January 16, 2025 • 25 mins
What if you could harness the magic of Disney to make complex mental health concepts accessible and relatable? Join us as we chat with Lisa Androvich, a spirited licensed marriage family therapist and registered play therapist who brings a whimsical touch to therapy by channeling her inner Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey. In this enchanting episode of A Hero's Welcome Podcast, Lisa shares her innovative presentation, "Disney on the Brain," where she uses beloved Disney characters and stories to foster empathy and understanding. With the help of classics like "Encanto," Lisa creatively illustrates generational communication and trauma, making these intricate ideas more digestible for children, caregivers, and adults.
Prepare to be inspired as we explore the intersection of popular culture and therapy, highlighting the power of relatable metaphors and analogies. Lisa's unique approach creates a shared language that simplifies discussions around emotions and the nervous system, making therapy sessions informative, engaging, and fun. We also emphasize the importance of allowing clients to craft their metaphors, ensuring these tools are personalized and meaningful. This episode is a heartwarming reminder of the potential for creativity to build stronger connections and support individual growth in therapy, all with a sprinkle of Disney magic.
A Hero's Welcome Podcast © Maria Laquerre-Diego & Liliana Baylon
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (00:02):
Welcome listeners back for another
special Disney bound episode ofa hero's welcome podcast.
I'm your co-host, marie LaCareDiego, and I'm here with my
lovely co-host.
Liliana Baylon (00:14):
That's me do it, and we are here with Lisa.
Lisa, how do you want topresent yourself to our audience
today?
Lisa Androvich (00:29):
I'm Lisa Androvich.
I'm a licensed marriage familytherapist and a registered play
therapist.
I'm a certified synergetic playtherapist and I also want to
introduce myself, as I thinkthis is really important.
I'm going to, and I'm going to,use a Disney metaphor, because
(00:54):
I think that's what we're allabout today.
I'm gonna say I'm sorcererapprentice Mickey.
Um, because it's like I'm thisis my first time like in.
I mean, I've presented and I'veshared the stuff that I have,
(01:18):
and but this is my first timepresenting on this sort of scale
.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (01:24):
Yeah.
Lisa Androvich (01:25):
And I think that's really important, because
you're taking a chance on meand I want others to know out
there that they can do it too.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (01:39):
Yes, I love that.
Apprentice Mickey is a greatmetaphor.
Lisa Androvich (01:44):
I love that and it's like, yes, we can do it.
And Mickey knew he was able to.
He had like all of this stuffinside of him and, yes, he did
like take the hat, and it gotmessy and the brooms went out of
control and I love it.
(02:06):
It was as it was supposed to be.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (02:09):
Yes.
Lisa Androvich (02:10):
Now, as I remembered it In my mind, as I
thought that it had like thisbeautiful happy ending when the
Sorcerer gave Mickey the hat hatand that it was like, ah, and
(02:30):
that's how it ended beautifully,and it's not really how it
ended.
But I'm going to keep that andI think I need to hold both
parts.
Both of those things can be yes, both can be true, but I love
that it's messy and water'sgoing to get spilled.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (02:51):
Yes, yes, I love that you're giving
yourself permission.
Yes, this is not.
We're not seeking perfection,we're not.
We're not even promotingperfection.
We're not doing that.
Lisa Androvich (03:03):
Not at all.
But, I love that we can allcome in any place that we are
and that we all have somethingto share.
There you go, and I thinkthat's the beauty and the magic
that you are providing and thatDisney does as well, so it just
(03:26):
goes hand in hand beautifully,and, and so that's how I want to
introduce myself- Well, thankyou.
Liliana Baylon (03:33):
Thank you for being here.
Can you let the audience knowcause you're part of the Disney
bound, as Maria just shared, sowe're counting already the weeks
for all of you to be in thisamazing, magical place.
Have so much fun.
Can you tell us what is it thatyou're going to be teaching,
sharing with others?
Lisa Androvich (03:54):
Yes, I am presenting on.
It's called Disney on the Brain.
The application of neurosciencein play therapy to foster
connection and empathy.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (04:09):
I love this.
How did you start interweavingneuroscience and Disney, mm-hmm.
Lisa Androvich (04:16):
It started early on.
I love the brain stuff, but mymind works in metaphor and I
can't quite grasp a topic unlesssome pop culture reference
comes inside of it.
