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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT


kit. It provides a way for a child to engage in close proximity using something familiar while being “in charge.”


Carol Brennan Ph.D., RPT-S Albuquerque Play Therapy Solutions, Albuquerque, NM


1.How long have you been practicing Play Therapy? More than 25 years!


2. What drew you to the field of Play Therapy? As the preschool Director at North Texas State (now UNT) I became acquainted with Dr. Garry Landreth - he invited me to take his play therapy class. By the third class I was hooked, enrolled in the doctoral program, and Dr. Landreth was my mentor and doctoral chairperson.


3. What is your primary theoretical orientation and how you “developed” into that orientation. Primarily child-centered – with a strong belief that the relationship with the child truly is the path to a child’s healing.


4. What is the one item in the Playroom you could not live without? Wow...this is a tough one! I would not do play therapy without paints nor aggressive toys, I think the single most useful and effective item in my playroom has been the doctor


5. How does your personality contribute to your style of Play Therapy? I value having fun and laughing! I learned a long time ago that being myself in the playroom is important, with a child in play therapy I am not afraid to laugh with a child if something funny happens. My introspective side, helps me realize the importance and potential impact on the child of his/her being able to just “be” in each moment in the playroom without judgment, criticism or expectation.


6. What would you like to learn more about or develop more in your own play therapy practice? I have a renewed excitement about filial therapy! I have always enjoyed working with parents/ caregivers and have found that helping them to help their children can make a huge difference in parent’s feelings of competence. I have plans to do a filial group in the near future.


7. What do you do to practice Self-Care? The one thing I could not do without in my life are my friends. Most of them are in the mental health field and the support as well as the connection with them is invaluable in helping me keep a positive perspective. I place a high value on “fun” and being playful in my own life with those around me. Spending time with close friends having fun is the best self-care there is!


Ted Borkan Ph.D., RPT-S


Playful Therapies LLC Columbus, OH


1.How long have you been practicing Play Therapy? I was introduced to Play Therapy on beginning Graduate School in 1973 by Henry Leland, PhD.


2 What drew you to the field of Play Therapy? I entered a Graduate program in “Developmental Disabilities” with a connection to my sister having profound cerebral palsy, and totally dependent physically. I was very connected to the process of relationship building and the honoring of each person’s individuality that occur in the context of play differently from how such occur in other therapeutic contexts.


3. What is your primary theoretical orientation and how you “developed” into that orientation. I’m not sure that I have a primary theoretical orientation. I utilize the styles that engage the person I am working with at any moment in time. Foundational to my Play Therapy work is the conceptualization of H. Leland together with an openness to metaphor. When working with children, this is combined with parental/caregiver


28 PLAYTHERAPY | September 2014


involvement and the use of Adlerian and behavioral strategies. Diverse settings helped me to recognize the importance of being as individualized in my treatment/orientation as I was in my understanding and acceptance of each person I met with.


4. What is the one item in the Playroom you could not live without? Toss-up between sandtray and puppets – whether the Playroom is being used by children, adolescents, or adults


5 How does your personality contribute to your style of Play Therapy? My family were huggers and ‘larger than life’ when engaged with others. I have ‘inherited’ these qualities. I find myself naturally curious, fascinated and energized by others. I believe that I do embody a key Play Therapist quality which a clinician (whose name escapes me) phrased twenty years ago as: “You must enjoy the company of children”.


6. What would you like to learn more about or develop more in your own play therapy practice? Combination of re-connecting to ideas and strategies I had moved away from and expanding some new-ish areas. The former includes metaphor work and the Eriksonian/’hypno-therapy’ strategies, the latter includes the mind-body connective approaches.


7. What do you do to practice Self-Care? I do some biking, have begun doing role-playing gaming with friends, time with the grandkids, and make time to read non-professional books/ magazines.


www.a4pt.org


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