Who Counsels the Counselor? How Play Leads to Self-Counseling

I’ve been hearing this phrase a lot lately: who counsels the counselor? This phrase has been coming from both the inquiries of others and from inside my own internal curiosity. Life is like a train and once it starts moving, it’s hard to slow it down. It can also be hard to take your eyes off of life as it’s moving down the tracks. The person who helps others by being there as a shoulder to cry on is often the person left in need of counseling but is commonly the last person to get it. Most people in the helping profession would even directly, or indirectly, protest when someone suggests they stop and check in with themselves.

This one is for all the people who help others as a career. If you’re working with people having their worst day ever, one must safeguard themselves against burnout. How? Therapy is a great idea. Talking to those you trust is useful, and peers can offer helpful perspectives and insights nearly impossible to see from the inside looking out. One way to work through life’s challenges where the counselor needs counseling is to find ways to play.

Through play we learn more about other versions of ourselves. There’s a big difference between the person you are when you’re at work and who you are when you’re engaged in something designed to foster joy and relaxation. Seems like a no-brainer that one would play on weekends or on vacation, but one may also play to:

Play fosters forms of healing through self-expression.

• Play Stress Away: Laughter and having fun is an excellent way to release stress.
• Play to Say: When we play, we organically say many of the things we have needed to say but have avoided because we had felt compelled to self-manage challenges and refrain from self-expression.
• Play Out Solutions: Play can increase creativity and imagination. Play fosters solutions and many necessary forms of healing through self-expression.

It doesn’t matter if you have your favorite go-to ways to play, or you’re interested in trying new ways to play. Playing helps you find release and refreshing, new balance.

If you’re looking for more ideas on how to play or are seeking to express your thoughts and feelings, please contact us at tanyikamoorehealingarts.com for assistance, for more information, or for a referral.

By: Tanyika “Tann” Moore, LMFT