Connecting

When I first began my mentorship I was told I could not be any where near a child play therapy session. this made me curious as to what goes on in a child's first session so I asked my mentor Stacy Maggard, she said when a child first walks in you want to get to know as much about them as possible so they ask the child to draw a picture of their family, school, or anything to really get to know what the child's life is like. For my sponge activity I had my audience draw a picture of their family so that they can get a feeling for what goes on in a therapy room.

It's Universal

As I was doing research I cam across this picture. As I looked more into it I found out this picture was drawn By a little boy who lived in Uganda, I thought it was a perfect example to show to explain that play isn't just used as therapy in the US but around the whole world.

Activity done at home I did for my Presentation

I found this activity in one of my articles by Charles E Schaefer, it is a Filial Play therapy game that is used either in sessions or something simple to do at home.
Weights and Balloons
Therapeutic Rationale
A common challenge in therapy is making abstract therapeutic constructs understandable, meaningful, and concrete to children. Techniques that are enjoyable and “hands-on” are an ideal way to teach children these complex concepts. Weights and Balloons (by Celia Linden; see Kaduson & Schaefer, 2001, pp. 115–117) is an easy, effective technique for teaching children the somewhat com- plicated cognitive–behavioral theory of depression.
Description
Materials needed: a dozen helium balloons, paper and pen, and some type of weight (e.g., rocks, blocks, etc.).

EFFECTIVE PLAY THERAPY TECHNIQUES

519

520

HALL, KADUSON, AND SCHAEFER

The therapist and the child create a list of negative and positive thoughts that the child has about a specific situation or in general. The lists are kept separate by either putting them on separate sheets of paper or placing them in different columns. After the comple- tion of the lists, the therapist explains how negative thoughts feed the feelings of depression and weigh us down. However, positive thoughts lift our spirits and help us to feel good. The therapist then explains how our thoughts directly influence our feelings and how we can change the way that we feel by altering our thoughts.
Following the explanation, the therapist assigns each negative thought a weight and each positive thought a balloon. The therapist then demonstrates how it feels to hold each of the objects. The child then holds each of the objects to get a sense of the physical sensation. For an older child, the weights can be incremental to represent more damaging thoughts. The therapist has the child hold all of the weights and walk around the room with them. This helps the child see how holding onto one’s negative thoughts weighs one down. When the child is told to put the negative thoughts (weights) down, the child can see how it feels not to carry around all that weight anymore. Next, the therapist discusses the “weightlessness” of the positive thoughts and teaches the child how positive thoughts are helpful.
Applications
Weights and Balloons is an inexpensive technique that trans- forms a complex idea into something concrete and understandable. This technique is particularly useful for children who are de- pressed; however, it is useful with all children to illustrate the effect that thoughts have on feelings.

Child Play Therapy is for Anyone

In this picture a 16 year old boy drew a picture of his own feelings. I showed this picture in my 2hour presentation to show them that it is not only for children but kids our age and adults or even senior citizens can have a child play therapy session.

Child Abuse

This child's story was everything I could've never imagined. The things this baby went through had me in tears and knowing there are people out in the world who are doing this to children makes me sick to my stomach.

Child of Rage

The things that Happened to this child in her earlier childhood were sick and made her into who she was when this documentary was made. I was left speechless after watching this documentary.

Filial Therapy

Importance of having a parent/caregiver supporting a child which involves Child Development. Explain Filial Play Therapy and how it involves parents/caregivers, also explain the process in order to have a Filial Therapy session. I will talk about the importance of having a safe environment,and also how it helps the children have a better developmental way of communicating and understanding a child.

Sand Therapy

I came across a video ""0 to 5 in 30 Minutes! Sand Play Therapy"" that led me to this answer. This therapy technique is non-verbal. It explains why the most important tool that is being used in the room is the Sand Therapist themselves because they guide the play, maintain an attitude of readiness and acceptance from the moment the child walks in through the door. It also explains how one of the most important aspects is for the therapist to listen, how it connects the child's inner and outer worlds. I will also talk about how children are not always going to want to play out a traumatic event or a problem.

