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If you’re a mental health professional, including play therapy, we’ve all heard this said and probably even said it ourselves:

consultation is a clinical and ethical part of providing effective play therapy (and therapy in general).

Truthfully – I have mixed feelings about this statement.

From a clinical and ethical standpoint, consultation is an important part of providing quality mental health services to our clients, including play therapy.

I’m a firm believer in getting support to help me ensure my clients are getting the best counseling experience possible, especially when I’m stuck.

So, why the mixed feelings? I’m glad you asked.

I think sometimes consultation can be poor quality, one more task to an already full schedule, and/or provided in a punitive way that results in play therapists feeling unsupported and burned out.

Thinking about this topic got me wondering what the research says about the benefits of consultation for play therapists, and what makes consultation effective.

That got me exploring the internet to see what I could find.

I found some interesting research articles discussing not only the benefits of consultation for mental health professionals (no-brainer there), and what makes consultation effective.

If you’re curious about how play therapy consultation can be beneficial and not just another box to check for your already busy schedule, join me for this free weekly podcast episode!

I’ll discuss what the research says about making consultation effective based on two studies and why it’s so important to have these elements.

I’ll share my insights for play therapists and how we can use this information to help our young clients and their families heal.

Join me and the conversation!

Citations for articles discussed during this episode:

Beidas, R. S., Edmunds, J. M., Cannuscia, C. C., Gallagher, M., Downey, M. M., and Kendall, P. C. (2013). Therapists’ perspectives on the effective elements of consultation following training. Admin Policy Mental Health, 40(6), 507-517. Doi.10.1007?s10488-013-0475-7

Mui, A. S., Joseph, A., Hakim, E., Cox, E. D., and Greenwald, E. (2022). Peer consultation: An enriching necessity rather than a luxury for psychologists during and beyond the pandemic. Journal of Health Service Psychology, 48, 13-19. doi.10.1007/s42843-021-0005-3

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