Yes, or else it's gobbledygook,and I want to say all the big
(04:46):
words but I don't get it.
I mean, I can, I can recite itmaybe, but I'm not getting it.
I love that and so, and eventhere was a part of when I was
learning it.
When I was learning it, itwasn't.
I didn't embody it until Icould make it my own, and so I
(05:16):
started.
I'm a proud Disney adult.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (05:18):
And as I started.
Lisa Androvich (05:18):
They're popping off as I started to think about
Disney characters and justlittle snapshots like oh, this
is this part, we're activated.
And it started when I wastalking to caregivers and they
(05:42):
can relate to it inunderstanding this piece and
there was a little bit of oh, Isee, and then we can talk about
oh, I wonder if this fits foryou yeah it's nice to give them
a solid frame of reference.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (06:00):
Right, because, yeah, a lot of what we
do in the mental health field isvery abstract.
Right, it's very abstractthinking, abstract concepts that
we apply and when working withkids, teens and adults even
think that stuff doesn't makesense.
You know the incanto movie andwe talk about generation, family
(06:25):
, generations, and howcommunication breaks down or the
passing of generational traumas.
They can clue in so much easierthan if we're just like so,
this happens in generations andit, you know, comes down and we
embody it and you may not eventhey're and they're like what,
what are you talking about?
(06:45):
Yeah, yeah.
Lisa Androvich (06:50):
I love using Stitch to talk about what
happens when activation comes.
And there's just this alarmingpart, and a child can get a
little obnoxious and adults canget a little obnoxious, and
adults can get a littleobnoxious and mischievous and we
(07:10):
can use those types of wordsthat sound icky in my body and
it's not that.
And I can hold Stitch and aparent can hold Stitch and we
can see clips of the movie.
(07:31):
Yeah, and look at thosesnapshots, just this moment.
And it doesn't define the wholeof Stitch.
And that's what I love, becausethen it doesn't define the
whole of the child or the wholeof the parent, just the snapshot
, yeah, yeah.
And then have a conversationbetween two different stitches,
(07:56):
yeah, and what's it like for youand what's it like for other?
And there's a little bit ofspace and curiosity, and it's
playful and fun.
(08:22):
And it's playful and fun.
And so this passed on june.
June 26 is stitch day 626, andI'm a really non-directive play
therapist, but we had stitchweek I love that and I had
goodie bags, um, and there was alittle bit of neuroscience fun
and they could read about it.
But then there were activitiesthat they could do as families
(08:45):
with just silly little thingsthat could increase connection,
and it became just a thing.
I'm like I'm stitch week everyyear, just to add something, and
we're not talking aboutsympathetic activation in the
(09:10):
nervous system, because thenthat sounds like I'm going to
school.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (09:19):
It's not their language, it's not the
kid's language, it's not theparent's language, it's not even
our language, like we don'ttypically talk, even doing case
consults.
We don't talk that way.
You know, we learn it that wayand we respect where it's coming
from.
But practical application wecan't talk to our clients like
that.
Liliana Baylon (09:38):
Right.
So this is where the metaphors,the analogies, the images, the
movie clips you guys arementioning come into play,
because we have clinicallanguage that we tend to use for
systems processing.
But then how do we translatethis into clients?
And I think that's where youcome in right, which is like how
do I talk to clients as atherapist play therapist.
(09:59):
How do I talk to clients abouthow the brain functions, the
automatic responses that we have?
Such a stitch.
I love that.
I will not be able to unlinkthat anymore um and um.
How do we do that?
So that from the place ofcuriosity, which is exactly what
you've been mentioning from thebeginning, right, how can we be
(10:20):
curious about these symptoms inorder to make sense of them, to
foster connection and empathy?
Lisa Androvich (10:29):
so, at the end of the day, that place of
curiosity rather than shutdownOf, you're obnoxious or you're
mischievous, and that means this.
(10:51):
Oh no, I wonder what's going onfor you, and let me get a
little closer and lean into it,because I see the whole of you,
yeah, not the one thing.
Liliana Baylon (11:05):
I even like using the image right, Like all
of you are listening to us, butI just want you to know that
Lisa is wearing this shirt whereshe has sadness and
embarrassment.
Thank you.
Embarrassment and sadness is intop of embarrassment.
Like, let me, let me make it'sa beautiful image just to help
(11:26):
write our clients Like have youever had this Right?