Release Therapy

Release Therapy is like story time with a twist. Children can create a puppet show, act out their feelings, or draw a picture. The importance of body language when using this technique and the importance of noticing what objects they chose to represent themselves or other people or things are big aspects and big parts to the story. Therapists also depict a picture by knowing the meanings of basic colors and how they will know what emotion each color means based on what is going on in the picture.

Blog 26: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your 2-Hour Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

One of the things I am most proud of is that I was able to explain everything in detail making sure that everyone was understanding what I was saying. Another thing I am proud of is that I was able to talk about serious stories I came a cross throughout my senior project without breaking down in tears of frustration because of what these children had to go through and face. Overall I am really proud of my senior project as a whole I have gained so much knowledge through this experience and if it wasn't for this project I would most likely still be unsure of the career I wish to pursue. 

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your 2-Hour Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

P+ to an AE

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

P+ to an AE

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

I think what worked the most throughout my senior project was having a mentor I was always able to talk to or email about any questions I had. 

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I think I would have really put more time into my Interviews and incorporated more follow up questions even if they were all questions I had already asked her the day or week before. (I had many informal interviews.)

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?  Be specific and use examples. 

Well as I stated before I have gained so much knowledge on my topic and my career choice. Something else that has been helpfull was my time at the day care where I was always interacting with the children helping them with their homework, playing with them, and sometimes having to give them a talk about misbehaving. By completing my independent component hours I was able to understand the way children think, communicate, and react to certain things. I will be using what I learned throughout my time in college, and throughout my career.

Mentorship

LIA Response to blog:
   Literal
·     Log of specific hours with a total and a description of your duties
·     Martha or Claudia (909) 985-0513
    Interpretive

    What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

- Being a volunteer at the Samaritan Councling center I was unable to do much but clean the therapy rooms and help file papers, even though it does not seem like much making sure everything was properly filed made the therapists more comfortable knowing everything is being documented and concentrate more on their client. 
  Applied
    How has what you’ve done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.

- The things I did in the center did not help me answer my EQ but I was able to get help from my mentor, Stacy Maggard  by her guiding me to my answered by telling me about books regarding different techniques used during child play therapy

Exit interview questions

(1) What is your essential question?  What is the best answer to your question and why?

- What is the most effective technique to use when treating a troubled child using child play therapy?

- As I continued to research I came across an article on Mental Health America stating, in order for a child to have a good mental health he/she needs to receive unconditional love from their family. This led me to my third and best answer, Filial Therapy. Filial therapy is my best answer because it involves a parent or someone who is close to the child making it easier for the child to be treated the most effectively by receiving the sense that they are being supported throughout the whole process. Having someone supporting the child makes everything easier for the child this is my best answer because even though release and sand therapy techniques are being done with the therapist and it allows he/she to better know the child, the child still needs the support and love from a parent or caregiver. 

(2) What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

- During my senior year I was only researching techniques that were used but after going to the day care, where I completed my independent component hours, I realized the importance of having a parent. A parent is a child's first role model and someone they look up to and at first I thought "well not every child has a parent" making me stray away from filial play therapy to be my answer. I kept going off this mindset for a almost the whole year until a few months ago when I ran into an article that told me the process in order to begin a filial therapy including a parent or caregiver assessment making sure this person is fit to lead the play during the session. A parent and/or a care giver is important in a child's life because of the role they play in the child's life of teaching them and allowing them to have a sense of security and belonging, without this sense of security and belonging the child's development would be disrupted and be harder to successfully treat the child since they do not have those senses. Showing the importance of a parent or caregiver to be present during therapy to continue to demonstrate the senses of belonging and security. 

(3) What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

- One of the problems that I faced from the very beginning of my senior project was not being able to have hands on experience with my topic. The reason for this was confidentiality issues. Because of this I was very interested on what really went on inside a therapy room, so i began to research techniques and eventually came to my essential question. I also began talking to my mentor Stacy as much as possible whether it was before, after, or in between her sessions. Stacy helped me by giving me titles of books that she used throughout her college experience and she also answered many of my questions by using her own experiences in the time that she had been a licensed therapist. I also looked to work with children because I was unable to talk or converse with the clients unless it was setting up appointments, answering phone calls, or greeting them as they walked in. I was able to work with children at a daycare there I was able to play with them, help them with their homework, study for upcoming tests, and just have conversations with each and everyone of them. 

