Talking to children about prejudice and racism through play therapy: Instilling knowledge, understanding & empathy in fa

Presentation Abstract

Deep-seated systemic racism  and prejudices in the U.S. are still woven into the fabric of our institutions today— from education and housing to our medical system. These aspects of society have been calling for attention for many generations. This presentation looks at how children and their families have been impacted by such aspects and also discusses ways to help have vulnerable, empathetic and wise conversations so as to heal and prevent further pain and trauma from continuing to plague our communities.

Presentation Objectives

1. Participants will learn relevant historical context on prejudice and racism to consider when treating children and families in play therapy.

2. Participants will learn appropriate talking techniques for 3 developmental stages that can be applied in play therapy.

3. Participants will learn appropriate play techniques for parents to use with their children

Presenter Bio

Viridiana is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and  a Registered Play Therapist  in the state of Texas. She received her masters in education from the University of Texas at El Paso in guidance and counseling in 2011. She has experience working  with children and adolescents & their families and adult women and men. Viridiana has been trained in Child Centered Play Therapy, Child/Parent Relationship Therapy, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Viridiana has experience working with problems such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, attachment issues & trauma. She derives her approaches from client centered theory and  sees clients as holistic beings that may find themselves with incongruence in their mind, body and/or spirit. She helps to implement techniques to help awareness grow and also helps to discover and explore wounds and trauma to allow a person to achieve healing within themselves.