Lisa Androvich (11:33):
Right, and that's that's why, maria, I love
how we get to.
We got to choose these feelingsas our little like.
I'm calling them my sidekicks,and I thought that these two
worked hand in hand in InsideOut too, they did so beautifully
(11:55):
, and I think, with caregiversthey are here and can be
channeled as these whisperingvoices of wisdom to continue to
foster that empathy andreflective awareness, to
(12:19):
increase attachment and so thatcan be interwoven so beautifully
in it.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (12:25):
Yeah, when Inside Out came, two came out.
I was like, oh, clearly there'sour theme for our next Disney
conference, because it's just,it's what we do.
And not only is that, but kidsand families are, are seeing
this, they're drawn to this.
It gives us common languagethat they understand and can
(12:46):
receive, because talking aboutshame and embarrassment and
sadness is really difficult.
But when we use those narrativetechniques and we can compare
it to characters that areoutside embodiments, right, we
can move so much faster.
But that connection and thatrapport, that I you understand
(13:06):
me.
Yes, if I tell you I'm havingan embarrassment and sadness day
, you get that.
You know what that means Mm-hmmand sadness day you get that.
Lisa Androvich (13:18):
You know what that means and we can speak in
this connected place.
I get so excited.
I'm so excited, and then I haveto bring in.
(13:45):
On the other hand, there isthis place with metaphor.
There's the dark side, too, ofnot all metaphors are created
equally, and this metaphor, themetaphors that I'm using as this
teaching tool and are mine, andthen I want to give option and,
(14:06):
and so it's that jumping boardand I, and so part of what I
(14:29):
want to make sure to bring in toto this, to foster connection,
is to talk about how do we thenbring in?
Let's bring an opportunity foryour metaphor, because this is
this works for me and it's not.
It may not work for you, andthat would be the height of my
own hubris to say here's Stitch,this is yours, take it home
with you, it's your pet now, andyou have to love Stitch like
(14:50):
Lilo, did Right and goodbye, I'mout of here.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (14:55):
No, no, it's permission giving, right,
it's permission giving I waslike I love that, lilo loves it
so much.
Liliana Baylon (15:03):
You guys remember the thing.
Like I'm not touching you.
Yeah, first image that came tomy mind when you said that,
which is exactly what parents,caretakers and children go to,
which is lean in.
You're too close, go away.
How do we connect?
You know, how do we create thatempathy when you're telling me
(15:23):
to go away?
Maria Laquerre-Diego (15:25):
she put some serious boundaries up yeah,
yeah, no, it's so, it's so good, it's so good, it's so good.
So, lisa I this is more justpersonal curiosity but you, we
did not know each other beforeyou came to Disney last year, is
that right?
No, we did not know each other.
So why, in the world, besidesbeing a self-identified Disney
(15:50):
adult, like what made you takethe leap to come?
I mean, you had no connectionto me.
You had no idea what to expect.
This was the first time it wasdone.
What made you interested incoming?
Lisa Androvich (16:03):
Well, and this was a training of my dreams,
Like, if anything.
Like, oh my gosh, we could havea training at Disneyland.
Yes, sign me up.
So when I saw that and I thinkI signed up relatively later
when I saw it on social mediaand then looked at the speakers,
(16:27):
the only person that I knew wasLiliana, because Liliana was my
, my consultant when I did myintro to synergetic play therapy
and I was like, oh, doublegoodness.
Liliana Baylon (16:43):
I thought you were going to say, like how can
I get away from this lady?
Lisa Androvich (16:47):
kidding me.
I was like, yes, sign me up,yes, and I thought this is
possible, this can be something.
And and then I mean because,and then when we were in this
(17:09):
group of like-minded individuals, that it gave me permission,
that it was like it's okay to dothe things that I've been doing
.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (17:22):
Yeah.
Liliana Baylon (17:25):
Yeah, nice.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (17:31):
I'm okay as what I'm doing yes, well, and
you're needed doing what you'redoing.
Nobody can do what you're doingthe way you're doing it and,
yeah, hands down.
I mean the response has beenthe connections made were worth
it by itself, let alone likewhat we learned and the
(17:52):
experiences we got to have inthe park together, but the
connections and the rapport.
Like our whatsapp group is soworth it for everyone who's
listening.
