All Things Play Therapy with Carmen

Introduction

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Hello, and welcome to the Autism in Black Podcast. I'm Maria Davis-Pierre, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the State of Florida. And America's number one autism advocate for black parents. I am the founder and CEO of Autism in Black Inc., where we aim to include the excluded. Today, we have Carmen Jimenez- Pride who is a Master's Level Social Worker, Substance Abuse Professional, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in North Carolina and Georgia. Carmen is also a registered play therapist supervisor, credentialed by the Association of Play Therapy. She earned a Master's of Social Work in 2005 with a focus on communities and organizations from the University of South Carolina. Carmen has over 17 years of experience in the mental health field, with the focus on children in play therapy. Carmen is the founder of Play Therapy with Carmen Inc. An organization dedicated to educating the mental health community on play therapy and providing supervision and training and resources for licensed professionals. And Carmen is the creator of Focus on Feelings, a play therapy curriculum focused on social and emotional development. This week is actually national play therapy week. So, what better way to celebrate them was an episode that focuses on play therapy and the benefits of receiving play therapy. Enjoy today's episode.

Episode

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Hi everybody. And welcome back to another episode of the Autism in Black Podcast. We have a very special guest today. I know her personally and she is a very good friend of mine. We have Carmen here today.

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Hello. Hello.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
So, I have already read your bio and we know a little bit about you, but could you tell us some more that we don't know?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Well, probably you've already said that, I'm a registered play therapist. I have a private practice in Augusta, Georgia. I'm licensed across three States and I do a lot of trainings in those States in reference to play therapy and for beginner social workers. I'm an author, I'm a creator and I like playing. So that's basically me.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Okay. So can you tell us a little bit about what play therapy is?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
So, I'm going to tell you the definition of play therapy from the association for foreplay therapy, and then I'm going to break it down and give you my definition of what play therapy is. APT, which is the association for play therapy says that play therapy is a systematic use of the theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process we're in trained play practitioners use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development. Me personally, I cannot say that to my parents and them get what play therapy is. So, basically I tell my families that it's a modality that I use to treat trauma, cognitive behavioral issues, and emotional challenges and still some of my parents are like, what? And then I break it down. I play with your kids and we address the issues that you came in with. And they're like, okay. I got it.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Yes. And when you say you're sitting there playing with them, what does that look like? So, for a parent who doesn't know anything about play therapy and they're like, how's this going to be helpful to my child? Just you sitting there playing with them. How does the therapeutic aspect come into play?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Well, basically everything that I do as a registered play therapist in any intervention that I use, whether it's like the classic game of checkers, there's a therapeutic piece to that. So, say that every time that you land on a certain number on the checkerboard, which of course pre-write those numbers, you have to tell me something good about your family. So, that is an activity where we're building rapport. Say that we use a Jenga game. And every time they pull a certain color, they have to tell me something happy. Something that makes them happy or something that makes them sad. Now, we're doing certain to deal with the feelings piece, and then the things that they experienced. I'm using common things. Sometimes that parents see constantly every day to help the kids reach their goals. A part of that is me bringing them in my playroom and showing them everything that I have and letting them ask questions. Well, what do you use this game for? Or what is this therefore? And, I'm able to explain that to them and they get a better understanding of what play therapy is.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Perfect. So how would a parent who has a child who is autistic? How could this benefit them, or is there a certain type of play therapy that would benefit a child who is autistic?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Well, there is a play therapy modality called art play, and that was developed by Dr. Robert Jason Grant. And basically what that is, is a play therapy model and behavior therapy model, basically coming together and helping children that are on the autism spectrum. And other children dealing with neurodevelopmental disorders and other developmental disabilities. And basically what it is, is the primary focus is children with autism at play. I'm so aware what's considered your normal child will come in with trauma. A child with autism might not have trauma. They might have issues surrounding social and emotional interacting and connecting and things like that. And that's what art play does help those kids that have those additional issues versus like traditional play therapy.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Okay. Now what if the child who is autistic is dealing with trauma, would art play be beneficial to them?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Definitely, it just really depends on the child's level of functioning. Some of the basis of art play is your traditional play therapy, just cut and paste from different models, like the foundation of it. So, you still have your traditional play therapy. It's more directive than child centered play therapy, but it's the family therapy piece. Like you utilize internal family systems and that helps with trauma. I can use that in the art play sessions as well. So, it's combining other therapeutic approaches, but really diving in and focusing on kids with autism.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Okay. And for a parent who finds a therapist who specializes in art play and they begin this type of therapy, what kind of benefits should they expect to see?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Yeah. Increase on emotional regulation, social functioning, connection, behavioral changes, anxiety reduction. It's utilized the follow me technique, where when a child first comes in, like the child has like free rein over the playroom and the clinician is following the child. So, in every time that we have a session, I'm looking for opportunities to engage the child. And, that might take a period of time. Some kids are going to be quicker to engage with me. Some are not. So, the parents can watch this, or I'm definitely giving reports back to the parent and letting the parent know, well, the child was interested in Legos. So, now becomes the parent led part. When they get home, they're doing the same interventions that I'm doing within session. So, we don't get to any interventions. And it's just the follow me approach where I'm just following the child, being engaging, having the communication with them, giving them the eye contact, being present. I request the parent to do the same thing. So, the kid is getting the intervention in the playroom, and they're also getting the same thing within the home setting and with can being consistent with that and developing that structure and that foundation, they're going to see differences in the interactions with their children.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Perfect. So, a parent can be involved in these sessions.

