Lesley University
Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences
Expressive Therapies Division
GEXTH : Introduction to Child Life
3 credits
Summer 1 2022
Instructor: Laura L. Wood, PhD, RDT/BCT, LMHC, CCLS
Weekly Flow
Wednesdays: 7-8pm EST for synchronous experientials and guest speakers on Zoom
Thursdays: New lectures and videos posted by 7pm EST
Tuesday: All discussion boards and assignments due by 7pm EST
Wednesday: All responses to peers DB and interventions due before start of class
Course Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the field of Child Life and to acquire the
fundamental skills in helping children and families cope with the stress of a health care
experience. Child Life programs strive to promote optimum development of children,
adolescents, and families, to maintain normal living patterns, and to minimize psychological
trauma. The course will cover the six-core required area as designated by the Child Life Council:
Child Life Documents, Scope of Practice, Impact of Injury and Illness, Family Centered Care,
Therapeutic Play, and Preparation as well as the integration of Child Life and the expressive
therapies, with a focus on using the core process of drama therapy to support the six core areas of
Child Life.
Course Objectives
1) Students will obtain the knowledge, understanding and application of Official Documents
of the Child Life Council (CLC) including the Code of Ethical Responsibility, Child Life
Competencies, and Standards of Clinical Practice, the Child Life Mission, Values and
Vision Statements, and the Code of Professional Practice.
2) Students will be introduced to the spectrum of child life practice in direct and non-direct
services in pediatric health care including a historical review of the profession and its
development in the evolution of children’s healthcare.
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3) Students will be able to formulate the impact of illness, injury and health care on patients
and families within the context of developmental theory, the stressors and developmental
and psychosocial treatment issues that affect the health care experience of a “child and
family” including siblings.
4) Students will be able to comprehend and apply concepts of Family-Centered Care,
including but not limited to understanding of the key principles of patient- and familycentered care, principles of respect and dignity, information sharing, supporting
participation in care, and collaboration in relationship to child life practice.
5) Students will be able to identify and examine elements of play, benefits of play, and
various therapeutic play modalities for the clinical setting.
6) Students will review historical and current perspectives on the rationale for, and
techniques and outcomes of preparation, as well as accepted preparation methods for
healthcare encounters and life-changing events.
Required Texts
Thompson, R.H. (2009). The Handbook of Child Life. Charles C. Thomas. New York, NY.
Omens, S. (2014). Body as impasse: Drama therapy with medically compromised
children. Trauma-informed drama therapy: Transforming clinics, classrooms, and communities,
270-286.
Pendzik, S., & Raviv, A. (2011). Therapeutic clowning and drama therapy: A family
resemblance. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 38(4), 267-275.
Bernier, M. (2005). Introduction to puppetry in therapy. Puppetry in education and therapy:
Unlocking doors to the mind and heart, 109-115.
Ilievová, Ľ., Žitný, P., & Karabová, Z. (2015). The effectiveness of drama therapy on preparation
for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in children suffering from cancer. Journal of Health
Sciences, 5(2), 53-58.
Versaci, R. A. Adapting the Six-Part Storymaking Method for use with siblings of infants on the
neonatal intensive care unit
Additional articles/videos will be provided in each weekly module
Attendance
The course is designed with both synchronous and asynchronous components online.
Attendance of the weekly online synchronous time is mandatory, and the course cannot be
passed without attending. Additionally, there will be eight modules, asynchronously, each
covering one of the six core child life areas and the integration of EXAT and Child Life.
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Methods of Instruction:
The instructor will utilize a combination of synchronous and asynchronous:
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Lectures and discussions
•
Experiential exercises
•
Videos and discussions
Summary of Grading
The following grading scale will be used:
Grade
Percent
A
93-100
A-
90-92
B+
87-89
B
83-86
B-
80-82
Not passing
<80
A = Superior performance in all areas, demonstrating in-depth understanding of material,
creativity, innovation, and ability to integrate theory and conceptualize practice. Written work
represents scholarly presentation with references that reflect appropriate formatting and breadth
of research.
A- = Very good. Clear ideas and viewpoint. Reflects reading and discussions. APA format.
B+ = Good.
B = Adequate.
B- = Below average. Work should be rewritten.
Below B- = Not passing. A passing grade must be equivalent to a “B-” or better.
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Grades are based on:
•
•
•
Your effort and commitment: being prepared for class; doing the readings; attending the
intensive, following through with assignments; participation. As the learning will be both
didactic and experiential, you will be graded on attending to the material, grappling with
it, questioning it, sharing about it. You are responsible to choose the level of participation
you feel comfortable with during the experiential components; respectful observing is
also viewed as participation. If you plan to have your camera off for a class due to
medical or personal reasons, you should communicate prior to the start of class with Dr.
Wood.
The quality of your assignments: Grades will be based on thoughtfulness, clarity,
organization, content of material, timeliness, innovation, and adherence to style (APA).
Be sure to proofread all your written work prior to handing it in.
A special note about Incompletes: If you are unable to complete your work within the
course of the semester there is a procedure for taking an Incomplete in the course – you
must fill out an Incomplete Contract and negotiate an agreed upon project and due date.
Incomplete Contracts are available at the Registrar’s Office and online. Responsibility for
completion of work rests with the student. Contracted work not completed by the agreed
upon time is recorded as "F" (Failing). I will expect that you have a good reason for
requesting an incomplete and I will need to agree to any extensions due to extenuating
circumstances. Incomplete contracts must be filed before the last date of class.
