Turning Points in Play Therapy and the Emergence of Self

Lorri Yasenik and Ken Gardner are co-directors of the Rocky Mountain Play Therapy Institute in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, an accredited training institute founded in 1996 that offers experiential learning opportunities, integrating play therapy theory and practice. Lorri is a certified play therapist, and a founding member and former executive board member of the Alberta Play Therapy Association. She has presented nationally and internationally in the areas of play therapy, child psychotherapy, attachment, family violence, high conflict divorce and family mediation, and her PhD study is in the area of 'The Voice of the Child in Legal Matters'. Ken is a Clinical Psychologist and a Certified Play Therapy Supervisor. He is a past executive board member of the Canadian Association for Child Psychotherapy and Play Therapy, and has been a clinical practitioner for over 24 years. He is a former teacher of young children with special needs, and provides consultation to early intervention services as well as to therapists, schools, case managers and families. Ken has presented nationally and internationally on a wide range of topics related to play therapy and play-based interventions. Lorri Yasenik and Ken Gardner are co-directors of the Rocky Mountain Play Therapy Institute in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, an accredited training institute founded in 1996 that offers experiential learning opportunities, integrating play therapy theory and practice. Lorri is a certified play therapist, and a founding member and former executive board member of the Alberta Play Therapy Association. She has presented nationally and internationally in the areas of play therapy, child psychotherapy, attachment, family violence, high conflict divorce and family mediation, and her PhD study is in the area of 'The Voice of the Child in Legal Matters'. Ken is a Clinical Psychologist and a Certified Play Therapy Supervisor. He is a past executive board member of the Canadian Association for Child Psychotherapy and Play Therapy, and has been a clinical practitioner for over 24 years. He is a former teacher of young children with special needs, and provides consultation to early intervention services as well as to therapists, schools, case managers and families. Ken has presented nationally and internationally on a wide range of topics related to play therapy and play-based interventions.

• 1. Turning Points and Understanding the Development of Self Through Play Therapy, Lorri Yasenik, Ph.D., RSW, RPT-S, CPT-S, Registered Clinical Social Worker, USA and Ken Gardner, M.Sc., R. Psych, CPT-S, Registered Clinical Child Psychologist, USA. 2. Emergence of self through Learn to Play Therapy, Karen Stagnitti, PhD, Professor, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Australia. 3. Just Like a Kid! Terry Kottman, PhD NCC, RPT-S, LMHC, Founder of The Encouragement Zone, USA. 4. You can be the door": Establishing safety and facilitating growth of personal identity with a traumatized child, Eileen Prendiville, MA, Psychotherapist, Ireland. 5. Turning Points in Treating Complex Trauma in Carlos, a Foster Care Child, Athena A. Drewes, PsyD, RPT-S, Psychotherapist and Registered Play Therapist, USA. 6. Shame can get stuck in your throat: The Rise of Consciousness for Five-Year-Old Freddy, Paris Goodyear-Brown, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, USA. 7. Corrie and the T-Rex: Courage Reclaimed, Linda E. Homeyer, Professor of Professional Counselling at Texas State University, USA. 8. Acknowledging the unexpressed beneath trauma: An encounter of subjectivities through play therapy, Carolina Araya Ramírez, Child and Family Psychotherapist. Chile Magdalena Oyanedel Frugone, Child and Family Psychotherapist, Chile and Francisca Jenschke Smith. 9. The therapeutic dance: The role of affective synchrony in guiding therapists when to lead and when to follow in psychotherapy with traumatised children, Katherine Olejniczak, Director of Psychology and Play Therapy, Australia. 10. The Container: Piecing Together a Life Story, Adriana Sorbo, Valerie Kendall and Cassandra White. 11. To Kill or Not to Kill While Figuring Out How to Love Me Forever, Theresa Fraser, Certified Canadian Play Therapy Supervisor, Canada. 12. Symbolic Solutions: Establishing a Sense of Safety for Relationship Repair, Sonia Murray, Play Therapist, UK. 13. From isolation to invigoration: Five Canadian play therapists share an emergence of selves through the power of finding belonging in a professional community, Irene A. Barrett, Psychotherapist and Play Therapist intern, USA, Bruce A. Beaudet, Clinician, USA , Katharine Chapman, Clinical Social Worker, USA, Dana Diamond, Psychologist and Play Therapist, USA, and Tammy Reis, USA. 14. Discussion and Summary, Lorri Yasenik and Ken Gardner

Yasenik and Gardner have masterfully gathered respected play therapists from diverse theoretical orientations to frame the totality of turning points and its various interlinked elements. Utilizing case vignettes, contributing authors take us inside the sanctity of the play therapy change process. Situated within four main types of turning points; this book applies the Play Therapy Dimensions Model of decision making with the critical importance of the self-reflective tool: Degree of Immersion: The Therapist Use of Self scale to understand, measure, and influence clinical reasoning and decision making. This book is an exemplar of sound clinical synthesis with profound implications for change in play therapy clients, practitioners, and supervisors. I predict you will experience your own developmental turning points of growth as you read through the pages. Savor this experience!