Liliana Baylon (18:02):
So not only you're going to this amazing
training, you're gonna be fedlike no other conference have
fed you before.
They're going to be taken careof.
Then they're going to introduceyou to the WhatsApp group which
hold on because from the.
Moment you arrive, they're likewho wants to go to this ride?
I'm in this ride.
I'll hold the line To even nowit keeps going, sharing what's
(18:26):
happening with each other,embracing, empowering each other
.
So you become part of acommunity once you attend this
training.
Lisa Androvich (18:33):
Yeah, it's truly like no other.
Yeah, in other groups that I'vebeen in, in other cohorts that
I've been in that are longer orthat we need in for longer
(18:55):
groups of time, it may be thatthere's connections between
individuals, but thecohesiveness of the entire like
that, yeah, is something unlikeanything that I've seen.
(19:18):
I mean, that just brings tearsto my eyes and I am of.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (19:24):
That's just magical yeah, it's pretty
darn special.
It is and it was not.
It wasn't like a goal I wasn'tout to be like this is going to
be like a rocking communitythat's going to like.
But I think I think theconnection a lot of the feedback
I get is that there was a lotof just show up as you are and
(19:44):
you're accepted.
Not only you accepted, butyou're celebrated in a way that
you know Disney adults are notwelcome everywhere.
You know people who havefandoms and do geek stuff like
that's not always accepted, andso this community is really
built around like not only areyou welcome the way you are, but
(20:07):
you're celebrated for who youare and how you show up and you
don't have to be like everybodyelse in this group to feel
cohesive.
Right Like this is not a StarWars only group, because that is
my fandom of choice.
Right Like we are all, butwe're all marginalized in some
ways.
And I think this group has beenreally such a safe haven for a
(20:32):
lot of us that feel alone doingwhat we've been doing and just
knowing that we're not doing italone and not only is what we're
doing great, but it's necessary, I agree.
Lisa Androvich (20:44):
You don't even have to like Disney, you don't
have to be a Disney person.
It has value outside of it.
It it brings play.
It brings true play in, becausewe're really doing the play.
Yeah, we're living thetherapeutic powers of play
(21:07):
rather than talking about them.
Liliana Baylon (21:09):
Yeah, which is something that, mariana, for all
of you who have been listeningto us for a while, thank you for
listening to us for a while.
But that's exactly what we'vebeen saying, which is we go to
trainings to talk about playtherapy, but exactly, we're
talking about play therapy Mostof the conference that we go.
We are go, go, go from trainingto training and then at the end
(21:30):
we're trying to catch up withone another, but we're exhausted
.
We go exhausted, we areexhausted and come back like
we're not able to make asentence the next couple of days
.
This conference that Maria ishosting is completely different.
You have one day of training,one day of play.
Actually start with one day ofplay.
I think I catch up late, butlast time that I went in so it
(21:54):
was like the integration ofwe're going to learn, we're
going to play, we're going tolearn, we're going to play, and
then you know in the afternoonslike we were all catching up and
it was.
It is a lovely environment thatyou created, maria, and we're
thankful for it, because it'snot just let me talk to you and
let me teach you while we'rehere, which is still teaching.
It's not the main component thatLisa is mentioning.
(22:15):
So this has been our experience, lisa, joining in this part of
being a presenter for thisconference now.
But all of us who havepresented with Maria at Disney
have this in common, which is itis a beautiful way of being
with one another.
So kudos to you for at leastthe first year going as a
participant.
Look at you second year shiningall the way and now presenting.
(22:40):
So for all of you who arelistening, I think Maria
mentioned there's four spotsleft, so hurry up and remind
them when it starts.
And then registration foranyone who does not catch up.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (22:57):
So yeah, so right now, as a recording, we
have four slots and thedeadline is either those four
slots go or the 24th of Januaryis our cutoff for registration.
The conference is March 10ththrough the 15th and it's
offering up to 21 CEs that arealso NBCC and APT CEs, so it'll
(23:21):
help you for both.
You do not have to be a playtherapist, but you do need to be
playful, because otherwiseyou're gonna be really
uncomfortable, and that's okaytoo, um, but yeah, we're.
I am just elated, lisa.
I'm so excited for you to be apresenter this year with me and
that you're taking a chance.
I know that this is like a bigstep for you as well, um, and
(23:45):
what an honor for me to host youat Disney to do that.
