SPECIAL SECTION


2019 Scholarship Recipients Share their Conference Experience


Nicole Carleton, MS - Kansas State University


The APT conference provided me with a phenomenal opportunity to conceive ideas, reignite dreams, and plant seeds that I simply cannot ignore.


I reconnected with my inherent belief that play is a child’s language, toys are their words, and that children have the innate internal drive to achieve wellness. How fortunate I am to be given the gift of facilitating such a rich process.


One of my favorite stories provides a wonderful metaphor to explain play therapists’ work. An anthropologist studying the Xhosa people in South Africa proposed a game to children where he put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told them whomever got to   


 May we always be reminded to take the hands of the children with whom we work, run together, and that we are because they are.


Susan Hardman, EdS, NCSP - James Madison University


Attending the 2019 Association for Play Therapy Annual Conference in Dallas, Texas as a graduate student remains one of the highlights of my graduate student experience. The quality of each session I attended was outstanding. The presenters were all highly engaging, experienced play therapists who provided real-life examples and experiential activities that supported my learning. Each presentation was a helpful blend of 


 meet. I was struck by the warm and welcoming culture of APT. (And did I mention fun? Play therapists know how to play!)


APT maintains high standards in meeting the needs of children and families, and therefore attracts therapists who hold themselves to such standards. I loved interacting with this caring and lively group! Attending the conference enabled me to develop meaningful relationships with other play therapists, including play therapists from my home state. I have already found my connections to this group of local play therapists to be invaluable and would highly recommend this conference to other graduate students!


Karen Murphy, MS - Georgia State University


Attending the APT conference made my textbooks come alive! I was in awe while learning from the founders  will never forget. Listening to Paris Goodyear-Brown makes me want to strive to provide exceptional trauma- informed and trauma-targeted interventions to the most vulnerable of children. Needless to say, my time in Dallas was extremely educational and inspiring! The opportunity afforded to me by APT is not lost on me. I


am humbled to have been chosen for the inaugural scholarship opportunity, and it is my deep desire to one day give back to the community that has invested so much in me.


www.a4pt.org | June 2020 | PLAYTHERAPY | 43


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