Greetings Playmates!
My gardening saga is coming to an end for the year. The dogs have stolen their last cucumbers and beans and the harvest is winding down. As we were pulling out some of the spent vines and starting to put the garden away for the year, I was thinking about how mental health issues don’t have a season. October is filled with ADHD Awareness Month, Mental Illness Awareness Week (Oct 2-8), Bullying Prevention Month, National Depression Screening Day (Oct 6), and World Mental Health Day (Oct 10) among others. But in reality, every day needs to be mental health day.
I could site suicide rates, drug overdose rates, or hospitalizations for mental health issues, but those are just the tip of a very big iceberg. What about the mental health issues that aren’t counted? What about the children who fail in school because they have ADHD or depression or anxiety yet fall under the radar? What about the functioning addicts and alcoholics whose lives revolve around keeping their addictions secret? What about the relationships that are torn apart because of untreated mental health issues?
Where does MIAPT fit in the solution to these problems? Right now, we are a relatively small organization with just under 160 members. We certainly make a difference for the clients we see, but I don’t think that’s enough. What can we do to build a larger force to battle the need in our state? What can each of us do to help MIAPT grow to become a bigger part of the solution? I’m working on personally talking with three clinicians who work with children but are not play therapists before the end of the year. Will you join me? What other things can we do to help MIAPT reach more clinicians to help them reach more clients in need? Ideas are welcome. Email me, please.
Playfully,
Diana
Diana Steketee, LLP, Registered Play Therapist™
President, MIAPT 2022
