Georgia State’s Play Therapy Training Institute is one of many things that makes the department of Counseling and Psychological Services attractive to top students such as Karen Murphy. An M.S. candidate in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, Murphy won the Association for Play Therapy’s Annual Conference Scholarship valued at $2,400 for the 36th Annual APT International Conference.
Originally from New Hampshire, Murphy received a B.S. in Science in Human Development with a concentration in Child Life from Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development.
What made you choose Georgia State University and the College of Education & Human Development over other schools in the area/country?
The unique quality of Georgia State’s Play Therapy Institute was the deciding factor in choosing a graduate program.
Why do you want to become a counselor?
I want to support one of the most vulnerable populations: children. This program will help give me the skill set I need to provide children with the words, and ultimately, the voice they need to overcome struggles they are experienced.
Is there a professor you’d like to highlight?
Dr. Tiffany McNary is such an influential and guiding influence in my professional development. Without her support and mentorship, I would not be where I am.
Places recognize that our students who are trained in play therapy are far better equipped to work with the complex needs of kids than students who don’t have this skill set.
-Tiffany McNary, Ph.D.
Is there something we don’t know about you that you feel would inspire a new student?
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Association for Play Therapy’s 2019 Annual Conference by receiving APT’s first annual scholarship. There, I was able to learn from pioneers in the field such as Dr. Garry Landreth, Dr. Terry Kottman, and Paris Goodyear-Brown.
Give us either a favorite quote, a song lyric or poem, or something a professor said to you that you find inspiring.
“How we walk with the broken speaks louder than how we sit with the great.” -Bill Bennot