Editor's Note
May/June 2022
If play is so vital to our health and well-being, why isn’t it emphasized more in the adult therapy world? And for those who take the leap and inject some humor into sessions, what kinds of approaches seem to work best? Here, we look at therapists’ favorite tools for engendering high spirits, the hazards of certain brands of humor, and how—when used with care—playful moments can cement the therapeutic relationship and shift a client’s perspective on their suffering.
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You've Got to Be Kidding
The Power of Humor in Therapy
May/June 2022
Shared laughter is an attachment language. Though therapists usually engage more knowingly with tears, the exchange of brighter affect is another kind of invitation to the dance of intimacy.
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Awakening the Playful Self
A Depressed Client Rediscovers Connection
May/June 2022
Most therapies are missing out on a fundamental tool for healing when they ignore the power of feeling playful embodiment with others. To help our clients grow into their fullest selves, we can do more than mitigate negative or enervating thoughts.
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Taking Play Therapy Seriously
The Surprising Journey to Widespread Acceptance
May/June 2022
Many play therapists still find themselves having to explain what they do and why it works. But after more than a century, play therapy has finally come into its own.
Free Play with Neurodivergent Kids
Insights from DIRFloortime
May/June 2022
Is there an alternative to applied behavioral analysis for children on the spectrum?
When Humor Hurts
What Lies Beneath a Couple’s Jokes
May/June 2022
The jokes many couples share reinforce their identity as an “us.” But there can be a dark side to humor in couples, too.
The Playful Therapist
7 Clinicians Share Their Best Strategies
May/June 2022
In this collection, master therapists share how they’ve used humor in ways that both enliven and enrich the work of therapy.
Watch Your Colleagues Get Silly!
May/June 2022
We’ve put together a video reel of therapists sharing some of the playful moments they’ve had with clients...
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The Myth of the Individual
Tapping into the Relational Brain
May/June 2022
Current research indicates that we’re not walled-in, freestanding individuals. Our human brains—in fact, most mammals’ brains—are built for coregulation.
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The Therapy Beat
Therapy Meets the Metaverse: A New Approach to Treating Young Clients
May/June 2022
A firsthand look at how a new virtual reality program is taking therapy to new places.
In Consultation
Embracing a Shared Retirement Vision: Helping Older Couples Make Rewarding Choices
May/June 2022
Helping older couples create a shared vision for their retirement years.
Case Study
When Actions Speak Louder than Words: Creating Change Through Therapeutic Rituals
May/June 2022
When our attempts to use logic and reason fail, therapeutic rituals can help clients connect to inner resources for healing.
Point of View
Reframing Complex PTSD: Can Trauma Symptoms Be Assets?
May/June 2022
Author Stephanie Foo discusses how she and other C-PTSD survivors have learned to adapt and even thrive.
Open Book
De-escalating Disputes: How Therapists Can Stop Runaway Conflict
May/June 2022
Exploring “high conflict” with a bigger picture in mind.
Family Matters
Whose Mom Is It Anyway? Learning to Love My Mother’s Caregiver
May/June 2022
A daughter’s resentment gives way to a lesson in unconditional love.
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Practice Tools - May/June 2022
Two resources from Martha Straus's Cool, Calm, and Collected Workbook
May/June 2022
Your FREE practice tools download to use with clients right away.
