COMMENTS BY CLINICAL EDITOR:


In this opening Member Storytelling column, Dr. Nick Cornett answers for readers how he has taken what he has learned as a play therapist and applied it to his personal life.


MEMBER STORYTELLING Taking My Own Medicine:


 | NICK CORNETT, PHD, LPC, LMFT, RPT


W


hat I have learned as a play therapis probably shows up in a number of ways in my


personal life, but the most concrete thing that I have done to apply what I have learned as a play therapist is to have special playtime with my own  playtime I had with my daughter. I got at alll 


t is wn


 


play therapist 


 For me, n cessa


b n


 grinned as I thought about what her reactionaction er little are you


ready yet?” After everything was set, I went get her. She raced past me to the room, and h reaction at the doorway was better than had


me, special playtime provides me with precious and necessarry opportunities to reconnect with my daughter. Be g a e


Being a play therapist has not made me immune to experiencing the everyday stressors, challenges, and mis


experien mi


sttakes that come with being a parent. If anything, beiing a play therapist has heightened my awareness of ho o b


with a concrete way of showing my daughter and my


anspired in our relationship.


myself she matters to me, regardless of what has ttra


might be. She was excited, too, as her li voice periodically called out, “Daddy, are you went to


m, and her an I had


imagined. “Look!” she exclaimed excitedly as she held something    exuberance, and treasured this opportunity to experience simply being with her.


We enjoyed that special playtime to its fullest. I entered with an expectation that special playtime would be like a gift from me to her, yet, true to the paradox of giving, I ended up receiving more in return. It was altogether different to experience it as a father with my own child. Injected into her heart and mine were ample doses of wonder, excitement, laughter, and connection. She needed that. I only fully appreciated how much I needed it, too, then.


  special playtimes with my daughter. They have had their intended effects for her, for me, and for our relationship. She communicated the meaningfulness of special playtime to her most vividly one morning. I had just gotten out of bed and opened my bedroom door. I was surprised to see my daughter standing there, staring back at  said, “Look, Daddy! Special playtime!” There, in the hallway outside her room, she had created a play area using a large scarf with her own toys carefully arranged around the edge, just as she had experienced in our special playtimes. She had organized it all on her own!


indergar en.


One of the most memorable special playtimes     


kindergarten. As I watched her play, I became choked up and ar -e ed. M baby girl was a baby no longer. Towards the end of our time, she grabbed the baby bottle, came over to me, laid down in my arms, and asked me if I could rock her like a baby. Of course, I obliged, relishing the moment.


teary-eyed. My baby g


Experiencing these special playtimes as a father has given me      measure of validity to reference when working with children and families. The bond between parents and children can be strengthened through these special playtimes, culminating in 


I feel incredibly grateful, yet challenged, in my quest to integrate personally that which I practice professionally. Taking the very same medicine that I often prescribe for other parents has been good for me.


ABOUT THE MEMBER


Nick Cornett, PhD, LPC, LMFT, RPT is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Counseling Program at John Brown University where he teaches courses primarily in play therapy and family therapy. Nick is passionate about strengthening family relationships through family play therapy. NCornett@jbu.edu


www.a4pt.org | March 2018 | PLAYTHERAPY | 29


of how often I fall short of who I want to be and ought tto be as a parent. Special playtime provides me wi


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