Hey there MIAPT Members!
 
I want to start by saying that, although I’ve been a member of MIAPT for 20 years, I’m SO EXCITED to be writing to you for my FIRST TIME AS MIAPT President. It is such an honor to be part of the board again!!!
 
Thanks for all that attended our annual conference this year. The polls that were conducted during this year’s annual conference showed that many of you are interested in becoming more involved with our chapter … and we would LOVE your help. Feel free to contact me anytime if you would like to be a part of a committee, help with the newsletter, or have suggestions for the chapter. This is YOUR chapter - we want to hear your voices and ideas!
 
During this past year we have all faced so many different challenges - which has forced us to find creative ways to connect with each other and our clients. It has caused us to grow as a community, and as therapists. And we need to continue that growth!
 
As discussed in our last MIAPT virtual support meeting, many children we see are finally heading back to school for the first time in awhile - or will be in the fall. This is an important moment to think about how we can help these kids, their parents, and their teachers to adjust to another transition. As play therapists we can remind them the effects of the past year may have on each child’s social and emotional development. We can help them prepare for underdeveloped skills that our clients and their classmates might have due to the lack of exposure to their peers and other adults. Our position as therapists to children gives us the unique opportunity to reduce over (or mis-) diagnosing children with behavior, attention, or social problems. We can give information to parents and teachers about normal childhood development of social and emotional skills - and discuss how these may be affected by the pandemic. Helping others to adjust expectations can definitely impact how our clients and their peers will be viewed and treated. Explaining to parents and teachers the importance of PLAY and the need to make up for lost time and experiences with peers is essential. These key elements will in turn influence each child’s mental health.
 
Playfully Yours,
 
Laura Hutchison, PsyD, LP, RPT-S
President, MIAPT 2021
playdr@gmail.com

Dear MIAPT Members!

This is my last letter as President of MIAPT before handing over the reins to our President-Elect, Laura Hutchison. This year has been incredibly challenging for all of us and I want to thank the Board and members of our committees for being flexible and creative in this unique and challenging year. One of my last duties is to remind everyone of the annual conference this month. This year it is all virtual and also for the first time spread out among four days. We have incredible workshops on cutting edge advances such as polyvagal therapy and using Pinterest as a therapeutic model as well as workshops on marginal service populations such as LGBTQ+ and the sexually acting out client and more. I hope that all of you will take advantage of these opportunities.

Now that we are an accredited APT provider we hope to have bimonthly virtual trainings in addition to our regularly scheduled East/West and Annual conferences. We are also in good shape financially and have maintained Gold Branch status. More information on the state of MIAPT will be shared at the annual business meeting.
 
It has been a pleasure to serve MIAPT this past year and I will continue to serve as Past-President and my longstanding participation on the conference committee. I hope to see all of you soon, either in person or virtually.

Play on!

Jason Clanton, MA, LLP, Registered Play Therapist™
President, MIAPT

Hello MIAPT Members!

I hope you had a festive and safe Thanksgiving. For those of you who came to our virtual training on play therapy and trauma, thank you! I hope you have filled out the feedback survey so that we can make future virtual trainings even more fun and productive.
 
Speaking of trainings, I am happy to report that MIAPT is now certified by APT to provide trainings as an official play therapy education provider! That means we can provide trainings directly for play therapy contact hours. Hopefully in the future MIAPT will be able to provide bi-monthly or quarterly trainings for our members in an online format. We will provide more information on this as it becomes available.
 
This leads us to the 2021 annual conference. Yes, we are having one! And it will be all  virtual sessions. Because of this, the conference will span several days instead of just two. Save the dates: February 17-20, 2021. Although the theme is play therapy with anxiety disorders, we have some new topics that have not been presented before. So make sure to be on the lookout for the annual conference brochure in the coming weeks.

In closing, I hope everyone is practicing good self-care. I recently read an article on how Zoom meetings are more emotionally and mentally exhausting that in person, and I certainly found that to be true. Whether you are all virtual or are starting to see clients in office, it is paramount that safety precautions include self-care for emotional well-being. MIAPT is a good resource for self-care ideas on our Facebook page. (And we recently launched an Instagram account, check it out!). May everyone find joy and peace this holiday season.
 
Play on!

Jason Clanton, MA, LLP, Registered Play Therapist™
President, MIAPT

Greetings MIAPT Members!

“Last Resort.” “Iyanla Fix My Life.” Two self-help shows where a woman screams at families to change and one where people go to a resort to rearrange their chakras, align their anima and animus, and have “orgasmic cleansings.” It shows how desperate people are to heal old wounds. It brought to life the importance of proper training with methods shown to be beneficial in reducing mental illness and increase well-being.

