Jen Taylor Play Therapy Services

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Fairy tales hold fascination for therapists and clients alike - and especially for children. These tales - indeed, all enchanted stories and myths - were originally told to adults as teaching and entertainment tales. As with all the bounty of creative endeavor, slowly over centuries these tales turned into something else, something marvelous for children to relate their struggles and triumphs to personal achievement. 

Increasingly, it has become paramount for therapists to guide parent and child clients to assist in developing mindful connection and resilience. Storytelling focuses the attendant ability to perceive and discriminate what is vital when trusting in cognitive intuition. Fairytales frequently highlight crucial aspects of perspective-taking and recognition of patterns and insights needed to address developmental trauma. By identifying themes in enchanted stories - fairytales, myths and cross-cultural stories - therapists can begin to understand the challenges inherent in children’s complex life struggles. Through their work in sandplay specifically, children can locate joy and resilience in their journey narratives.

As clinicians, we can adapt these stories to target specific client difficulties and challenges, particularly during this pandemic and beyond. What themes does a particular tale explore? What might we want to get across through a tale to a troubled client or family? Can therapists working with traditional stories as well as re-imagined tales, address current issues, such as neurodiversity, the neurobiology of traumatic experience, or gender fluidity, and incorporate them into psychotherapeutic treatment plans?

Jungian analyst and writer Clarissa Pinkola Estes reflected, "Fairy tales, myths, and stories provide understandings which sharpen our sight so we can pick out and pick up the path left by the wildish nature. The instruction found in stories reassures us that the path has not run out, but still leads women deeper, and more deeply still, into their own knowing. The tracks which we are following are those of the Wild Woman archetype, the innate instinctual self…” [Women Who Run With the Wolves, 1992, p. 6]. Through this workshop we will begin to explore the nature of archetype, symbol and meaning in Fairy Tales through clinician experience and working through specific tales. Participants will create their own client story based on a re-telling of a chosen tale. Storytelling, case presentation and vignette, poetry, creative art, and guided group discussion will enhance understanding of the use of fairy tales in therapeutic practice. 

Learning Objectives 

At the close of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the way that story and role in fairy tales can provide a therapeutic container and a sheltered experience for processing traumatic material in play therapy practice.

2. Describe 3 uses of fairy tales for play therapists in the clinical setting in their office or on an online secure platform.

3. Identify 3 story themes and roles in fairy tales to encourage mastery as part of a play therapy practice.

4. Identify at least 4 journey stages for children in the play therapy setting when using fairy tales.

5. List and describe 3 different strategies to target specific client challenges (such as self-regulation and mindfulness) in the play therapy setting using fairy tale imagery and symbolism.

6. Explain the concept of individuation and relate this understanding to the unique role that fairy tales can perform in play therapy practice.

7. Comfortably create and embody a fairy tale telling or re-tellling experience in role play.

8. Identify 2 different therapeutic powers of play that are realized when the playful introduction of fairy tales or re-imagined tales are employed.