills.  While other parents of a child with early childhood trauma, need lots of understanding about how trauma works and how best to respond.  Difficult situations lend themselves to parenting disagreement, which can strain a marriage.  On today’s episode, we’re going to discuss the 4 predictors of divorce and how to not only prevent divorce by make your marriage more enjoyable, even when you have a perpetual problem like how to parent.  Unfortunately, some

In This Episode:   The words “I Hate You” can cut deep, especially when they are from your child.   When emotions get heated all kinds of comments can surface.   Let’s begin with an understanding of how the brain works.   I love Dr. Seigal’s Handy Model of the Brain.  His simple explanation of how the brain functions can give us a better understanding of how an “I Hate You” can slip out.  The good news is, that there are things that you can do to help.   Knowledge is a big part of it.   When we get upset our Pre Frontal Cortex goes off line as Dr Siegel puts it.  That basically means that our decision making gets high-jacked by our emotions in our limbic system.  In other words, the child is really upset.  Well, that’s probably something that you new already, right?     When children, really people in general are extremely upset and their pre-frontal cortex is offline, or as Dr. Siegel puts it “Flipped their Lid” then they say and do things that are purely based in raw emotion, not having been filtered throug

Episode 34,  Labyrinths for Focus, Calmness, and Connection   In This Episode:  I had the pleasure of having a conversation with Neal from Relax 4 Life. I first learned about Neal after purchasing one of his labyrinths to use with my students. I was in search for a tool that was easy to use that helped kids calm down, focus, and regain collectedness enough to go back to class after feeling bothered by something.  Labyrinths are great for all of these things. Now I use my double labyrinth with my clients in almost every session with almost everybody – adults and children. I have also used my double labyrinth to help parents and children attune to each other. More recently I have used it as part of couples counseling. In our conversation, Neal talks about the many different kinds of labyrinths. He mentioned a bit about the history and concept of labyrinth as well.  I am planning a trip to go to a walking labyrinth. I’m super excited! Neal mentions some research that looks at the helpfulness of using a labyrint

Depression is an often misunderstood condition.   I think lots of times, the term “depression” get’s thrown around.  In this episode I want to talk about what it is, what it is not, what helps, what doesn’t and how it can affect the realm of parenting.   It’s so much more than just “being sad”. There are many types of depression. Having a baby, childbirth, can trigger a plethora of powerful emotions.   It can be exciting, scary, heartwarming, and even depressing.   Postpartum depression is not uncommon and can leave people feeling guilty and shameful, which makes it even worse.   Lots of love and support for the mom and the baby is vital during this time.   Often the medical team will check in with the parent to see if depressive symptoms are present.   The parent child relationship is so very important.  Especially important are the first 3 years of life. This is when attachment is formed.  Attachment is a biggie as it really lays a blueprint in a child’s brain for other relationships. Attachment is an entir

In This Episode:   Anxious feelings during back to school time are not uncommon especially in times of transition such as kindergarten, moving from elementary to middle school, from middle to high school, and then eventually college.  This time can be really stressful for kids and families.  It may look like crying, clinginess, lower tolerance levels that lead to tantrums sometimes, somatic symptoms such as tummy aches and headaches, and crankiness.   Children may present as desperate and beg and plead to stay home.  Some will try to bargaining and negotiate.  Does this sound familiar?     It is totally “normal” for all of us as human beings to have worries.  It’s the way that our brain is wired.  However, going to school isn’t optional.  School is a “non-negotiable”. In fact, allowing your child to miss due to worries will often increase your child’s fear.     The chance for successful experience and having them realize that they can surpass the fears doesn’t get a chance to occur.  It also limits children i

In This Episode:   Today we’re talking about emotional abuse.  Through my work, I help clients heal from this and move past the wounds that it can leave.  It can be a trauma.   Unfortunately, emotional abuse can take a huge toll on one’s self-confidence and self-esteem levels.   Being in an emotionally abusive relationship can have people questioning their life choices and own self-worth. Today’s show is focused on helping parents recognize the signs of this problematic area of emotional abuse and choose better, healthier ways of interacting with each other (whether together or separated) and their children.   Now, let’s talk about what emotional abuse actually is... Emotional abuse is different from physical abuse which is really marked by explosive outbursts and physical harm. Emotional abuse can be more deceptive and subtle.  While it doesn’t leave physical marks, it can sure leave emotional scars that go deep.  In some cases, many people aren’t even aware that it is happening.  You can’t see it like a bru

Episode 30, Knowing the Difference Between a Tantrum and a Meltdown and How to Respond to Both   In This Episode:   Tantrums A tantrum and a meltdown are different.  It’s important to differentiate between the two as it helps guide a helpful response by the parent.  Knowing that tantrums are a result of the child trying to get something and meltdowns are a reaction to sensory overstimulation. A tantrum is based in an attempt for the person (usually a child, but not always!) to get something they want.   It is behavioral based and some suggest that impulsivity can play a key role in their occurrence. A child may have a tantrum if he wants a toy at the story, but is told no.  The tantrum is in an effort (may be conscious or unconscious) to get the toy.   It doesn’t need to be based in a desire to attain tangible things though.  A child can also feel intense emotions that lead to a tantrum over issues such as attention, activities, and such. It usually involves yelling, crying, kicking and screaming, which may l

In This Episode:   I’m reflecting on all the times I have made a mistake as a parent. Whew! This realization cans me quite humbling. Now, to be completely honest, I could not possibly remember each time that I have made a parenting mistake. Or any mistake for that matter. As I have probably made about a gazillion mistakes in my lifetime, and certainly many of them during last 13-ish years as a parent.  But, I’m totally okay with that since I have learned from them. Lessons learned by experience are LONG LASTING and VALUABLE. One biggie that I’ve learned is, it is okay to not be the “PERFECT” parent. Really, is there such a thing anyway? Mention of this reminds me of Brene Brown’s (I LOVE her work!) beautiful book, “The Gift of Imperfection”.  Her message is a life changer for so many, myself included. All of her books and talks are incredible. Being the “best” parent that YOU can be is what truly matters. At the time of this writing, I have not yet met a “perfect” parent. I don’t expect that I ever will eithe

  In This Episode:   We’ll hear Stephanie Sanders explain the realm of Speech and Language services for children in the school setting.  She mentions that the group setting is most common with her work. She also tells us that it differs from the home setting, where she would work with the child one on one.   She created a curriculum that she developed over the course of 4 years while working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. She was initially inspired by her younger brother and her students. She tells us about some of the common struggles that kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders experience and how she addresses it with the students that she works with. She emphasizes the importance of communication with parents while working with children. She discusses the struggles that some of the kids that have with non-literal language, picking up social cues and such. She usually works with kids in groups of 5 or less.  The group setting allows for social issues to come up. Stephanie wrote a book to present

Parenting in the Rain, Episode 27, How to Heal and Move on After Divorce Are you a parent worried about your child through your divorce? Here’s a link to my s Free Parent Class http://jackieflynnconsulting.com/parentingthroughdivorce  In This Episode:   It’s important to identify the emotional pain by naming the feelings. Dr. Siegel says “When we can name it, we can tame it!”.  This is so true.  Common feelings are feelings of betrayal, fear, guilt, hope, anger, regret, etc...  Recognizing and accepting the feelings that surface, release their grip on you.  Also, it is important to recognize your belief systems that have been put into place through it all.  Some painful ones that I hear in my practice is “I am unlovable.” “I should’ve done something earlier.” “I am a bad person.” and such.  If those are coming up for you, therapy may be the best option to help you heal.  When we experience trauma, our brain functions differently.  It can change so many things in our lives.  Divorce is no different.  If left u