417 | Expectancy, Not Expectations: The Heart of Unconditional Acceptance in CCPT
About this episode
Dr. Brenna Hicks discusses the value of children's creations in child-centered play therapy and the importance of unconditional acceptance.
In this episode, I answer a question about what to do when children create artwork or craft projects during child-centered play therapy. Should they take their creations home? Should therapists keep them? And if a child spends an entire session coloring or painting, are they missing out on "more important" therapeutic work? I explain why the child's creations should never be displayed in the playroom, how to approach the child's choice to take projects home or leave them with the therapist, and why preparing parents ahead of time to respond neutrally is an important part of preserving the therapeutic process. I also address a deeper assumption hidden within the question—the idea that some ways of spending a play therapy session are better than others. Child-centered play therapy calls us to release that mindset entirely. Whether a child spends the session creating art, building, talking, sitting quietly, or doing nothing at all, I explain why every moment is therapeutically valuable when we truly trust the child, embrace expectancy rather than expectations, and remain fully committed to the CCPT model. New Live Training Events Announced: Indiana, New Jersey & Tampa dates are…
More episodes of Play Therapy Podcast: A Master-Class in Child-Centered Play Therapy
- 418 | CCPT Mythbusters: You'll Eventually Be 100% Adherent to the Model
- 416 | CCPT Mythbusters: Kids Are Manipulative
- 415 | Advanced "I Wonder" and Whisper Technique in Role Play
- 414 | When a Child Narrates Their Own Play - Trusting the Process
- 413 | CCPT Mythbusters: Child-Centered Play Therapy Doesn't Work with Older Kids
- 412 | When an Anxious Child Won't Stay in the Playroom
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