What Can I Expect?

The first appointment at Playful Connections Counseling will be an Intake appointment. During this time, caregivers (and potentially the child) are invited to share their story, hopes for therapy, concerns about the process, and to ask questions. Morgan will give an orientation to the play therapy room, review forms filled out prior to the session, go over policies, and provide some insight into the therapeutic process. It's during this time that formulations for treatment planning will begin.

During the child's first session, it is not uncommon for there to be hesitation in leaving the caregivers to go into the playroom. It's helpful to provide encouragement and reassurance. This Introduction phase involves a lot of adjustment, especially if you have a shy or anxious child. This is all a part of the process, however, and even if it might be difficult, this is an important phase for your child and to the growing therapeutic relationship. Learning about the play therapy process and how to be in a playroom can be overwhelming. Morgan is both patient and flexible, so she is willing to help the client adjust at their own pace.

Once the client is used to the playroom, they enter the Tentative Acceptance phase of therapy. You might find your child eager and excited to enter the playroom, leaving caregivers in the dust! However, as the process begins to work, the child begins to change. Change, while necessary and likely good, is still difficult. Some children in this Negative Reaction phase might present with behaviors that look like trying new ways of coping one day, and then the next is back to the more comfortable patterns. Some may even seem to be getting worse and/or resist coming to play therapy. Again, this is a normal part of the process. Extra support for caregivers and the child can help build confidence and ease the natural discomfort of change. Sometimes these two phases pass quickly, sometimes they linger. Each child is different. However, Morgan is equipped to provide support, offer encouragement, and hold hope when necessary.

The Growing phase is the longest phase of therapy. During this time, children are actively expanding their abilities to handle difficult situations and/or emotions. They are accumulating new perspectives, better understandings of themselves, the world around them, and their experiences. This time can be difficult for caregivers as many children show leaps of progress along with occasional slides back to old behaviors or patterns. That's okay! It's all part of the experience of learning and of the process of therapy. It's also a time when parents are practicing new skills and ways to communicate at home, so it can feel like a lot of change. Morgan's goal is to do this in a way that is a "comfortable stretch" - getting everyone out of their comfort zone and into new behaviors, but not in a way that is too painful or unsustainable.

Eventually, we will come to the Termination phase in which goals have been met, and/or as a team, we feel that progress has been seen and sustained outside of the therapy room. This phase is likely the most difficult for the client. They have found safety in the play therapy room, trust in the therapist, and space and time set aside to process big emotions. This is where making a plan for how to step down out of therapy and set up the home for success is crucial. Ideally, we will have a thoughtful transition where the caregivers feel confident in their new skills and are able to help the client have that same processing space at home.

Resources

• Association for Play Therapy - Parent's Corner