Play Therapy Parenting Podcast

In this episode of Play Therapy Parenting®, Dr. Brenna discusses the involuntary committing of minors (known as "Baker Acting" in Florida) to mental health facilities. Unfortunately, many parents are unaware of what this process looks like, and how traumatic of an experience it can be for kids. So please be informed about this extremely important topic.

In this episode of Play Therapy Parenting®, Dr. Brenna discusses how the root of many, if not most, behavioral issues with kids is Power Struggles. Learn what causes the power struggles and how to eliminate them with your kids.

In this episode of Play Therapy Parenting®, Dr. Brenna shares a story of a Mom who has taken Brenna's private parenting coaching, using the Reflecting Feelings skill. Normally, this Mom uses Reflecting Feelings on her 4 year old, but an opportunity came up to use it on her adult sister… and it worked! Watch this video to learn WHY Reflecting Feelings works so well.

In this episode of Play Therapy Parenting®, Dr. Brenna discusses the topic of talking to your kids about hard subjects, and why you should do so truthfully, by using age appropriate language. The example she uses is of an adoptive family whos child's Mom died of an overdose, and how to address this topic with the young child.

In this episode of Play Therapy Parenting®, Dr. Brenna discusses three ways to prevent the "emotional investment" in our child's behavior from becoming a negative influence and undermining our disciplining effort.

Sometimes it's easy to forget if a child has a developmental delay, when dealing with their behavior problems. In this episode, Dr. Brenna Hicks delves into the mindset of a child with developmental delays and how it affects their self-esteem and behavior. Dr. Brenna gives three tips to parents who are dealing with this issue to help build up their child.

"The very heart of play therapy lies in the belief that children innately understand what they struggle with, they just don't necessarily know how to fix it. And they will work on it through their play if they're given the time, the tools, and the opportunity." In this podcast, Dr. Brenna tells the story of a boy, without telling him why he was there, discovers, on his own, within 20 minutes what issues he needs to work on. Dr. Brenna also touches on the topic of "competence themed" play.

In this video, Dr. Brenna shares an example from her play room to explain how children "play" through their issues. Whereas adults "talk" or "work" through their issues, children play through their issues and "re-write their story", so to speak. The take-away is to not "protect" your child from their feelings. The only way through an issue, is to go through it! Dr. Brenna also touches on a secondary topic of non-traditional family configurations and how that affects kids.

In this video, Dr. Brenna comments on a situation that happened in the lobby of her practice where she overheard a Mom, maybe unknowingly, using a play therapy principle that communicated that the Mom trusted the child, knows that he will do what he's been asked to do, and that she believes in his abilities. What a great encouragement to see a Mom interacting with her son in this way. Learn what this play therapy principle was by watching the video and learn how to respond to your kids so that they become capable and trustworthy.

From ADHD to Autism Spectrum to ODD, CD and Bi-Polar. Dr. Brenna talks about the trends she observes in her practice about childhood diagnoses. She believes that Play Therapy should at least be considered as a non-medication alternative to try before simply medicating children.

Sometimes it is a struggle when families pursue therapy for their kids. In this podcast, Dr. Brenna helps you to understand the way that the therapy process works and some of the common concerns that parents have as a result of feeling that they need some support and help for their kids.

In this video, Dr. Hicks talks about research revealing that a holistic approach, that aligns with Play Therapy, is effective in combating common child diagnoses. Before you accept a pediatrician's diagnosis, and medicate your kids, consider this simple, more natural approach!

Many parents don't realize that the way they respond to their kids is actually REWARDING their NEGATIVE behavior! In this video, Dr. Hicks explains what this looks like, and how to implement a play therapy technique to prevent rewarding negative behavior.

Dr. Brenna discusses the top 3, most easily preventable reasons kids display behavior problems. So before reacting, mentally go through this list to see if you can quickly eliminate the cause for these top 3 reasons children misbehave.

Play Therapy works for all age groups. In this episode, Dr. Brenna explains what play therapy with teens and older populations may look like, and why it's effective.

Sometimes, Play Therapy is described as "Magical" because people don't know why it works so well, it just does. In this episode, Dr. Brenna explains how play therapy works by telling a story of one of her clients who worked through his issues through play. He did it at home... not the play room... and his Mom witnessed, first hand, the "magic" of play therapy!

A video that I had to record as a result of a simple bumper sticker on a car in front of me… and it is now my personal mission to make every parent claim positive and encouraging traits about themselves! Watch all the way to the end so that you can be empowered to fight the critical and harsh way that we talk about ourselves as parents.

The more you understand the "wheel" of emotions, the more you can help your child communicate what they are feeling accurately. In this video, Dr. Brenna Hicks introduces you to Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions, and the theory of how it all fits together. You can use this knowledge to better Reflect Feelings to your child.

In this episode of the Play Therapy Podcast, Dr. Hicks explains why sometimes it's okay to simply "be" with your kid. You don't need to solve, explain away, or distract them from their current issue. Brenna gives several examples from her office, and from other Moms, how to meet the child in that emotional moment.

The four "Pillars" of Play Therapy are the foundational skills that Play Therapy is built on. Dr. Brenna Hicks gives an overview and examples for each of these skills. This video is foundational training for any parent looking to add Play Therapy skills to their parenting "tool box". References: Cochran, N., Nordling, W., & Cochran, J. (2010). Child-Centered Play Therapy (1st ed.). Wiley. VanFleet, R., Sywulak, A. E., & Sniscak, C. C. (2010). Child-centered play therapy. Guilford Press. Landreth, G. L. (2002). Play therapy: The art of the relationship (2nd ed.). Brunner-Routledge. Bratton, S. C., Landreth, G. L., Kellam, T., & Blackard, S. R. (2006). Child parent relationship therapy (CPRT) treatment manual: A 10-session filial therapy model for training parents. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. Benedict, Helen. Themes in Play Therapy. Used with permission to Heartland Play Therapy Institute.

In this episode of Play Therapy Parenting Podcast, Dr. Brenna Hicks talks about the play therapy skill, reflecting feelings, and why it's okay for parents to simply reflect a child's feeling back to them, and then stop! We tend to want to solve problems for our kids, or try to make our kids feel better, when sometimes, simply "sitting" in the child's emotion is what they need more.