(4) What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

- One of my most important sources was an article I found titled "Fifteen Effective Play Therapy Techniques." by Schaefer, Charles E. In this article Charles explained in detail fifteen different techniques, it also included games or activities the child's family/caregivers can do at home to better the child. 

- My second most important source is my mentor Stacy Maggard. Even though I was unable to work hand in hand with her because of confidentiality issues I was allowed to talk to her in between, before, and after her therapy sessions with her clients. 

(5) What is your product and why?

As my product I learned to be patient and know how to handle children when they are misbehaving. I learned this during my time at the daycare where i was constantly interacting with te children wether it be halping the with their homework to simply playing with them. When I barely arrived I noticed I was very impatient with children when I was attempting to help them with their homework, in my head I would be thinking how is this too hard it's a simple addition problem. As I helped the children more and more I came to realize that each child doesn't learn the same and quickly adapted and learned from ever child. One of the girls there was very shy and did not like talking too much, even if she was struggling with her work she would refuse to get it. Later on she saw how I would interact with children around her and built up the courage to ask me for help I say down next to her and helped her with her English homework. Once she completed her work she went off and began to color on her own like she usually would. Before she left she came to me and gave me a folded paper and ran off to her mom when I opened it it was a drawing saying "thank-you very much" this is when I noticed that I was doing something right and I was finally being patient with the children. 

Blog 23: 2014 Interview

Content:

Interview 1: 

1.  Who did you interview and what house are they in?

- Diego Delgado, East House. 

2.  What ideas do you have for your senior project and why?

- He wants engineering to be his topic because he wants to Perdue this as his career. 

3.  What do you plan to do for your summer 10 hour mentorship experience?

- He is going to job shadow at an AirPort. 

4.  What do you hope to see or expect to see in watching the 2013 2-hour presentations?

- Wants to get an idea of what needs to be done throughout senior year and pay close attention to the presentation as a whole to get a feel for what's to come. 

5.  What questions do you have that I can answer about senior year or senior project (or what additional information did you tell them about senior year or senior project)?

- after choosing your senior topic what happens?

Once you have chosen your senior topic you start to have research checks every week. You also begin to develop your EQ and three answers to it to present for your 2 hour. Before your 2 hour you have ten minute which you will be presenting what you know about your topic and also thirty minute where you will be presenting your first or any of your answers. 

- Is there a paper you have to write on your topic? 

Isearch, it's about a 13 page paper that you will have to write. It's honestly not that hard because Ortega breaks it down into sections for you to work on piece by piece like each of your answers will consist of 2-3 pages of writing explaining your answer to your EQ. 

- Do you get a lot of group work? 

The only big group work you have senior year is model assembly. For MA you choose a bill you will be trying to get passed as a group. You'll do research regarding your bill and making sure you are able to defend it as well as you can to get people to either pass it or support it. 

- How was prom? 

Prom was a lot of fun for me because I spent it with the people I most enjoyed spending time with in and out of school. The most important part about it is to do just that and enjoy yourself and let loose and have no worries for one day. Even though for girls it may have caused stress trying to find the perfect dress and accessories to go with it in the end it will all be worth it. 

Interview 2:

1. Who did you interview and what house are they in?

- Interviewee: Jacqueline Gaeta . South House

2. What ideas do you have for your senior project and why?

- I really want to look into Nursing as a career and my 2 options is to explore either nutrition or registered nursing as a senior topic.

3.What do you plan to do for your summer 10 hour mentorship experience?

- I have already applied to volunteer at Casa Colina  which is a rehabilitation center in Pomona and I will be attending  an orientation in June, hopefully I can do my summer hours there.

4. What do you hope to see or expect to see in watching the 2013 2-hour presentations?

-I hope to get some of the stress to ease off my back, i also really want to get ideas of what to/not to do for my own presentation and maybe see how people went about in exploring their topic.

5. What questions do you have that I can answer about senior year or senior project (or what additional information did you tell them about senior year or senior project)?

