The Association for Play Therapy, a non-profit based in California, designated Georgia State's Play Therapy Training Institute an "Approved Center of Play Therapy Education," a gold seal of approval in the field for its substantial research, publications and graduate-level instruction.
 
The Play Therapy Institute is housed in the College of Education's Department of Counseling and Psychological Services.
 
Play therapy is a form of counseling in which licensed mental health professionals incorporate the use of play to better communicate with clients. It is particularly effective with children who communicate their ideas and feelings more easily through play.
 
Georgia State's Play Therapy Training Institute was founded in 2007 by its initial director, Dr. JoAnna White, chair of the Department of Counseling and Psychological Services. She and the current director, Dr. Lauren Wynne, clinical assistant professor, expanded its targeted participants from elementary and middle school counseling students to include students in other counseling programs and non-degree students who typically work in local mental health professions.
 
The institute was applauded for its efforts to provide play therapy training and supervision, which often takes place in the state-of-the-art play therapy room in the College of Education.
 
 "People can learn a lot from a book and watching a video, but it's a different thing to spend time with children in a play room that's equipped with the different categories of toys a child can choose from and receive immediate feedback from an instructor about their play therapy skills," said Wynne
 
The institute's research was also recognized; most notably an ongoing project on whether play therapy can improve children's attendance, on-task behaviors and academic performance in schools. 

 

Wynne, White and GSU doctoral students have trained teachers at elementary schools in metro Atlanta to use a form of play therapy, called "Kinder Training," as an intervention to strengthen the bond between student and teacher.  The project is a partnership between GSU, Gwinnett County Public Schools and Gwinnett County's Safe and Drug Free Schools Program.
 
"These skills can help teachers relate to their children in a meaningful way and create a classroom environment centered around the whole child," White said.
  
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Dr. Bryan L. Williams, associate dean for research in the College of Education, previously worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where he served as the Deputy Chief of the Organic Pesticides laboratory. His research is focused on the impact of the social and natural environ­ment on a child's cognitive and physical development. He has worked steadily in identifying the factors that influence early child development especially environmental exposures in-utero.  
 
The Research Wednesdays Speaker Series is designed to provide a platform for explorations of new ways of conducting and disseminating educational research. The program also provides an opportunity for discussion around new methods of mentoring doctoral students in an effort to enhance their development as researchers. While the series offers an opportunity to hear innovative and thought provoking speakers, it also fills an important professional develop­ment need by providing access to cutting edge researches at the state and national levels.
 
Research Wednesdays is held every Wednesday of the month. An RSVP is required to attend this event. To confirm your attendance, please contact Rosemarie Capps in the COE's Educational Research Bureau at (404) 413-8090 or erbracx@langate.gsu.edu.
 
For more information the college's Research Wednesdays Series, click here.