A Senior Therapist’s Observations and Concerns
W
hen I started my professional career, my primary inspiration was a desire to be of service to others, plain and simple. That desire burned in my heart
from the time I was a young child. These days, we talk about teaching children empathy. When I was a child, no one mentioned the word but, somehow, I learned it through my father’s example. I do not remember much about him anymore, and I rarely mention him, but what I learned from him was to have tremendous compassion towards others. Clear memories include watching him give his sandwich to a poor person sitting on the sidewalk and give his umbrella to a woman and a child getting soaked by the rain. He treated everyone around him with respect and tenderness, and I am so grateful to have seen the things he held dear to his generous heart.
From Humble Beginnings: Volunteering I also had a Catholic upbringing, and those Christian principles resonated with me. Like my father, I was constantly aware of those who were struggling around me. As soon as I could, I volunteered to do community work on the weekends. I looked forward to this more than most things in my youth. The nuns accompanied a handful of students into the poor sections of Washington, DC. They would go into the houses to speak with the parents or caretakers and we stayed outside playing with the children. We did very simple things: threw balls, drew on the streets with chalk, played hopscotch, blew bubbles, ate snacks, listened to music and danced, sang funny made-up songs, and jumped rope. I was oblivious to all the stressors in these children’s lives, and I was disinterested in what the nuns were doing inside. I was just content to be present with these little ones, to enjoy each other’s company, and to participate in a little laughter and fun.
wanted to be of service to them and their families. I had no concept of what shape that would take or that my chosen profession would value play as much as I did. My career has been completely gratifying.
50 | PLAYTHERAPY September 2019 |
www.a4pt.org
CLINICAL EDITOR’S COMMENTS:
The author urges play therapists to (re-)consider their motivations for practice.
| ELIANA GIL, PHD, LMFT, RPT-S
many students eager to learn, passionate, in fact, to give the best of themselves to others. I hear amazing stories from therapists all the time that demonstrate how invested they are in helping, how much they worry about doing everything they can to make a positive difference. I feel that there is an army of warriors equipped with love and willingness to connect with and provide to others. I am so proud to be a play therapist and to belong to the Association for Play Therapy! And, from my vantage point, I see other trends developing that cause me concern and a desire to ask people to pause and rethink some new trends that are emerging.
Concerning Trends: A Shift in Motivation I see a rush to self-promote, to “brand,” to set one person apart from diluting the very meaning of these distinctions. Individuals are now always has been something that demonstrates that someone has that someone has been accountable through a process of supervision. regulations and enforce those.
As Registered Play Therapist/Supervisors (RPT/S), we became eligible for the credential through the Association for Play Therapy (APT) only after health license to practice independently, documenting specialized play therapy and child development instructional and practical requirements, amassing thousands of play therapy clinical hours under a licensed mental health professional’s supervision, and receiving play therapy- and we got the guidance we needed after we learned the basics.
(without experience or supervision requirements). There is
little
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