-Nothing really, I have older sisters who have come here so I have an idea of what to expect.

Final 3-Column Chart

Three Column Chart

Blog 21: Independent Component 2

Content:  

LITERAL
(a) Statement saying: “I, Damaris Elenes Macias, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 46:30 hours of work.”
(b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.

Schaefer, Charles E. "Fifteen Effective Play Therapy Techniques." Http://pages.uoregon.edu. N.p., 18 July 2002. Web. 12 Sept. 2012.


"Rye N. 2012. Child-Centred Play Therapy. In: JH Stone, M Blouin, editors. International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. Available online: http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/275/

Jones, Leslie.ʺThe Efficacy of Play Therapy With Children: A Meta-Analytic Review of Treatment Outcomes.ʺ American Psychological Association, 2005. Web. 24 Oct. 2012.


(c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours) 
- at the top of the blog.
(d) Explanation of what you completed.    
- At the day care I was able to help the children learn and have fun during there stay there. I also learned many things like knowing how to approach a child and how to get a long with one and earning the child's trust. For example one of the boys at the day care was very shy, he did not like talking to any of the adults there he would come in with his brother who was the complete opposite. Little by little Brittany and I began to ask him simple questions to help us get to know him. After we were able to keep a small conversation going we began to play different games with him like twister or simple things like drawing. Now Emiliano is not as shy as he was before to talk to us and when he comes in he immediately has a big smile on his face. 
INTERPRETIVE 
Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work. Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  
- During my time at the YMCA day care Brittany and I worked hard in helping the children with their school work. By doing this it helped the both of us really learn to be patient with the children and slow down for them to teach them each step in order for them to successfully complete all of their homework on time before they came to get picked up by their parents. Another thing we learned is how to be stern and strict with the children so that we are not being walked over but also be able to be someone the children know they can come to and have fun with at there visit to the day care.

APPLIED
How did the component help you answer your EQ or support one or more of your answers.  Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 
- This component helped me answer my EQ by allowing me to see what children enjoy doing the most. From what I saw at the day care the children really enjoyed coloring and drawing no matter what gender the child was. Because the children enjoyed coloring so much Brittany and I decided to make an official art wall.

Blog 20: Three Column Chart First Draft

Three Column Chart

Blog 19: Senior Project and ESLRs

Content:

1.  What ESLR have you excelled in most in your senior project? 

• Awareness

2.  Please explain why you think you have excelled in this ESLR.

• I have completed al my mentorship hours, I have been to class on time with an exception of 3 tardies in the morning, and I am not a distraction in class 

  3. Provide evidence from your senior project to support your claim (evidence is a photo of something you are doing, photo of something you made, etc).

• My mentor ship log...

Blog 18: 2-Hour Meeting Answer #3

Due Date:  Thursday 2/28/2013 at 8AM

Content:

1.  What is your essential question?

      - What is the most effective way to treat a troubled child using child play therapy?

2.  What is your third answer to your essential question (write your third answer in a complete sentence)?

        - My third answer to my essential question is a combination of art and release therapy followed along with other techniques that fit the child's needs. 

3.  What are three details to support or justify your third answer (details are examples or facts)?

        - my first detail is my mentor who in my third interview told me that not every child can receive the same exact therapy treatments because they have different needs, one example of this is that as a therapist I would not have a child who has been sexually abused by the parent to engage in filial play which is the parent taking the role of the therapist while the therapist is supervising and observing them, instead I would start off the child with a few art and release play therapies to get a more personnel feeling of what happened and what the child is feeling followed with something like imaginative play therapy which is a child using his/her imagination to make his/her troubles seem like they are smaller for example if a child and a mother are being domestically abused the child can imagine he is a super hero and he is going to protect his mother from his father.

4.  What source helped you prove this answer is justified for your essential question?

      - My mentor helped me justify this answer for my essential question. 

5.  What do you plan to study next and why? 

        - Next I plan to study more play therapy techniques so that I know what other techniques are used in this field also to know how they are being used and for what cases they are being used

Fourth Interview Questions

Title:  Fourth Interview Questions

Label: Interviews 

Due Date:  Thursday, February 21st at 8AM

Content:

Post 20 open-ended questions for approval you want to ask an expert in the field of your senior project.  The first question should be your essential question and the other 19 must help you answer your essential question.   Once you have possible answers, you may want to ask questions to help you get a more in-depth understanding of your answers.

