One a Penny, Two a Penny
An update on my progress through the weeks
Do we have to..?
…Be rude and abrupt!
I just happened to say to a taxi driver, ‘I feel I’m getting too old for this…’ (having navigated a very late plane, overfull seating, only one loo and a screaming child for the whole journey!) and he responded ‘You said that last time!’ End of any conversation. Hm. I think that was rude.
NDP and Infant Mental Health is in the throes of the final stage – have I repeated myself? Are the references up to date? And worse - is this book worth reading! Which takes me into the whole area of roles in my family – ‘Susan is the dancer, your brother is the farmer, your older sister is the writer’ (well, first she was the musician but that had changed). Perhaps a gaslighting situation as we were all allocated roles and careers, and questioned if we deviated! For the three girls it was ‘of course until you get married…’, as if there was no other choice. Careers were debated to see if they could ‘fit in’ with marriage. When I published my first book, Remedial Drama in 1973, my mother’s first response was, ‘Don’t tell your sister – she sees herself as the writer in the family and it will upset her!’ ‘Yes Mother – don’t I even get a “well done”’? But of course I said nothing. I felt under the cloud of the parentel admonition: ‘women who become doctors turn out like [a certain relative] with piano legs and a booming voice!’ So success in a career, unless it fell into a suitable category, could only bring about ridicule and caricature!
The International Day of Play was so exciting to celebrate back in June, and apparently it will now be an annual event. I created two webinars to mark the day and they were attended by over 100 people. Are we at last getting to the point where PLAY is seen as important and having a crucial role in the early experiences and development of children? Babies play before they are even born, and pregnant women can encourage this with singing, rocking, telling little stories and interacting with their baby. Even walking, climbing up and down stairs, or in and out of chairs, all help the infant to rock in the warm slimy water. Rocking and soothing is the ultimate calming experience at any age. Even gentle rocking between adults is important when there has been sudden shock, loss or trauma.
I had a wonderful time in Athens running their course for the last NDP Module for NDP Greece. They made their miniature theatres and masks of their characters, with such a creative flair. And of course it reminded me that I shall be back there in October for the week-long course on Naxos (see Naxos Creative for full details). Do think about joining us – it is such a pleasure to work on the beach and at the edge of the sea – it is warm and welcoming. Naxos must be one of the friendliest places to meet new people and have new encounters! And the island is very rich I n ancient Greek history with stories abounding, including ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’.
If you already have your basic NDP Diploma you can treat Naxos as an Advanced Course, or a Trainers course if you have had some experience since your training. Otherwise you can obtain your basic Diploma by following this course.
News
NDP has free, new, puppets, toys and books for play and dramatherapists (and others who work with children). They must be fetched from Wells. Please write in with your request.
Our book tie-in webinars are proving understandably popular - the price of the webinar (£35) includes a copy of the book, which is worth more than the webinar price alone! Our best bargain to date. The next is Managing Challenging Behaviour in Children and Young People on 7 August at 12pm or 10 August at 9am.
There are two places available in the monthly, online Supervision Group: Tuesdays at 6.30pm. Please email for more details.
Finally, just a little nudge – the autumn ‘Live’ NDP Diploma is filling well – if you intend applying, please submit your application form sooner rather than later. Full details are on our website.
And of course there is always the Self-Guided Course if you wish to work in your own time and not be hemmed in by dates.
The Wisdom of Clients
We were exploring A Midsummer Night’s Dream and group members were invited to choose a character to explore. After discovering what we thought were the characters origins, family, intentions and future, we all wrote a poem about our character, in the first person. One participant wrote:
My name is Lion
People are very frightened of me
I am a very lonely lion
I want to say another BIG thank you to people who are subscribing to my Substack – it makes such a difference to enable me to write, instead of chasing other freelance work. It keeps the creative juices working, instead of a frequent stop/start rhythm which is very frustrating! So the more the merrier, as they say! I am very grateful.
With Love,
Dr Sue xxx