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
That is highly recommended. So, it's not one of those therapy models that you can drop your kid off and go some run some errands. Definitely not. When I work with a kid and utilizing art play it's mandatory for the parents who remain in the office. Because they're able to watch what I'm doing. And then if the child has an issue, I can get the parents right there that they can come in. And, a lot of times my parents just sit in on the sessions as well. So, we're both engaging the child, and then I'm able to back off and direct the parent on what to do. So, it's definitely a practitioner and parent led model.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
I love that, because a lot of times, like you said, that consistency needs to happen, not only in the therapy setting but also at home, that way the child has the consistency. And, they're able to know that this is just not for this setting, but at home as well. And it makes it easier for them as well.

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Exactly.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
What about school setting? Do you provide these services in the school setting as well?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Well, the school setting gets kind of tricky. It depends on the school. So, if it's worked in the intervention, it worked into like an IEP are any other behavior plan that the school might provide, then the therapist can go in and do that. It's makes it difficult when it's an outside clinician coming into the school and it's not the traditional services that the school is used to. So, we have to fight for that. And that puts additional pressure on the parents to fight for services. And, I know that's always a big thing for parents dealing with the school when their child has autism. But anyone that's trained in art play, play therapy they advocate. So, that's something that helped my families with when it comes down to the school.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Okay. Is there age limit to those who can receive art play therapy?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
I say, no, because you might have someone that's 17 and they're operating on a younger level, so they can benefit from the interventions that we're doing within the playroom, as well as a six-year-old. So, I say that there's no age limit and when, even in training, we wasn't trained on an age limit. It's just the limit on functioning.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Okay. And what about a 17 year old who is operating at the level of a 17 year old? Would they still benefit from art play therapy?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Definitely. If they can have issues with controlling their emotions, they can have anxiety and just sitting down and talking to them is not efficient. So, coming in and having play therapy, and art play will be more beneficial to them. They're going to get more, their skills are going to increase. So, definitely.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
And, I know you mentioned you have a lot of products and align, and I know one in particular that I have used with Malia that has helped her is your focus on feelings line. Can you tell us how you use that? And also tell us what that line is?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
So, focus on feelings is a multicultural set of products that is geared to helping kids understand their feelings, increasing communication, and improving their social and emotional development. So, it starts off with, there's a poster that has 10 faces and emotions. I stuck with 10 because that's easy to grasp. And to me, those are the 10 that kids really present having issues with understanding. So, it's teaching them those 10 feelings with the poster, the books, the flashcards, there's a clean board, there's a journal. So, it's a full line of things that can be, just keep reiterating these feelings with the goal of them, learning them, instead of demonstrating how they feel with aggression and things like that, they're able to verbalize it. And, when they're able to verbalize it, that's increasing their communication skills and it's also helping them interact with people socially and they're able to express their feelings.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Okay. Now, is this line only for therapists or can parents use it as well?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Definitely for parents. Anything that I create, I create with the mind frame of, it's not just for clinicians. A clinician can pick it up and utilize it. The teacher can pick it up and utilize it, and a parent or caregiver can pick it up and utilize it, and have just as much as benefits across the board.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Okay. Can you give a few examples of how a parent can use your line? So, if they go and purchase, which I'm encouraging you all to do, because it's so helpful they would know how to begin using it with their child.

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
So, two of the biggest products that I would say is the must have is definitely the Focus on Feelings book, learning about my feelings. The book is broke down really easy to use. One page is the feeling space and then on the opposite side is the definition of the feeling. But what drives it home is there's an example of it with character names and things like that. So, like say sad, you have the face, you have the definition, and then you have an example of that. So, kids are able to get it in like a story form. And then the poster, you can put the poster on your refrigerator in their room. If you have a command center in your home, you can put it there and that's for the kids to be able to constantly see it. So, they're hearing about the feeling and now they're able to see the feeling and you can use, I feel statements. How do you feel today? Go point at it because kids with autism are very visual. So, they're not just going to say, I feel frustrated. No, they can go. And they can point at frustrated.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
And, this is also very helpful for some of our children who are non-speaking as well. It gives them another way to communicate their feelings, by being able to point to the faces and say that, this is what they're feeling by pointing to it.