Which brings us to our upcoming trainings, the Virtual West Regional on November 13^th and our annual conference in February. This year for the first time we will be hosting our trainings online. Not leaving home for a training certainly has its advantages! Also, our Facebook page has all sorts of resources tested in research and in the field to help healing. And our monthly ZOOM support meetings also provide a resource to learn techniques and methods from fellow MIAPT members. On behalf of the board, we are excited about our upcoming trainings. We hope to see you there.
 
Play on!

Jason Clanton, MA, LLP, Registered Play Therapist™
President, MIAPT

Greetings MIAPT Members!
 
As I write this, I just came back from going out to dinner for the first time in four months. I can’t tell yet if this is a portent of the return to normalcy of life, but what I can tell you is that play therapy continues.

We offer play as a standard of normalcy to our clients both young and old. And the MIAPT Board continues to adapt to the world that we currently live in by offering our first virtual workshop this November. We hope that you are able to participate in this unique training opportunity. Speaking of participating, we continue to offer ZOOM support meetings for all active members. These are now being held once a month. Look for email notification of the meeting in August. This is a great forum to connect with other play therapists across the state to provide support, ideas, and techniques to help us serve our clients better, plus an opportunity to meet board members as well.

If you haven’t liked our Facebook page, please do! You’ll find lots of resources to help you in your work with clients. No matter what the future holds, play will always be a means to healing for children, not to mention a viable treatment for all our clients. And remember to play yourselves! For how can we heal others if our own souls are overwhelmed? I myself have started building Legos again. Whatever your means to play is, I hope you find it rejuvenating not only in yourselves but also for your clients.
 
Play on!

Jason Clanton, MA, LLP, Registered Play Therapist™
President, MIAPT

Dear MIAPT Members,
 
Summer is here, which should be a time of relaxation and fun in the sun with family and friends. Instead we are having to spend most of our time indoors with worry and uncertainty. I think all of us are experiencing cabin fever and as the weather gets warmer, I encourage everyone to enjoy the outdoors and detach from our screens. Being outside is good for body, mind, and soul.

I hope you have been able to attend some of our Zoom meetings on Saturdays where members can come together to support one another in these trying times. We will be sending a survey to help us determine how to proceed with future meetings. These meetings are an exclusive benefit for members.

Remember to like our Facebook page and check our website for tips and techniques from past newsletters and any upcoming trainings.
 
As always, play on!

Jason Clanton, MA, LLP, Registered Play Therapist™
President, MIAPT

Dear MIAPT Members,
 
I never would have thought that my first letter as President would come in such unique and challenging times. Now more than ever we need to see the value in our work, not just as play therapists, but has mental health clinicians. That being said, I want to take a moment to encourage all of us to reflect on what we as therapists are doing to engage in self-care.

We are taught and attend numerous trainings on taking care of our clients, but very little emphasis is given on our own well-being. Is it because we don’t earn money in self-care? It is a non-billable service? We aren’t violating any explicit ethical violations? And yet by not engaging in self-care, we are indeed putting us in danger of inadvertently costing us money and potential ethics violations by leaving us susceptible to burnout and its many consequences.
           
That’s why MIAPT is offering a group chat with our members to share ideas not only of telehealth interventions but also as a way of supporting each other during the quarantine and to show us all that we are not alone but in this together. Research has shown that telehealth is effective in mental health treatment and we can extrapolate that to mean that it can help us as a play therapist community to find support and encouragement in these trying times. Look for emails on dates and times when we will have these meetings.
           
I hope you are finding joy in your daily lives and on behalf of the MIAPT board, if there are other ways that we can be supportive of you let, us know. As always, play on!

Jason Clanton, MA, LLP, Registered Play Therapist™
President, MIAPT

Here are some ways you can volunteer with MIAPT 

1. Newsletter content -Share a creative activity -Write a story or article -Format and distribute the newsletter -Share playful pictures for our newsletter 

2. Networking meetings -Share ideas for meeting in your region -Find a free local venue for meetings -Consider starting a group in your area 

3. Conferences (regional or annual) -Pick up and/or order food -Pick up craft supplies -Volunteer for clean-up and/or set-up -Design a flier -Find location for events -Request proposals of potential speakers 

4. Membership updates (to add a directory) -Confirm member contact info -Consolidate/remove duplicate entries 

**If interested in volunteering, email DCouture77@yahoo.com