Culture, Metaphors, and Play Therapy:
Rainbows of Resilience in Life’s Storms
| JOYCE C. MILLS, PHD, LMFT, RPT-S T
he award-winning American poet, author, and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou, inspired us to “become a rainbow
in someone else’s cloud.” By illuminating the power of resiliency, we can help our clients overcome the darkness evoked by life’s storms.
Researchers have related the effects on neurophysiology to behavior, emotions, and relationships (e.g., Courtney & Nolan, 2017; Doidge, 2007; Goodyear-Brown, 2019; Mellenthin, 2019; Perry & Szalavitz, 2006; Siegel, 2012; van der Kolk, 2003). However, two areas often overlooked or minimized are the sociocultural view of trauma and attachment and how historical oppression and cultural resilience have impacted the healing process with children, adolescents, and families (Crenshaw, Brooks, & Goldstein, 2015; Crenshaw & Hardy, 2005; Crenshaw & Stewart, 2015; Duran, 2006; Duran, Duran, Yellow Horse Brave Heart, & Yellow Horse- Davis, 1998; Gil & Drewes 2005; Mills & Crowley, 2014).
The Culture of Healing The definition of culture is complex, and includes ideas, beliefs, and shared history that manifests in a society’s language, art, routines, and
4 | PLAYTHERAPYMarch 2020 |
www.a4pt.org
moral codes and guides people’s behavior (Psychologist World, n.d.). As an Ericksonian, resiliency-focused play therapist and transcultural psychotherapist for over forty years, it has become increasingly evident that there has been a preponderance of attention placed on identifying clients’ traumatic events, attachment history, accurate diagnosis, and prescriptive treatment planning for children and families seen in play therapy (Goodyear-Brown, 2019; Kaduson, Cangelosi, & Schaefer, 2020). Equally important, if not more so, is expanding this viewpoint on trauma to include the significant role resilience and mindsets play in the process of healing (Dweck, 2016). Crenshaw et al. (2015) posited that nurturing a resilient mindset in children would help them resolve problems and display courage, perseverance, and mastery in the face of challenges.
Providing a culture of healing in the playroom is more than tending to the physical space. It is an environmental attitude, a mindset that focuses on recognizing, utilizing, and nurturing inner strengths and hope as catalysts for healing through posttraumatic growth (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2013). Masten (2001) elucidated that “resilience does not come from rare and special qualities, but from everyday magic of ordinary, normative human resources in the minds, brains, and bodies of children, in their families and in their communities” (p. 235). As play therapists, how do we keep that mindset of resiliency and hope in the face of trauma and oppression?
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