1. What is the most effective technique to use when treating a troubled child using child play therapy?

2. What difference does a child's ethnicity make when being treated?

3. What difference does a child's religion make when being treated?

4. What difference does a child's life story make when being treated?

5. What are the most commonly used methods in child play therapy?

6. What can a therapist do to better understand a child and his/her needs? 

7. What are some things the child's parent or guardian can do at home to help the stabilizing process?

8. What can a teacher do to help a child stabilize?

9. How long do children typically attend play therapy sessions for? 

10. What is the most important thing to keep in mind during a play therapy session? 

11. What are the most common cases seen in children who receive child play therapy?

12. How do children usually react/feel during their first play therapy session?

13. What do children often do during their first play therapy session?

14. What are some frequent questions asked by the child?

15. What are some frequent questions asked by the parents/guardians?

16. How is play therapy effectiveness measured?

17. How is the improvement of the child measured?

18. Does a play therapist offer any support for the child's family?

19. What kind of support is offered to the child's family?

20. what is done if the child is in a foster home does the care provider act as the parent?

Blog 16: 2-Hour Meeting Answer #2

Content:

1.  What is your essential question?
- What is the most effective technique to use when treating a troubled child using child play therapy?

2.  What is your second answer to your essential question (write your second answer in a complete sentence)?
- My second answer to my EQ is Release Therapy

3.  What are three details to support or justify your second answer (details are examples or facts)?
- Allows therapist to really know exactly what the child went through, child is relieved a bit from holding onto the pain/ memories by sharing what happened to him/her by reenacting it, in the end the therapist can make a choice to either continue release therapy, add on techniques or completely change the technique they are using

4.  What source helped you prove this answer is justified for your essential question?
- Jones, Leslie."The Efficacy of Play Therapy With Children: A Meta-Analytic Review of Treatment Outcomes." American Psychological Association, 2005. Web. 24 Oct. 2012.

5.  What do you plan to study next with your second answer and why?  
- I plan to continue my study of answer 2 by doing more research on the technique and coming up with examples to make sure it is clear to the people I present to what the technique is and what it does to help the child.

Independent Component 2 Plan Approval

CONTENT:
(1) Write a description of what you plan on doing for your independent study component.
For this independent component I plan to stay at the day care I am currently volunteering at and practice the techniques being used in child play therapy.
(2) Describe in detail how you think your plan will meet the 30 hours work requirement.
This will meet my 30 hour requirement because I will do different techniques for every visit.
(3) How does your independent study component relate to your working EQ?  
This relates to my EQ by practicing and getting hands in experience as to how the techniques work and are being used.

Independent Component 1

Content:  

LITERAL

• (a) Statement saying:

-“I, Damaris Elenes Macias, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”

• (b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component. 

- Adrian at the YMCA helped me complete my independent component hours.

• (c) Provide a digital spreadsheet (aka log of the 30 hours)  

- Next to mentor ship log at the top.

• (d) Explanation of what you completed. 

- As my independent component I volunteered at the YMCA daycare, there I helped take care of the kids by making sure they were behaving and doing the school work their parents/guardians wished for them to complete.

• INTERPRETIVE 
  Defend your work and explain how the significant parts of your component and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.

- My independent component shows that I watched the children, during the time there Brittany and I had the children color so we can fill a wall with just drawing and pictures for them to put up. We also played games with the children, read books to them, and helped them with their homework.

• APPLIED
  How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better? Please include specific examples to illustrate how it helped. 

- In child play therapy patience and really knowing how to handle children at their worst (when they throw a tantrum) is very important. Here I learned by doing, in my research I would find ways to discipline a child when needed and I was able to do this first hand when a child began throwing a tantrum at the day care. What I did was walk up to the child and asked him to sit on a chair for a timeout. As he was walking to the chair I told him why he was receiving a time out and how long it will last so the child knows exactly what he did wrong.