Lisa Androvich (23:49):
I'm thank you.
I'm filled with gratitude.
Liliana Baylon (23:54):
Well thank you, Lita, for being here.
For all of you who arelistening and are going already,
please ask Lisa questions.
She is amazing.
This whole idea of how do wecreate and foster connection and
empathy is needed betweenfamilies, between us therapists,
(24:14):
between our field.
Like it's just needed period.
So please go to her training,take some notes and have a blast
.
Thank you for being here.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (24:24):
Thank you, Lisa.
Till next time, guys.
Bye.
Welcome listeners back for another
special Disney bound episode ofa hero's welcome podcast.
I'm your co-host, marie LaCareDiego, and I'm here with my
lovely co-host.
Liliana Baylon (00:14):
That's me do it, and we are here with Lisa.
Lisa, how do you want topresent yourself to our audience
today?
Lisa Androvich (00:29):
I'm Lisa Androvich.
I'm a licensed marriage familytherapist and a registered play
therapist.
I'm a certified synergetic playtherapist and I also want to
introduce myself, as I thinkthis is really important.
I'm going to, and I'm going to,use a Disney metaphor, because
(00:54):
I think that's what we're allabout today.
I'm gonna say I'm sorcererapprentice Mickey.
Um, because it's like I'm thisis my first time like in.
I mean, I've presented and I'veshared the stuff that I have,
(01:18):
and but this is my first timepresenting on this sort of scale
.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (01:24):
Yeah.
Lisa Androvich (01:25):
And I think that's really important, because
you're taking a chance on meand I want others to know out
there that they can do it too.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (01:39):
Yes, I love that.
Apprentice Mickey is a greatmetaphor.
Lisa Androvich (01:44):
I love that and it's like, yes, we can do it.
And Mickey knew he was able to.
He had like all of this stuffinside of him and, yes, he did
like take the hat, and it gotmessy and the brooms went out of
control and I love it.
(02:06):
It was as it was supposed to be.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (02:09):
Yes.
Lisa Androvich (02:10):
Now, as I remembered it In my mind, as I
thought that it had like thisbeautiful happy ending when the
Sorcerer gave Mickey the hat hatand that it was like, ah, and
(02:30):
that's how it ended beautifully,and it's not really how it
ended.
But I'm going to keep that andI think I need to hold both
parts.
Both of those things can be yes, both can be true, but I love
that it's messy and water'sgoing to get spilled.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (02:51):
Yes, yes, I love that you're giving
yourself permission.
Yes, this is not.
We're not seeking perfection,we're not.
We're not even promotingperfection.
We're not doing that.
Lisa Androvich (03:03):
Not at all.
But, I love that we can allcome in any place that we are
and that we all have somethingto share.
There you go, and I thinkthat's the beauty and the magic
that you are providing and thatDisney does as well, so it just
(03:26):
goes hand in hand beautifully,and, and so that's how I want to
introduce myself- Well, thankyou.
Liliana Baylon (03:33):
Thank you for being here.
Can you let the audience knowcause you're part of the Disney
bound, as Maria just shared, sowe're counting already the weeks
for all of you to be in thisamazing, magical place.
Have so much fun.
Can you tell us what is it thatyou're going to be teaching,
sharing with others?
Lisa Androvich (03:54):
Yes, I am presenting on.
It's called Disney on the Brain.
The application of neurosciencein play therapy to foster
connection and empathy.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (04:09):
I love this.
How did you start interweavingneuroscience and Disney, mm-hmm.
Lisa Androvich (04:16):
It started early on.
I love the brain stuff, but mymind works in metaphor and I
can't quite grasp a topic unlesssome pop culture reference
comes inside of it.
Yes, or else it's gobbledygook,and I want to say all the big
(04:46):
words but I don't get it.
I mean, I can, I can recite itmaybe, but I'm not getting it.
I love that and so, and eventhere was a part of when I was
learning it.
When I was learning it, itwasn't.
I didn't embody it until Icould make it my own, and so I
(05:16):
started.
I'm a proud Disney adult.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (05:18):
And as I started.
Lisa Androvich (05:18):
They're popping off as I started to think about
Disney characters and justlittle snapshots like oh, this
is this part, we're activated.
