Play rooms may look like a random assortment of toys, but fall into categories specifically designed to help children process emotions. Categories may include: • Realistic toys—a real stethoscope, Band-Aids, and medical kits. • Nurturing toys—play food, a kitchen set, baby dolls, and bottles. • Aggressive toys—plastic swords, chain saws and guns, aggressive animals like lions and tigers, and an angry puppet. • Expressive toys—a sand table, art and craft supplies, and musical instruments.
CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF LATIN AMERICA Jul 6 - Aug 3
• Pretend and fantasy toys—dress-up clothes and masks. Mental health professionals conduct these play therapy sessions, but primary care physicians are in a position to watch for signs of trauma or stress in their pediatric patients and encourage parents to consider a treatment like play therapy, just as they would recommend a care plan for any physical ailment. For parents of a play therapy client like Hannah, mental health counseling is an opportunity to prepare for success as their child learns to manage emotions in a healthy way, while also navigating the challenges that may arise with their physical health.
Remembering to focus on self-care While Hannah and Sophie are top priorities for their parents, primary caregivers like mothers, fathers, and other close relatives would be remiss to overlook the importance of focusing on their own mental health needs. Through individual therapy, one-on-one conversation facilitates an opportunity for adolescents and adults to work through challenging experiences. Parents carry their own risk of secondary trauma as they maintain a routine of complex cares, endure their child undergoing invasive procedures, and work to maintain a normal family dynamic that doesn’t always have to focus on the medical aspect of their life. Hannah’s parents have encountered a wide array of circumstances since having their second daughter. Through individual therapy, they have been able to process the feelings of grief, trauma, anger, and anxiety left behind as a result—empowering them to improve their own emotional health. Clients who are 11 or older—and therefore not good candidates for play therapy—would still benefit immensely from counseling and an opportunity to have conversations surrounding their emotions. As Hannah gets older, she may use individual therapy as a way to process new challenges she encounters, such as social issues at school or loss of people she has met along her medical journey. While older patients may have a better understanding of the procedures and care they’re receiving, this is still not without an abundance of emotion. Individual therapy provides an outlet for this processing to take place in a more age-appropriate setting. Through this simple act of self-care, adolescents and adults can work on making sense of the experiences that have led them to where they are, and create a plan moving forward—a resource that all individuals can benefit from. Physicians and other health care professionals can stress this point during their patient visits, encouraging patients to take care of their physical and behavioral health needs.
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La Pasión según San Marcos
La Pasión según San Marcos (The Passion According to St. Mark)
Fri Aug 2 & Sat Aug 3 8pm Energized by the spirit of Afro-Cuban music, bossa nova, tango, rumba and mambo, Osvaldo Golijov brings the rich tradition of Latin American music to his interpretation of the final days in the life of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible’s Gospel of Mark. This performance features the Minnesota Orchestra and brings together international soloists, choristers and soloists from Border CrosSing and the Minnesota Chorale. Tickets: $30-$97 F E AT U R I N G
Minnesota Orchestra María Guinand, conductor Marcela Lorca, stage director Jessica Rivera, soprano Luciana Souza, mezzo Reynaldo González-Fernández, vocalist and dancer Ahmed Anzaldúa, choral preparation Border CrosSing Minnesota Chorale María Guinand
612-371-5656 / minnesotaorchestra.org/sommerfest Orchestra Hall / Música Juntos is sponsored by
MINNESOTA PHYSICIAN JUNE 2019
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