Office of Play Therapy and Training Announces Summer Conference Dates, Awards

The U of A Office of Play Therapy Research and Training's summer conference will feature Eliana Gil, a nationally recognized expert in play therapy, trauma and child sexual abuse treatment, on June 19-20 at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences.

Gil, a founding partner of the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education, is an internationally known author, clinician and trainer in expressive and trauma-informed therapies.

The Office of Play Therapy Research and Training, in the College of Education and Health Professions, has been a nationally approved center by the Association for Play Therapy (APT) for over a decade. The office offers graduate-level coursework to students enrolled in the college's Counselor Education and Supervision Program, enabling them to become registered play therapists. Students learn in a state-of-the-art playroom and conduct research in the field of play therapy. The office provides workshops and conferences like this annual summer event for students and mental health professionals.

Kristi Perryman, director of the play therapy office, has more than 20 years of experience as a licensed professional counselor and registered play therapist supervisor. At the most recent Association for Play Therapy conference in Houston, Texas, Perryman assumed her role as chair of the national APT board of directors. She, along with students and alumni from the college's counselor education program, demonstrated strong leadership and research prominence at the event. During the weeklong conference, they presented research and won various awards.

Perryman was honored alongside her colleagues with an Association for Play Therapy Research Award. Her colleagues include T.J. Schoonover, an alumnus of the college's Department of Counseling, Leadership and Research; Julia Conroy, an adjunct lecturer in the department; and Samantha Robinson, an associate professor with the Center for Agricultural Data Analytics in the School of Environmental Sciences at the U of A.

The group was honored with the award for their article, "Psychophysiological Insights Into Child-Centered Play Therapy for Trauma: A Case Study." The article presented original research exploring the relationship between children's heart-rate patterns and internal trauma responses. The authors said they are hopeful that heart rate and related measures can give therapists access to children's internal trauma responses that may not be evident behaviorally.

The APT Research Award recognizes authors of research that significantly develops, promotes or advances the understanding of play, play therapy processes or outcomes. Research projects that receive this award provide strong empirical support, innovative methodology or promote important practice implications for the play therapy field.

At the conference, several students and alumni from the U of A presented research and findings. Of the 29 presentations, the U of A had the most representation among all presenters, including:

• Hailey Frost and Smruthi Chintakunta, alumnae of the Counselor Education and Supervision program, presented on the exploration of play therapists' attitudes, knowledge and skills in identifying disordered eating.
• Student Marsha Kinsey and future student Payton Turk joined alumna Margaret Hindman and Perryman to present on developing counselor identity and cultural awareness through play therapy.
• Robinson and student Tucker Moretta joined Perryman to present about the impact of child-centered play therapy on trauma symptoms in students in a trauma-focused school.
• Schoonover presented on play therapists' experiences using play therapy for childhood body dissatisfaction.

Chintakunta was recognized at the conference for completing the APT Leadership Academy. The leadership academy is limited to 30 people each year and is designed to develop the leadership skills necessary to support the growth and advancement of APT and the field of play therapy. The program focuses on governance, policy and leadership strategies that sustain a vibrant professional community.

Founded in 1982, the Association for Play Therapy is a professional society that promotes research, training and credentialing programs that advance the use of play therapy in mental health treatment. Play therapy is particularly effective with children because, according to the association, just as adults use words to communicate ideas and feelings, children use play.