Individuals
Creative celebration is a necessity for the healing process!
The Power of Play is a tool for healing which brings the individual outward. It gives encouragement in a supportive environment while telling us that we can join the world and celebrate our life through laughter, creativity and performance. I think illness by it's very nature tends to push an individual more inward. The Power of Play helps the individual (figuratively speaking of course!) come out of that cocoon and turn into a butterfly! Thank for giving me that wonderful experience.
The Power of Play had a huge impact on me for the main reason that I was undergoing chemotherapy while participating in the POP and am so grateful that it helped me with my physical and mental energy level and helped assuage my depressed feelings that cropped up during treatment.
I can take the exercises and play from the last several weeks and integrate them into my everyday life..
Kathleen T.
Steady improvement
II came away from each class happier and had more energy to deal with the devils of life.
Lynn S.
The Power of Laughter
The laughter blew out all the toxins – like revving up an engine to blow out the carbon. The fun feeling carried into all my activities. Most of all, I feel welcomed to express my talents! that I would have hidden in the past. I am healthier NOW.
Ann D.
Laughter's Effect on Pain
It made you think and stretch beyond your comfort zone, but the rewards were numerous and enormous. It was inviting and fun and safe.
It felt great emotionally. Although I had physical pain, I was barely aware of it at the time because my focus was on a particular assignment and having fun. I learned that fun is the best distraction (pain reliever).
Lisa L.
The Importance of Laughter and Playing
Laughing to being playful has a significant impact on the emotional and physical parts of the body. Laughing makes me relax and the body tension is released.
The tools and techniques used in The Power Of Play provided me with the “freedom” to express the funny side of my personality. The two facilitators had a strong commitment to help us play and learn throughout the seminar. I learned to be out of the mind, to follow the process, and to let it go. It is important to be playful and to keep laughing.
Carmen R.
Play as a Teaching Metaphor in Life!
A lot of the things we learned were metaphors for my life and how to live it more passionately and with more fun. I definitely feel better emotionally (and maybe physically, too). Seeing new possibilities for myself is exciting and makes me feel good.
It was fun…really fun. Each week I learned new things about myself in the context of play that I can apply to my life.
Ruth R.
Discovering Trust
The Power of Play is wonderful. I do feel better. I think I have less frustration, and more feeling of trust that it will all be okay.
Eleanor K.
Health Professionals & Businesses
CHOC (Childrens Hospital of Orange County)
Your topic of “the Neuroscience of Fun and Compassion Fatigue was of great interest to everyone attending. The Power of Play prepared the nurses for their everyday work challenges. Your presentation presented a meaningful and timely topic in a dynamic way with facts, fun and experiences that kept everyone involved. Your evaluations were excellent. It is clear that your message and delivery were conference favorites!
www.chailifeline.org/region/westcoast
This past Sunday represented your fourth workshop at our Seasons of Respite program. As you know, Seasons of Respite provides a series of day retreats for mothers caring for seriously ill children…Your Power of Play workshops have become a favorite with our Chai Lifeline moms…Your unique, effective and infinitely entertaining approach to incorporating humor and play into one’s life, even when dealing with difficult situations is a very important tool for our clients, as they are dealing with serious medical challenges on a daily basis. By focusing on the therapeutic value of laughter and play and their impact on health and wellness, you give our clients something so important - the permission to laugh and play even in the midst of stress and illness.
Gladys T. McGarey Medical Foundation
www.mcgareyfoundation.org/home.html
Bravo! You were the perfect lunchtime speaker for Women’s Wellness Day as you reminded us that play is essential to taking care of our bodies.
(Now Cancer Support Community)
https://www.cancersupportcommunity.org/
Miss Kahn’s “Playshop” incorporates humor, non-competitive games and guided imagery to encourage participants to play. this in turn, reduces stress. Our participants have found the sessions to be great fun, to reduce inhibitions, to encourage playfulness, and to build a feeling of community with others in the group.
http://www.stepuponsecond.org/
Step Up on Second is a daytime socialization center for adults with severe mental illness, primarily schizophrenia and manic-depression. Rahla has provided a consistent motivational boost to our participants through her fun and inspirational theatrics. Likewise, she is adept at channeling the energies of confused and delusional people into constructive and unilinear communication.
I would highly recommend your seminar in the small office setting such as ours to enhance communication between the entire staff and administration…The Power of Play seminar was utilized with our entire staff. since that time, there appears to be increased communication, and that is exactly what we were hoping to obtain out of your enjoyable and informative program.
When our staff and the staff members of Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children signed up to attend this Lunch and Learn program, we didn’t know what to expect. Your blend of information, scientific research and experiential Power of Play exercises drove home the point of how valuable laughter, humor and creativity are as important tools for professional caregivers. Our participants all came away with valuable ideas and some new strategies they could take back to their jobs and apply to their patients, as well as use personally to deal with the growing critical issue of compassion fatigue.
I was struck by the professional way in which you went about creating this workshop…it was a welcome relief to learn and have fun at the same time. As Chriss mentioned at dinner, she gained great insight about the w way we interact with our volunteers, just from the one simple exercise that you did. I know that the effects of such a workshop are far reaching and will continue to inspire them as they go about the business of granting wishes and making dreams come true for some very special children.
Department of Counseling and School Psychology
…we are training both school counselors and community counselors. All of the students in our Masters program, both those who focus on the needs of children and those who focus on the needs of adults, expressed gratitude at being exposed to your theory and techniques. Your wealth of knowledge combined with your energetic presentation style provided a unique and invaluable educational experience for our counselors-in-training.