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Exactly. And, it's an interactive thing like you have your poster and you can sit down and teach your kids these feelings, you can get them to draw their version of the ffeeling. So, they can mirror what they're seeing on the poster. You can make the faces with them, you have it on paper. So, just constantly reiterating these 10 feelings, so the kids can get it and they can start using it, whether it's pointing or whether it's verbally saying, this is how I feel.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
I love that. And then another one of your products that I am a champion for is Amir's Brave Adventure. Can you tell us about the book?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Definitely. Now, this is one of my favorite. Now, I love my focus on feelings, but I love Amir so much because he's so cute. Amir basically is a multisensory book that helps bridge together imagination, touch, sound, visual and mindfulness. The story is about Amir, who is a leopard cub, and he's different from the other leopards. He doesn't have any spots, so that's right. They're already talking about differences in kids and throughout the story, like I said, it has a couple of different approaches. You're talking about him being brave, him being confident, in him being calm on which is the mindfulness piece, but it also gives the kinesthetic storytelling part, which is backstory. So, throughout the story, there's going to be certain words that are written in purple and at the bottom of the book, it gives a hand motion that you can do the backstory. So, that's where the touch come in. So, the kids are not only hearing it, they're feeling the story as well. So example, one of the words is calm. So, every time you read calm in the story, you can spell that on their back. And, if they don't like that on the back, you can spell it on their hands so they can really feel the story. Okay, that's calm. Another one is confident, of course, brave. And we do symbols like grass and you draw the grass on their backs. So again, they're hearing the story and they're able to fill the story, the story as well. So, that increases that bonding between the parent and the child.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
I love that. And, it also helps with emotional regulation as well with the calming factors and things like that.

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Yeah. One of the biggest concepts of the book is Amir's mantra, which is, I am calm. I am confident, and I am brave. So, we're pushing them to become confident and brave, but we're also teaching that mindfulness is technique. Okay. Stand strong and taking a deep breath. And, I am calm taking a deep breath, I am confident, take a deep breath, I am brave. So, the directive could be you're at school, you're having some trouble. You don't understand what you're reading. So, instead of escalating, think about Amir, what would Amir do? Amir will be calm. He will be brave. He'll be confident. And there's the breath and that's regulation right there for them to reset.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
I love that. And, I will have in the show notes everywhere, you can get Carmen's products, as well as everything else she's talked about today. Do you have any resources that you recommend for parents or caregivers or healthcare professionals that may be listening to gain more information about art play therapy and resources that they can look into to see this mode of therapy? Because a lot of times parents, we only hear about ABA therapy, but there are so many more types of therapies out there for your children that may be beneficial as well.

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Definitely a lot of good information is going to be on the main pages for art play therapy. And, for the association for play therapy, I have a lot of information on my page which is carmenpride.com. Just those main pages will give you a bulk of information. And, what I like about both pages, the art play website and the APT website that you can search for practitioners. So, everyone on the website will be trained and certified in art play and play therapy.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Okay. I love that. And do you have any advice for parents or caregivers who are starting to look for play therapy as an option for their child?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
My biggest advice is, make sure that the individual is trained and they're certified. A lot of people don't care about that fact. But, I'm a big pusher of that. Because if they are trained from the association from play therapy, that means they met the requirements to hold a credential as a registered play therapist. And, I tell my parents all the time are just not even my parents, but people that call and ask about my services. They're looking at psychology today. That's one of the go to for services. And, when you create a psychology today profile, you can check whatever you want on there. And, a lot of clinicians check play therapy and they might be doing play therapy. That's great. There's a lot of clinicians that have not done the credential. But there's a lot that has so definitely just check their references, check their certifications, make sure their names are listed on these other websites to make sure that the person is trained and what you need for your child.

And don't be afraid to ask those questions. I don't get offended when someone calls me and say, hey, my son or daughter has autism, are you trained and certified to work with them? And I say yes, they're like, well, prove it. Okay. No problem. Because people are trusting me with their kids and that's important to me because, I'm developing a relationship, not only with the child, but with the parent. And nine out of ten when they get to me they're frustrated and they're just looking for services and they've been looking for a while. So, I want to make sure I give them all of me and the professional me.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Yeah. I love that. So, as we wrap up, where can those listening find you?

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
So, across all social media platforms with the same tagline, which is PrideLCSW. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. My main website is carmenpride.com and my resource store is playtherapywithcarmen.com.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
Perfect. Thank you so much. I just want to thank Carmen for giving us information about play therapy up playing and how we can use her products as well. When we are working with our children as it's so important. So, thank you Carmen, for being on the show today.

Carmen Jimenez- Pride:
Thank you for having me. Thank you.

Maria Davis-Pierre:
And thank you all for listening. I will catch you on the next episode.