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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2019)
8 S moke S ignals APRIL 1, 2019 Using play to promote healing Therapy helps Tribe’s youngest members conquer difficulties By Danielle Frost Smoke Signals staff writer Famed physicist Albert Einstein referred to play as “the highest form of research” and other experts have noted play therapy is a powerful tool for addressing cognitive, be- havioral and emotional challenges. With this in mind, the Grand Ronde Tribe’s Behavioral Health Department started offering a play therapy program to help its youngest members cope with life’s challenges. Mental Health Counselor Brian Jones expressed interest in start- ing a child-centered program last summer, a year after he was hired by the Tribe to work as a mental health counselor. He first was intro- duced to play ther- apy while working with youth at a Kansas communi- ty health center. “ I wa s seeing kids for therapy sessions and I wasn’t sure what to do with them,” he said. “A ther- apist there intro- duced me to play Mental Health Specialist Tony Lai sits in the child play therapy as a way room in the Behavioral Health office on Wednesday, to help me connect March 13. Lai is a registered Play Therapy Supervisor with the kids bet- who is contracted with the Tribe to provide supervision ter.” to Mental Health Counselor Brian Jones as needed. After Jones be- gan working for the Tribe in August through language, children some- 2017, he noticed that there wasn’t times cannot do that,” Lai said. a specific counseling program for “Through toys and play, they can children. He approached Health allow the therapist to see things & Wellness Quality Improvement through their perspective.” Manager Dawn Doar to see what Lai travels to Grand Ronde twice could be done. a month to meet with Jones and “I told her I wanted to see kids, offer assistance on cases. but needed additional training,” “The benefit of play therapy is he said. “She was very receptive to that we do a lot of attachment work the idea.” with kids and parents,” he said. That is where registered Play “We help kids and parents work on Therapy Supervisor Tony Lai came their relationship and also with so- in. He began contracting with the cial skill training. For example, we Tribe to assist Jones with his child show a parent how to acknowledge counseling efforts. their child’s feelings and also help “Play is something that chil- the child with their coping skills.” dren do naturally and as adults, Doar said that some of the best while we can express our thoughts aspects of the program are being Take a Veteran Fishing event set for July The Take a Soldier Fishing organization is planning its eighth annual Take a Veteran Fishing event on Friday and Saturday, July 12-13, at Shelter Cove Resort on Odell Lake, which is 62 miles east of Eugene in Crescent. The event also welcomes disabled veterans and recently returned veterans from overseas deployment. The event is drug- and alco- hol-free and fishing tackle will be provided. It is limited to 55 veterans; family members are welcome, but boat spaces will be assigned only to veterans. To sign up, go to www.takeasoldierfishing.org. Transportation can be arranged from Vancouver, Portland, Salem and Eugene. Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast and lunch, and Sun- day breakfast will be provided. For more information, contact Grand Ronde Veterans Special Events Board Chairman Raymond Petite at 541-480-5932 or Bernie Hoene at hoene1@wildblue.net or 503-509-3507. Photos by Timothy J. Gonzalez Mental Health Counselor Brian Jones sits in the child play room in the Behavioral Health office on Wednesday, March 13. He expressed interest in starting a child-centered program last summer, a year after he was hired by the Tribe to work as a mental health counselor. able to offer children an opportuni- ty to express themselves in health- ier ways, as well as helping them discover new and more positive ways to solve problems. “We are fortunate to have a ther- apist who is passionate about help- ing children communicate through a natural form of expression,” Doar said. “Brian has been a great asset to the Behavioral Health Depart- ment and we are excited that he has brought this service to the program.” Jones currently sees five clients for play therapy and has room to expand his caseload. “The benefits of having this pro- gram is that the children look for- ward to therapy,” he said. “Some ask their parents when they can come back. When they get here they go running into the therapy room. It’s good when therapy is a positive experience like that.” Jones, who has worked with adults most of his career, said children are more likely to be themselves and say whatever is on their minds. “They’re a lot less guarded, that is the biggest difference I have no- ticed,” he said. Jones also likes to keep parents involved in the process and meets with them every three to four weeks. “I want to get them in to talk about their perspective because that is a big part of it as well,” he said. “It’s also good to meet with the parents for about five minutes before a session and get updates on how the kids are doing.” Jones said frequent issues he sees children for include depression, conduct disorder, extreme temper tantrums, refusing parental in- struction, being bullied, anxiety and trauma. “Most of these kids have been through some kind of trauma,” he said. “The main goal is giving them a platform to express themselves and how they are feeling about their world. We want to help them develop healthy coping skills and give them an opportunity to tell their story through play. That can start the healing journey. We all have a story to tell.” Jones grew up in Kansas and is a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe. He earned an associate degree from Haskell Indi- an Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Univer- sity of Kansas in social welfare. He first became interested in social work after taking a sociology class where he learned about the “glass ceiling” and how it affects the poor and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. “I wanted to help empower them, which is what led to me to this ca- reer,” Jones said. “The best part of my job is when people tell me they don’t need to see me anymore. I love hearing that.” Before working in Grand Ronde, Jones was employed as a licensed clinical social worker for the Cow Creek Tribe in Roseburg. In Kan- sas, he served as a counselor at Compass Behavioral Health and Kanza Mental Health and Guid- ance Center. For more information about the play therapy program, call Jones at 503-879-2046 or e-mail brian. jones@grandronde.org.
