U of A Play Therapy Program Plans Open House March 14

Photo by Matt Reynolds

Kristi Perryman, right, works with a counselor education graduate student and child in the Office of Play Therapy Research and Training at the University of Arkansas.

The Office of Play Therapy Research and Training at the University of Arkansas invites the community to an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Monday, March 14 in the Graduate Education Building on Maple Street.

Kristi Perryman, an assistant professor of counselor education in the College of Education and Health Professions, created the play therapy office last year. It received its designation as a nationally approved center by the Association for Play Therapy on March 6, 2015.

Practitioners, educators, prospective students and others interested in play therapy are invited to tour the office in Room 136 of the Graduate Education Building. Parking is open for free after 5 p.m. in some permitted lots nearby, and metered spaces are also available.

The office offers courses and training to enable graduate students and mental health professionals to become Registered Play Therapists and Supervisors.

"Children develop cognitively before they develop verbally," Perryman said. "Due to this, a young child's cognitive process comes out through play, rather than verbal communication. We offer them a room with therapeutic toys, and the counselor creates a safe environment in which children may recreate their world. The play therapist is trained to set limits as needed and respond in a way that allows children to fully express themselves and gain self-control. The play therapist notes themes in the child's play and uses this information to offer insight and suggestions to parents for ways to help their child."