And it started when I wastalking to caregivers and they
(05:42):
can relate to it inunderstanding this piece and
there was a little bit of oh, Isee, and then we can talk about
oh, I wonder if this fits foryou yeah it's nice to give them
a solid frame of reference.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (06:00):
Right, because, yeah, a lot of what we
do in the mental health field isvery abstract.
Right, it's very abstractthinking, abstract concepts that
we apply and when working withkids, teens and adults even
think that stuff doesn't makesense.
You know the incanto movie andwe talk about generation, family
(06:25):
, generations, and howcommunication breaks down or the
passing of generational traumas.
They can clue in so much easierthan if we're just like so,
this happens in generations andit, you know, comes down and we
embody it and you may not eventhey're and they're like what,
what are you talking about?
(06:45):
Yeah, yeah.
Lisa Androvich (06:50):
I love using Stitch to talk about what
happens when activation comes.
And there's just this alarmingpart, and a child can get a
little obnoxious and adults canget a little obnoxious, and
adults can get a littleobnoxious and mischievous and we
(07:10):
can use those types of wordsthat sound icky in my body and
it's not that.
And I can hold Stitch and aparent can hold Stitch and we
can see clips of the movie.
(07:31):
Yeah, and look at thosesnapshots, just this moment.
And it doesn't define the wholeof Stitch.
And that's what I love, becausethen it doesn't define the
whole of the child or the wholeof the parent, just the snapshot
, yeah, yeah.
And then have a conversationbetween two different stitches,
(07:56):
yeah, and what's it like for youand what's it like for other?
And there's a little bit ofspace and curiosity, and it's
playful and fun.
(08:22):
And it's playful and fun.
And so this passed on june.
June 26 is stitch day 626, andI'm a really non-directive play
therapist, but we had stitchweek I love that and I had
goodie bags, um, and there was alittle bit of neuroscience fun
and they could read about it.
But then there were activitiesthat they could do as families
(08:45):
with just silly little thingsthat could increase connection,
and it became just a thing.
I'm like I'm stitch week everyyear, just to add something, and
we're not talking aboutsympathetic activation in the
(09:10):
nervous system, because thenthat sounds like I'm going to
school.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (09:19):
It's not their language, it's not the
kid's language, it's not theparent's language, it's not even
our language, like we don'ttypically talk, even doing case
consults.
We don't talk that way.
You know, we learn it that wayand we respect where it's coming
from.
But practical application wecan't talk to our clients like
that.
Liliana Baylon (09:38):
Right.
So this is where the metaphors,the analogies, the images, the
movie clips you guys arementioning come into play,
because we have clinicallanguage that we tend to use for
systems processing.
But then how do we translatethis into clients?
And I think that's where youcome in right, which is like how
do I talk to clients as atherapist play therapist.
(09:59):
How do I talk to clients abouthow the brain functions, the
automatic responses that we have?
Such a stitch.
I love that.
I will not be able to unlinkthat anymore um and um.
How do we do that?
So that from the place ofcuriosity, which is exactly what
you've been mentioning from thebeginning, right, how can we be
(10:20):
curious about these symptoms inorder to make sense of them, to
foster connection and empathy?
Lisa Androvich (10:29):
so, at the end of the day, that place of
curiosity rather than shutdownOf, you're obnoxious or you're
mischievous, and that means this.
(10:51):
Oh no, I wonder what's going onfor you, and let me get a
little closer and lean into it,because I see the whole of you,
yeah, not the one thing.
Liliana Baylon (11:05):
I even like using the image right, Like all
of you are listening to us, butI just want you to know that
Lisa is wearing this shirt whereshe has sadness and
embarrassment.
Thank you.
Embarrassment and sadness is intop of embarrassment.
Like, let me, let me make it'sa beautiful image just to help
(11:26):
write our clients Like have youever had this Right?
Lisa Androvich (11:33):
Right, and that's that's why, maria, I love
how we get to.
We got to choose these feelingsas our little like.
I'm calling them my sidekicks,and I thought that these two
worked hand in hand in InsideOut too, they did so beautifully
(11:55):
, and I think, with caregiversthey are here and can be
channeled as these whisperingvoices of wisdom to continue to
foster that empathy andreflective awareness, to
(12:19):
increase attachment and so thatcan be interwoven so beautifully
in it.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (12:25):
Yeah, when Inside Out came, two came out.
