An Interdisciplinary Perspective on the Therapeutic Power of Symbolic Play
Date & Time:
Sunday, March 14, 2021
12- 3 PM
Location:
Virtual Lecture Available online.
Course Description
Symbolic Play offers a safe pathway to re-enact, regulate and master emotional ideas and experiences. The child’s impetus to create a fantasy has many sources from wish fulfillment, to claiming power, defending against anxiety, or repairing intolerable frustrations and trauma. With its many facets and meanings, symbolic play is a powerful therapeutic modality for parents, teachers and therapists of all disciplines. This session will begin with a shared case study to set the stage for small group, case-based, breakout sessions to examine the development, meaning and complexity of symbolic play, the impact of neuro-biological differences across trauma, emotional difficulties and autism, and the methods and effectiveness of intervention. Participants may discuss questions related to their use of symbolic play and learn from the perspectives of other disciplines to deepen their understanding of the therapeutic process and outcomes. Profectum’s distinguished Faculty of psychologists, social workers, physicians, educators, and speech and language, occupational and creative arts therapists will facilitate themed groups, including groups for parents. Each themed group will have three facilitators and participants will be surveyed as to their group preference following registration. As a result of this presentation, participants will be able to: ● Describe the underlying complexity of symbolic capacity related to neurobiology, psychodynamics, and developmental readiness. ● Describe how different disciplines contribute to deeper understanding, enriched intervention and better outcomes. ● Explain how the therapists’ feelings help understand what is happening in the child’s symbolic play
About the Instructors
Gilbert Foley, EdD (Moderator)
Serena Wieder, PhD (Moderator)
Mona Delahooke, PhD (Moderator)
Connie Lillas, RN, MFT, PhD (Moderator)
Suzi Tortora, EdD, BC-DMT, CMA, LCAT, LMHC (Group Facilitator for Breakout Sessions) his the founder and director of Dancing Dialogue, a creative arts psychotherapy practice in Cold Spring, NY and NYC, specializing in parent- infant/child and family therapy; trauma; medical illness; and adult chronic pain. She is the International Medical Creative Arts Spokesperson for the Andréa Rizzo Foundation, having created and continuing to be the senior dance/movement therapist for pediatric patients at Integrative Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NYC, since 2003. She received the 2010 Marian Chace Distinguished Dance Therapist award from the ADTA. She teaches in Europe, South America, New Zealand, Israel and Asia; holds faculty positions in the USA, The Netherlands, Chech Republic, Argentina and China; offers the Ways of Seeing International Webinar Training Program for dance/movement therapists and allied professionals; has published numerous papers about her work; and her book, The Dancing Dialogue: Using the communicative power of movement with young children is used extensively in dance/movement therapy training programs internationally.
Registration
https://profectum.org/2021-conference-spectrum-play/