39. The power and importance of PLAY! With counselor & drama therapist Katie Lear

Today we’re talking about the importance of PLAY! My guest today is counselor, play therapist, and drama therapist Katie Lear. She helps preteens deal with anxiety, OCD, depression and grief. Inspired at the start of the pandemic to reach more children, she expanded her 1:1 client work to include an online course, an activity book, and “Young Dragonslayers”, an online, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D)-based social skills club she co-founded with actor Zachery Byrd.

Katie and I talk about the power of storytelling for mental health, and how she uses D&D to help kids (and ourselves) explore identity, practice social skills, and form friendships.

We also go into Katie’s own struggle with perfectionism; when she finally embraced consistent, ok work over waiting for some mythical flash of brilliance, everything changed.

CONNECT WITH KATIE

You can learn more about Katie, her courses, and her upcoming book on childhood grief at katielear.com

Get on our waitlist for updates about new D&D groups via ‘Young Dragonslayers' website: www.youngdragonslayers.com

Connect with Young Dragonslayers’ co-founder Zachery Byrd at https://www.instagram.com/zabyrd/

BRENE BROWN INTRO REFERENCES:

“Gifts of Imperfection” Podcast Series: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3UrjBdrskRKfjh2UCK7UHu?si=RPflTqstThaLzscZ62GoMg

Order the 10th anniversary edition of “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Dr. Brene Brown (My Amazon affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3KBQFIU

QUOTE FROM ‘T.G.O.I’ PREFACE:

“Do” Column: Worthiness, rest, play, trust, faith, intuition, hope, authenticity, love, belonging joy, gratitude, joy, creativity

Don’t column: Perfection, numbing, certainty, exhaustion, self-sufficiency, being cool, fitting in, judgment, and scarcity.

Connect With Me:

Kelsey’s Website: http://www.kelseyformost.com

Kelsey’s Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/keformost

Kelsey’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelsey.writes/

Kelsey’s Courses: https://kelseyformost.com/courses

Original Themesong composed by Jules Grant https://www.instagram.com/j.u.l.e.s.g.r.a.n.t/

Produced by Hayleigh Hayhurst https://www.espressopodcastproduction.com/