Unleashing potential: How play therapy helps heal negative self-concept in children
Tracks
Stream 2
| Saturday, July 27, 2024 |
| 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM |
| Conference Centre Room 3 |
Overview
2 Hour Workshop (part 1)
Presenter
Katherine Olejniczak
Psychology And Play Therapy Australia
Unleashing potential: How play therapy helps heal negative self-concept in children
Abstract
There is a quiet revolution emerging in Australia bringing play therapy and therapeutic play to the forefront of counselling interventions with children. Yet scepticism still exists about its effectiveness, particularly in understanding how it works to bring about change for a child.
This workshop will address this scepticism by shedding light on the therapeutic process – the ‘how’ play therapy works – with a specific focus on how it facilitates cognitive reprocessing to address maladaptive self-schemas, strengthen self-concept, and support a child’s healthy emergence of self.
Through play, children learn, process their experiences, and make sense of themselves, others, and their world. Play therapy provides children with a neurobiologically sensitive counselling approach, harnessing the relationship between therapist and child whereby the therapist is attuned to what is going on in the child through their play behaviour and process.
Many children present to therapy with negative self-schemas and fragile self-concept. This is further exacerbated by their developmental vulnerability, whereby the ego-centric nature of their cognitive functioning can lead to negative self-attribution.
The impacts of a child’s negative self-concept can wreak havoc across all developmental domains. Their sense of self can be so fragile it cannot tolerate the feelings that may emerge in the face of challenges. Without self-efficacy and a robust sense of self, children find ways to avoid what is hard to keep themselves safe. The development of a healthy and adaptive self-concept is essential for the risk-taking required for development and in learning.
Drawing on the most recent neuroscience literature, this workshop will explore how a child’s identity is largely developed through the reflected self-appraisals of others, and the role of the Default Mode Network.
Moreover, this neuroscience will be integrated into play therapy practice and cognitive reprocessing, creating unique opportunities for play therapy to utilise this process to support a child’s healing and healthy development of self – honouring the child as a whole person who is integrating an understanding of who they are, who they believe they could be, and what they can achieve.
The play therapy techniques of Tracking and Reflection, and use of Interpretations, will be offered as key therapeutic skills to enable this process. Four types of play therapy interpretations will be offered.
A case study example and live role-play simulation will be used to bring to life this theory to practice.
This workshop will address this scepticism by shedding light on the therapeutic process – the ‘how’ play therapy works – with a specific focus on how it facilitates cognitive reprocessing to address maladaptive self-schemas, strengthen self-concept, and support a child’s healthy emergence of self.
Through play, children learn, process their experiences, and make sense of themselves, others, and their world. Play therapy provides children with a neurobiologically sensitive counselling approach, harnessing the relationship between therapist and child whereby the therapist is attuned to what is going on in the child through their play behaviour and process.
Many children present to therapy with negative self-schemas and fragile self-concept. This is further exacerbated by their developmental vulnerability, whereby the ego-centric nature of their cognitive functioning can lead to negative self-attribution.
The impacts of a child’s negative self-concept can wreak havoc across all developmental domains. Their sense of self can be so fragile it cannot tolerate the feelings that may emerge in the face of challenges. Without self-efficacy and a robust sense of self, children find ways to avoid what is hard to keep themselves safe. The development of a healthy and adaptive self-concept is essential for the risk-taking required for development and in learning.
Drawing on the most recent neuroscience literature, this workshop will explore how a child’s identity is largely developed through the reflected self-appraisals of others, and the role of the Default Mode Network.
Moreover, this neuroscience will be integrated into play therapy practice and cognitive reprocessing, creating unique opportunities for play therapy to utilise this process to support a child’s healing and healthy development of self – honouring the child as a whole person who is integrating an understanding of who they are, who they believe they could be, and what they can achieve.
The play therapy techniques of Tracking and Reflection, and use of Interpretations, will be offered as key therapeutic skills to enable this process. Four types of play therapy interpretations will be offered.
A case study example and live role-play simulation will be used to bring to life this theory to practice.
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Katherine Olejniczak is Director of Psychology and Play Therapy Australia. She is an experienced psychologist, play therapist, supervisor, trainer, consultant, leader, mentor, and published author.
Her specific interest areas include childhood trauma and recovery, play therapy, and interpersonal neuroscience; and integrating neuroscience into play therapy process, supervision, and leadership. She is passionate about supporting the development of child and play therapists, particularly through supervision and training. She is committed to the growth of play therapy in Australia and is a respected leader in this field.
Katherine has extensive experience in the provision of therapeutic services to children, families, and the systems around them, in the areas of abuse-related trauma, family violence, grief and loss, and drought and bushfire disaster recovery. She has worked extensively with children, young people and their families involved with child safety services and living in out of home care.
