Using Puppets and Play for Emotional Literacy and Resilience

Ursula Elsa

Training Description

Marginalized youth are facing an extraordinary amount of stress and in this time of great uncertainty when youth are facing a global pandemic, climate change and local wildfires, an uprising, systematic racism, and virtual distance learning, their stressors are greater than ever. This mindfulness based training will offer youth workers culturally relevant and engaging tools, practices, and strategies for supporting marginalized youth in navigating their stress and anxiety through play. We will explore trauma informed mindfulness and activities to engage play, expressive arts and puppetry for development emotional literacy and resilience. Participants will receive guidance and tangible practices to support facilitation of mindfulness based play practices in a virtual setting for at risk youth, foster youth, and system involved youth.

Learning Objectives

• Explore and understand how mindfulness, puppetry, and play can be supportive and culturally relevant for at risk youth 
• Engage in at least 1 culturally relevant activity to support youth in reflecting on their connection to play and the imaginal realm 
• Explore at least 1 activity for supporting youth in learning emotional literacy through puppets and characters
• Identify at least 1 mindfulness based strategy for co-regulation using play 
• Learn and practice at least 2 activities for integrating play and puppetry into therapeutic practices for at risk youth
• Learn at least 2 mindfulness activities and practices to help youth and families reduce stress and anxiety

Agenda

10:00am-10:30am: Welcome, Housekeeping, Intros and Mindfulness Practice 

10:30am-10:45am: Introduction to Mindfulness Based Play Practices 

10:45am-11:15am: Activity 1: Emotional Literacy Development Using Puppets

11:15am-12:15pm: Activities 2 and 3: Mindfulness Based Play and Expressive Arts Practices 

12:15pm-1:00pm: Lunch (CEUs will not be issued for this time)

1:00pm-1:30pm: Activity 4: Facilitating Resourcing and Co-regulation through Mindfulness Based Play 

1:30pm-2:00pm: Closing and Feedback

Meet Our Trainer

Ursula Elsa (she/they) was born and raised in the beautiful land of the Bay Area, Ohlone Territory. She has been teaching mindfulness and nature connection to youth in the Bay Area for over 6 years and is currently leading rites of passage work for Gaia Passages. Ursula is passionate about creating programming for LGBTQI+ and neurodiverse communities. She is also a trained doula and an advocate of parent’s rights in the birth community. Ursula has been developing curriculum at the intersection of mindfulness, social emotional development and nature connection to support organizations and families that she collaborates with.

This course meets the qualifications for (3.25) BBS CEUs for LCSWs and MFTs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.