MEMBER STORYTELLING
Finding Hope O
| H
ne particular child stands out clearly when thinking about what drew me to play therapy. We will call her Della.
I
was working in outpatient crisis with children and adolescents in the early 2000’s. The needs along with the acuity levels were exponentially high. It seemed then, as it does now decades later, that most mental health professionals simply did not know what to do when working with children. One day there was a very scary altercation in the parking lot with Della, an 8-year-old. The police were called, while guardians, clinicians, supervisors, and what seemed like everyone else joined the fray. We all felt helpless and powerless. I wondered, if we all felt this way, how must the child and her caregivers feel? Aren’t we the ones who are supposed to know how to handle these situations?
My supervisor asked me to take Della inside so everyone else could talk. I felt deeply sad and burdened and certainly ineffective. As to be a better way to work with kids. I decided I was just going to follow Della’s lead as she picked up a pretend phone and promptly started making calls to group homes as if she was the mental health professional. In her pretend adult voice she said “you have any beds for this kid? No one knows what to do with her.” My heart sank. It was true. And she knew. And we were supposed to be the ones helping her and her family.
I suppressed the urge to chime in with some adult logic or
encouraging response. My own feelings of helplessness actually enabled me to sit with her, see her, and really be with her in that techniques at the time, and she must have sensed that I needed direction in the moment. She told me to pick up the other phone and be the person on the other line. I asked her what to say, because I really didn’t know, not because I had any clue about the whisper technique. She told me to say “we don’t have a spot but we can put you on the waiting list.” I responded as she requested with a huge lump in my throat. This exact situation was what we had been dealing with for the past month. We did this for about ten different phone calls until the last one when she whispered calmly and with pride, “Now say this one has a spot.” I noticed her quiet delight. She picked up the phone and said, as she had every other time “you have
30 | PLAYTHERAPY | Spetember 2022 |
www.a4pt.org ABOUT THEMEMBER
Rebekah Byrd, Associate Professor of Counseling and a counselor educator for over 12 years with over 20 years of experience working in the
byrdr@sacredheart.edu
any beds for this kid? No one knows what to do with her.” Trying to mirror her calm and content demeanor in that moment, I responded “we do actually. We have a spot.”. In a matter-of-fact manner she said “good. You all will know what to do. She’s ready and excited. We will get her there today.” I still get choked up thinking about this, as you see, she created hope. She did not create the despair that she and her family were in (and that often clinics and mental health agencies are in), but she created hope. She did. She alone. And I am thankful every day that I was there as a witness. It is because of Della that I
CLINICAL EDITOR’S COMMENTS:
following a child's lead.
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
