CLINICAL


EDITOR’S COMMENTS: Eliana Gil presents


Phyllis Booth’s inspirations and hopes for the future of Theraplay®


.


T


his is the second of a two-part interview with Phyllis Booth, the 2017 Association for Play Therapy (APT) Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and co-developer of Theraplay®. In part one, we explored the beginnings of Theraplay® and Phyllis’s involvement (e.g., Gil, 2018). In this part, we explore Phyllis’s mentors, Theraplay®


 the keys to her longevity.


 inspiring mentor.” They met in 1949 when Ann was her assistant teacher at the U of Chicago Nursery School. When they reconnected in 1976, their roles were reversed. As Phyllis recounted, “I was no longer ‘head teacher’ to her ‘assistant teacher,’ and she became my guide and role model.” Phyllis fondly remembered, “She led the way in developing Theraplay® and I was happy to follow.” Their working relationship developed and deepened in the following years.


She valued my experience as a nursery school teacher, which I had continued for another 10 years before returning to Chicago, and she welcomed my interest in exploring the theoretical bases for         being introduced to Bowlby and Winnicott.


As Theraplay® became known, private clients sought treatment. A special Theraplay® room was created with an observation room and a one-way mirror. Ann sat with the parents behind the one-way mirror while I worked with the child until it was time for the parents to join us in the playroom. Then, she and I would talk about what had transpired and devise plans for the next session. This was an amazing opportunity to learn about treatment that included Ann’s sensitive work with parents.


Ann provided personal supervision to Phyllis, but she also introduced her to the wider world of psychotherapy in Chicago. As Phyllis recounted, “She was very keyed-in to important people who were doing innovative work. Whenever she saw an opportunity to attend a lecture or a training, she invited me to join her. I was introduced to many important people and


ideas.” Ann and Phyllis attended lectures by Selma Fraiberg in Chicago, a months-long training program in neuro-linguistic programming, and different weeks studying with Milton Erickson in California, Habib Davanloo on Cape Cod, and several trips to Washington, D.C. to attend an ongoing supervision seminar in the Davanloo method. They also attended a series of meetings with Michael Trout, who, according to Phyllis, “was then a young protégé of Selma Fraiberg and is now doing wonderful work with children who have experienced trauma.” These were but a few of the people Phyllis remembered meeting with Ann.


Although Ann was an important professional mentor, the gift of the personal connection she shared with Phyllis was beautifully illustrated by the following memories: “Most important, even during her husband’s long  always there when I needed her. She was totally focused and available, attentive and ‘with me.’ I miss her.”


Since those early days, Theraplay® has continued to


grow in sensitivity and attunement to the child’s needs…


The synergy between Ann and Phyllis led to some interesting theoretical  four dimensions of Theraplay® particularly helpful in assessing parent- child dyads. These dimensions provide the foundation for selecting interventions and make a wonderful contribution to family work. Phyllis described how they were conceived.


When Ann and I began teaching about Theraplay® we would start by asking the participants to get a picture in their minds of a mother or father interacting with their 6-9-month-old baby. The activities people mentioned included playing, feeding, rocking, singing, reading, fathers tossing the baby in the air, etc. She put some of these long lists into the


www.a4pt.org | June 2018 | PLAYTHERAPY | 25


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