What is Play Therapy?: An Interview with Ofra Obejas, LCSW

Oct 31, 2022

What is Play Therapy?: An Interview with Ofra Obejas, LCSW

Curt and Katie interview Ofra Obejas, LCSW, RPT-S, about working with children in therapy. We look at what therapists often get wrong, important factors to understand, specialized training required (including play therapy), and what you actually do in therapy session with children.

Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!

An Interview with Ofra Obejas, LCSW, Registered Play Therapist - Supervisor

Ofra Obejas, Registered Play Therapist - Supervisor level, is a professional player. She works with elementary- to middle-school aged children. She’s been called by some of her clients a “kid grownup.” (That’s her rapper name.) She’s taught at the University of San Diego Play Therapy program and presents webinars and courses on clinical topics related to children’s issues.

In this podcast episode, we talk about Play Therapy

We reached out to our friend, Ofra Obejas to talk with us about how to work with kiddos and what additional training is needed to work effectively with children.

What do therapists get wrong when working with children?

Treating children like mini-adults
Not understanding the skill involved in play therapy

What are important factors for therapists to understand when working with children?

“It’s more scary to the children when the adult is incongruent and not showing their true feelings. It's less scary to see somebody angry than it is to see somebody pretending that they're not angry, but they are.” – Ofra Obejas, LCSW

Children have a different culture (i.e., the tooth fairy is real)
The therapist’s role as translator for what children are saying
Children will make you feel what they feel (e.g., powerlessness, never getting anything right)
The importance of showing feelings to children as a therapist (versus remaining a blank slate)

What do you do with children in therapy sessions?

Psychodrama and re-enacting situations
Therapists can use any theoretical orientation
Ways to interact with the child
Paying attention to transference and countertransference
Case conceptualization, including family therapy and work with parents

What specialized training is most effective for working with children?

“So, what is the therapy on a bumper sticker? If you had to put it in three words, it's notice it, sit with it, and make meaning of it. Or in an experiential [play therapy] model, it's: you observe it, you name it, and then you model how to cope with it.” – Ofra Obejas, LCSW

There are specialized protocols for working with children with many different orientations
Identifying which orientation suits you
How to understand what is being reenacted and how to respond: Notice it, sit with it, make meaning of it; Observe it, name it, model how to cope with it

What boundaries should therapists set when working with children and families?

Unit of treatment (family, individual, who was showing up to the session?)
Treatment goals (what are we working on?)
What children are allowed to do in the session
Interactions with caregivers and the responsibilities caregivers have during sessions

What does online therapy look like with children?

The challenges with working with children online
Online sand tray, online dollhouse, online puppet theater
Creating a virtual play room
New trainings for VR therapy for children
Watching children play video games online

How has the pandemic impacted children?

This was dependent on how well parents were able to self-regulate and stay within the window of tolerance (was there someone who could help the child to regulate)
Lack of socialization and difficulty in having conversations

Our Generous Sponsors for this episode of the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide:

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Resources for Modern Therapists mentioned in this Podcast Episode:

We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below may be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance!
Ofra Obejas’ website: redondovillagecounseling.com

Ofra on YouTube

UCSD - Play Therapy Program

Relevant Episodes of MTSG Podcast:

How Therapists Can Really Help Kids Who Are Being Bullied

Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: An interview with Dr. Barbara Stroud

What is Parental Alienation and How Can Therapists Successfully Treat it?

Rage and Client Self-Harm: An interview with Angela Caldwell, LMFT

Let’s Talk About Race: An interview with Stevon Lewis, LMFT

Who we are:

Curt Widhalm, LMFT

Curt Widhalm is in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is the cofounder of the Therapy Reimagined conference, an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University and CSUN, a former Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, former CFO of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: www.curtwidhalm.com

Katie Vernoy, LMFT

Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant supporting leaders, visionaries, executives, and helping professionals to create sustainable careers. Katie, with Curt, has developed workshops and a conference, Therapy Reimagined, to support therapists navigating through the modern challenges of this profession. Katie is also a former President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more at: www.katievernoy.com

A Quick Note:

Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it.

Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.