Celebrate Babies Week Exclusive Training: Celebrate babies through Play
Title: The Therapeutic Powers of Play
Date: Oct 19th 2023
Time: 9:00am-11:00am CST/10:00am-12:00pm EST
Overview:
Charles Shaeffer and Athena Drewes edited, The Therapeutic Powers of Play: 20 Core Agents of Play, in 2014 (Second Edition) and it is a wonderful text about the fundamental issue of why we play. So, what are these powers? There are four essential categories of powers of play:
• Play offers children creative ways to solve problems, enhances moral and psychological development and resiliency, and promotes self-regulation and self-esteem.
• Through the therapeutic relationship, play builds social competency, attachment, and empathy.
• Play gives voice to self-expression, allows access to unconscious thoughts, and allows for direct and indirect teaching.
• Play gives children space for catharsis and abreaction. Both positive and negative emotions are expressed, promoting stress management and overcoming fears.
This training will provide an overview of why play is important and powerful for children. This will be an appropriate training for those interested in knowing more about the powers of play, and way to utilize play in practice across disciplines and environments.
Learning Objectives:
•Participants will learn about the therapeutic powers of play in practice
•Participants will be able to identify one non-directive and one directive play therapy
•Participants will learn general information about how play can be used in practice across disciplines
Presenter Biography:
Susan Elswick obtained her Master of Social Work at University of Tennessee in 2006 and her Doctor of Education in Instructional and Curriculum leadership with a specialty in Applied Behavior Analysis at the University of Memphis in 2011. Served as a clinical assistant professor at the University Of Memphis Department Of Social Work Memphis from 2012-2015. She served as assistant professor and BA Program Director from 2015-2019 at the University of Memphis Department of Social Work. She moved into an Assistant Professor role in 2019, and started her administrative journey through two faculty director positions at the University of Memphis. She also served as an Interim Department Chair for the School of Social Work in the 2022-2023 academic year. She is now currently a Full Professor within the Social Work Department focusing on leading the university in developing programs to support student workforce development, and in growing partnerships and direct services for the community. She is also the Faculty Director for three programs on UofM campus: The Interprofessional Community Health Clinic (ICHC- provide research, training and treatment in mental health to the community) https://www.memphis.edu/ichc/ , The Institute for Interdisciplinary Memphis Partnerships to Advance Community Transformation (iIMPACT- an interdisciplinary group of researchers focusing on engaged scholarship) https://www.memphis.edu/iimpact/ , and The Supporting Mental Health Access to Resources through Telehealth (SMART- Research, Treatment and Training Center) https://www.memphis.edu/smartcenter/ .
Dr. Susan Elswick has over 16 years of clinical mental health experience that includes community mental health, case management, residential programming, ABA-based programming, school-based programming, parent coaching, integrated behavioral health, infant mental health, and home-based services. Her research interests include the use of evidence-based behavioral interventions for addressing client’s needs, supporting schools in developing effective school-based mental health programs that are trauma-responsive, the use of expressive art therapies/ experiential therapies in the field of social work practice, and the use of informatics and technology in the field of social work.
Dr. Elswick is an LCSW in AR, MS, and TN, and she is a licensed school social worker in TN. She is a nationally certified PCIT, CPP, CBITS, TFCBT, AutPlay, and EMDR clinician. She is endorsed in Infant Mental Health in the state of TN, is Certified as an Animal Assisted Interventionist, and she is also a Registered Play Therapist- Supervisor (RPT-S). She is also a national trainer and supervisor for several evidence-based modalities and trauma-based interventions.
Additionally, Dr. Elswick is a local/ regional trainer for the following evidence-based interventions: CBITS, EMDR, PCIT, and AutPlay (a play-based intervention for children with neurodiversity). This allows Dr. Elswick to bring these evidence-based interventions and training to the local community without the burden of traveling to other locations to access and obtain this training knowledge. Dr. Elswick is working to utilize the processes of curriculum infusion within the graduate level programs at the University of Memphis to ensure current students are trained and certified in evidence-based interventions prior to graduation.
Dr. Elswick is the author of over thirty-five peer reviewed journal publications, two monographed books, and served as the editor for one book publication. She also has over thirty referred conference presentations. She has received more than $3 million in internal and external grants to date. She was also awarded the NASW-TN West Branch Social Worker of the Year in 2017 and was awarded the prestigious Gary Lee Shaffer Award for Academic Contributions to the Field of School Social Work by the School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) in 2018. Dr. Elswick has also served as the Co-chair for the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Annual Program Review Technology Track that focuses on harnessing technology for social good in behavioral health practice. Dr. Elswick is a Faculty Affiliate on campus at U of M with the Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS). IIS is dedicated to advancing the state of knowledge and capabilities of intelligent systems, including psychological, biological, and artificial systems. She is also an identified a senior personnel on the U of M’s $2.58 million National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project, which will lay the foundation for a future Learner Data Institute (LDI). Dr. Elswick received funding in 2020 to develop a tele-behavioral health center for the region. Dr. Elswick is the Director of the newly established School Mental Health Access through Telehealth (SMART) Center on campus that provides evidence-based interventions and supports to the local community through treatment, training, and research. Additionally, Dr. Elswick has developed a relationship with South Central Telehealth Resource Center (SCTRC) at the University of Arkansas Medical Science Center (https://www.telehealthresourcecenter.org/sctrc-2/ ) where she will leverage her relationship to develop training programs and supports that will reach to areas in AR, MS, and TN. Dr. Elswick is currently a member of the SCTRC Advisory Board (Spring 2021) supporting and representing the West TN region.