I was like, oh, clearly there'sour theme for our next Disney
conference, because it's just,it's what we do.
And not only is that, but kidsand families are, are seeing
this, they're drawn to this.
It gives us common languagethat they understand and can
(12:46):
receive, because talking aboutshame and embarrassment and
sadness is really difficult.
But when we use those narrativetechniques and we can compare
it to characters that areoutside embodiments, right, we
can move so much faster.
But that connection and thatrapport, that I you understand
(13:06):
me.
Yes, if I tell you I'm havingan embarrassment and sadness day
, you get that.
You know what that means Mm-hmmand sadness day you get that.
Lisa Androvich (13:18):
You know what that means and we can speak in
this connected place.
I get so excited.
I'm so excited, and then I haveto bring in.
(13:45):
On the other hand, there isthis place with metaphor.
There's the dark side, too, ofnot all metaphors are created
equally, and this metaphor, themetaphors that I'm using as this
teaching tool and are mine, andthen I want to give option and,
(14:06):
and so it's that jumping boardand I, and so part of what I
(14:29):
want to make sure to bring in toto this, to foster connection,
is to talk about how do we thenbring in?
Let's bring an opportunity foryour metaphor, because this is
this works for me and it's not.
It may not work for you, andthat would be the height of my
own hubris to say here's Stitch,this is yours, take it home
with you, it's your pet now, andyou have to love Stitch like
(14:50):
Lilo, did Right and goodbye, I'mout of here.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (14:55):
No, no, it's permission giving, right,
it's permission giving I waslike I love that, lilo loves it
so much.
Liliana Baylon (15:03):
You guys remember the thing.
Like I'm not touching you.
Yeah, first image that came tomy mind when you said that,
which is exactly what parents,caretakers and children go to,
which is lean in.
You're too close, go away.
How do we connect?
You know, how do we create thatempathy when you're telling me
(15:23):
to go away?
Maria Laquerre-Diego (15:25):
she put some serious boundaries up yeah,
yeah, no, it's so, it's so good, it's so good, it's so good.
So, lisa I this is more justpersonal curiosity but you, we
did not know each other beforeyou came to Disney last year, is
that right?
No, we did not know each other.
So why, in the world, besidesbeing a self-identified Disney
(15:50):
adult, like what made you takethe leap to come?
I mean, you had no connectionto me.
You had no idea what to expect.
This was the first time it wasdone.
What made you interested incoming?
Lisa Androvich (16:03):
Well, and this was a training of my dreams,
Like, if anything.
Like, oh my gosh, we could havea training at Disneyland.
Yes, sign me up.
So when I saw that and I thinkI signed up relatively later
when I saw it on social mediaand then looked at the speakers,
(16:27):
the only person that I knew wasLiliana, because Liliana was my
, my consultant when I did myintro to synergetic play therapy
and I was like, oh, doublegoodness.
Liliana Baylon (16:43):
I thought you were going to say, like how can
I get away from this lady?
Lisa Androvich (16:47):
kidding me.
I was like, yes, sign me up,yes, and I thought this is
possible, this can be something.
And and then I mean because,and then when we were in this
(17:09):
group of like-minded individuals, that it gave me permission,
that it was like it's okay to dothe things that I've been doing
.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (17:22):
Yeah.
Liliana Baylon (17:25):
Yeah, nice.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (17:31):
I'm okay as what I'm doing yes, well, and
you're needed doing what you'redoing.
Nobody can do what you're doingthe way you're doing it and,
yeah, hands down.
I mean the response has beenthe connections made were worth
it by itself, let alone likewhat we learned and the
(17:52):
experiences we got to have inthe park together, but the
connections and the rapport.
Like our whatsapp group is soworth it for everyone who's
listening.
Liliana Baylon (18:02):
So not only you're going to this amazing
training, you're gonna be fedlike no other conference have
fed you before.
They're going to be taken careof.
Then they're going to introduceyou to the WhatsApp group which
hold on because from the.
Moment you arrive, they're likewho wants to go to this ride?
I'm in this ride.
I'll hold the line To even nowit keeps going, sharing what's
(18:26):
happening with each other,embracing, empowering each other
.
So you become part of acommunity once you attend this
training.
Lisa Androvich (18:33):
Yeah, it's truly like no other.
