COMMENTS BY CLINICAL EDITOR: Phyllis Booth’s
involvement with the beginnings of Theraplay®
.
Phyllis Booth and Theraplay®
Part 1: The Early Years | ELIANA GIL, PHD, LMFT, RPT-S, ATR
P
hyllis Booth worked with Ann Jernberg, the founder of Theraplay®
The non-profit Theraplay®
, from its early beginnings in the late 1960s. Institute was established
in the 1990s. She was the first honoree of the Ann M. Jernberg Memorial Award in 2003 for her outstanding contribution to Theraplay®
, and was honored with the
hot chocolate ready for us [after school] and we would play games together on the front room floor.” She described how attuned her mother was to her. “She could sense when I wasn’t feeling well just by looking at me. I remember her cool hand on my hot forehead, her concerned, ‘Oh you have a fever.’ Then, quick as a flash, she put me to bed in fresh, cool sheets and I knew that all would be well.”
2017 Association for Play Therapy’s (APT) Lifetime Achievement Award. At 92 years young this March, she remains an inspiration to play therapists the world over. This is the first of a two-part series aboutllhowllherlearlyllifelexperienceslandleducationlunderpinnedlher.................. work.
Phyllis considered herself “very fortunate to grow up in a close and loving family that provided a strong sense of connection, of safety, and support. On special rainy days, my mother would have
10 | PLAYTHERAPY | March 2018 |
www.a4pt.org
Her father, whom Phyllis described as less nurturing, “made up for it by being very playful. The kind of interactive, physical play that is such an essential part of Theraplay®
comes directly out of my play
with him. He would lie on the floor, take me on his knees and chant, ‘One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready and’ – pause as the excitement level rose – FOUR TO GO!’ Down I would slide into his welcoming bear hug.” Her work ethic also stemmed from some pressure to achieve “from my father, his exacting expectations. To please him I got all A’s in high school!”
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