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Moving Forward in the Dominican Republic

I’m home from the Dominican Republic, and it was a great trip! I loved meeting the kids at the Children of the Nations (COTN) elementary schools and beginning to brainstorm how they can receive counseling services.

It was also wonderful to be in a relational culture that prizes spending time with people over effectiveness and achievement. What a breath of fresh air.

So what are the highlights from the trip?

The need is great. In the Dominican Republic, there are over 1,000 kids in the COTN elementary schools, and most of these kids come from dire circumstances. Domestic violence, abuse, neglect, poverty, and a variety of other problems have left these kids in need. The majority of them have never had the opportunity to see a counselor.

The workers are few. There are 3 school counselors for the 5 COTN elementary schools, and they are responsible for trying to meet the needs of all of the children. They have not been heavily trained in counseling, but they are eager to learn.

The plan forward. At this point, I’m wondering if the best path forward involves training the school counselors in play therapy. COTN would provide each school with a suitcase of toys and materials for the school counselors to use. If all goes well, we will try to find more school staff to train in play therapy so that more children can get access to counseling services.

Only time will tell, so I’ll keep you posted!

Source: Amy Wickstrom, PhD, Marriage and Family Therapist, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor. The play therapy blog at More Than a Toy (www.morethanatoy.com/blog)