Yeah, in other groups that I'vebeen in, in other cohorts that
I've been in that are longer orthat we need in for longer
(18:55):
groups of time, it may be thatthere's connections between
individuals, but thecohesiveness of the entire like
that, yeah, is something unlikeanything that I've seen.
(19:18):
I mean, that just brings tearsto my eyes and I am of.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (19:24):
That's just magical yeah, it's pretty
darn special.
It is and it was not.
It wasn't like a goal I wasn'tout to be like this is going to
be like a rocking communitythat's going to like.
But I think I think theconnection a lot of the feedback
I get is that there was a lotof just show up as you are and
(19:44):
you're accepted.
Not only you accepted, butyou're celebrated in a way that
you know Disney adults are notwelcome everywhere.
You know people who havefandoms and do geek stuff like
that's not always accepted, andso this community is really
built around like not only areyou welcome the way you are, but
(20:07):
you're celebrated for who youare and how you show up and you
don't have to be like everybodyelse in this group to feel
cohesive.
Right Like this is not a StarWars only group, because that is
my fandom of choice.
Right Like we are all, butwe're all marginalized in some
ways.
And I think this group has beenreally such a safe haven for a
(20:32):
lot of us that feel alone doingwhat we've been doing and just
knowing that we're not doing italone and not only is what we're
doing great, but it's necessary, I agree.
Lisa Androvich (20:44):
You don't even have to like Disney, you don't
have to be a Disney person.
It has value outside of it.
It it brings play.
It brings true play in, becausewe're really doing the play.
Yeah, we're living thetherapeutic powers of play
(21:07):
rather than talking about them.
Liliana Baylon (21:09):
Yeah, which is something that, mariana, for all
of you who have been listeningto us for a while, thank you for
listening to us for a while.
But that's exactly what we'vebeen saying, which is we go to
trainings to talk about playtherapy, but exactly, we're
talking about play therapy Mostof the conference that we go.
We are go, go, go from trainingto training and then at the end
(21:30):
we're trying to catch up withone another, but we're exhausted
.
We go exhausted, we areexhausted and come back like
we're not able to make asentence the next couple of days
.
This conference that Maria ishosting is completely different.
You have one day of training,one day of play.
Actually start with one day ofplay.
I think I catch up late, butlast time that I went in so it
(21:54):
was like the integration ofwe're going to learn, we're
going to play, we're going tolearn, we're going to play, and
then you know in the afternoonslike we were all catching up and
it was.
It is a lovely environment thatyou created, maria, and we're
thankful for it, because it'snot just let me talk to you and
let me teach you while we'rehere, which is still teaching.
It's not the main component thatLisa is mentioning.
(22:15):
So this has been our experience, lisa, joining in this part of
being a presenter for thisconference now.
But all of us who havepresented with Maria at Disney
have this in common, which is itis a beautiful way of being
with one another.
So kudos to you for at leastthe first year going as a
participant.
Look at you second year shiningall the way and now presenting.
(22:40):
So for all of you who arelistening, I think Maria
mentioned there's four spotsleft, so hurry up and remind
them when it starts.
And then registration foranyone who does not catch up.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (22:57):
So yeah, so right now, as a recording, we
have four slots and thedeadline is either those four
slots go or the 24th of Januaryis our cutoff for registration.
The conference is March 10ththrough the 15th and it's
offering up to 21 CEs that arealso NBCC and APT CEs, so it'll
(23:21):
help you for both.
You do not have to be a playtherapist, but you do need to be
playful, because otherwiseyou're gonna be really
uncomfortable, and that's okaytoo, um, but yeah, we're.
I am just elated, lisa.
I'm so excited for you to be apresenter this year with me and
that you're taking a chance.
I know that this is like a bigstep for you as well, um, and
(23:45):
what an honor for me to host youat Disney to do that.
Lisa Androvich (23:49):
I'm thank you.
I'm filled with gratitude.
Liliana Baylon (23:54):
Well thank you, Lita, for being here.
For all of you who arelistening and are going already,
please ask Lisa questions.
She is amazing.
This whole idea of how do wecreate and foster connection and
empathy is needed betweenfamilies, between us therapists,
(24:14):
between our field.
Like it's just needed period.
So please go to her training,take some notes and have a blast
.
Thank you for being here.
Maria Laquerre-Diego (24:24):
Thank you, Lisa.
Till next time, guys.
Bye.
Popular Podcasts
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.