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Course Assignments:
Six Discussion Board (DB) Assignments
Six discussion boards, each covering one of core required area as designated by the Child Life
Council and based on the reading: Child Life Documents, Scope of Practice, Impact of Injury
and Illness, Family Centered Care, Therapeutic Play and Preparation. Further directions will be
given in class. (10 points each, 60 points total)
Design Three Child Life Activities/Video
Students will design three Child Life Activities using their modality of choice with a one-page
description linked to theory of the intervention, and a short video, no more than 5 mins
describing or showing elements of the intervention.
Design #1: A family centered care activity based on a scenario provided in class.
Design #2: Design a puppet that will help to educate about a specific diagnosis or medical
procedure. Create a 5 min video with you and the puppet that could be used if you were not
available on the unit or put on YouTube for parents to use.
Design #3: A play activity based on a developmental age to support a child who has been
hospitalized 20+ days and expected to be in the hospital 20-30 more days.
(30 points each, 90 points total).
CL and EXAT Special Population Activity
Students will choose a special population they would like to learn more about that is not covered
in class (oncology, transplant, emergency department, etc.) and review 3 articles on the
population. They will then design an expressive therapy intervention targeting a need for the
population, you may use any approach, except puppetry. You will turn in a one-page paper about
the diagnosis and then create a 5-10 min video showing the technique you designed.
(50 points total)
COURSE POINTS TOTAL: 200
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Tentative Schedule
Class Date
Topic Covered
Child Life Area
Demonstrated
Module Posted
Class 1: 5/18/22
Welcome
7pm EST
Syllabus Review and
Expectations
Scope of Practice
History of Child Life
Scope of Practice
Theoretical
Foundations of Child
Life and Ethics
Family Centered
Care/Scope of
Practice
Therapeutic
Relationships in
Child Life
Scope of Practice
Read Ch. 1, 2 and 4
in HBOCL
Read Ch. 6 in
HBOCL and Versaci,
R. A. Adapting the
Six-Part Storymaking
Method for use with
siblings of infants on
the neonatal intensive
care unit
DB #2: Family
Centered Care
In class experiential:
CL Activity 1
Guest Speaker:
Candy Yin Hang—
creating therapeutic
relationships in the
hospital
Class 3: 6/1/2022
For following week
DB #1 Scope of
Practice
What is Child Life?
Class 2: 5/25/22
Homework
Patient and Family
Centered Care
Read Ch 5 and 7 in
HBOCL
Communication and
Child Life
DB#3: CL
Documents
In Class Experiential:
Guest speaker
Rebecca Versache
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Class 4: 6/8/2022
Assessment in Child
Life
Child Life
Documents
Read Ch 8 in
HBOCL and
Bernier, M. (2005).
Introduction to
puppetry in
therapy. Puppetry in
education and
therapy: Unlocking
doors to the mind and
heart, 109-115.
DB#4 Therapeutic
play
CL Activity 2
Class 5 6/15/2022
Theories of Play
Play
Read: Ch 9 in
HBOCL
And Ilievová, Ľ.,
Žitný, P., &
Karabová, Z. (2015).
The effectiveness of
drama therapy on
preparation for
diagnostic and
therapeutic
procedures in
children suffering
from cancer. Journal
of Health
Sciences, 5(2), 53-58.
DB#5:Illness and
Injury
CL activity 3
7
Class 6/22
Psychological coping
and medical play
Impact of Illness and
Injury
Read Ch 12 and 13 in
HBOCL
And
Therapeutic Play
Omens, S. (2014).
Body as impasse:
Drama therapy with
medically
compromised
children. Traumainformed drama
therapy:
Transforming clinics,
classrooms, and
communities, 270286.
DB#6: Preparation
Class 7: 6/29
End of Life and
critical care
Impact of Illness and
injury
Guest Speaker:
Stephanie Omens
Class 8: 7/6
Working crossdisciplinarily in Child
Life and termination
Read: Pendzik, S., &
Raviv, A. (2011).
Therapeutic clowning
and drama therapy: A
family
resemblance. The
Arts in
Psychotherapy, 38(4),
267-275.
Final EXAT
assignment due
Guest speaker: Emily
Faith, Medical
clowning in Child
Life
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Respect Statement
In this course, each voice in the classroom has something of value to contribute. Please take care
to respect the different experiences, beliefs and values expressed by students and staff involved
in this course. We support Lesley’s commitment to diversity, and welcome individuals of all
ages, backgrounds, citizenships, disability, sex, education, ethnicities, family statuses, genders,
gender identities, geographical locations, languages, military experience, political views, races,
religions, spiritualities, sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, and work experiences.
To that end, this course is invested in helping students to reflect on facets of their own identity,
experience, and their interaction with others. We recognize that this is a sensitive, challenging,
and often-vulnerable process. It also can be one that is educationally rewarding and
transformative. We will encourage students to reflect upon their own biases, presuppositions, and
prejudices as they relate to issues of identity raised by the course content, as well as strive to
create an environment of safety, curiosity, humility, and openness. Please feel free to
communicate with the professor if you have any concerns in this regard.
Personal Process and Insight
While it is common in clinical training for students to experience some therapeutic benefits from
their academic work, clinical training is not psychotherapy. As such the student-teacher role is
not a psychotherapeutic relationship – the faculty member is not in the role of therapist and the
student is not in the role of a client. This work is experiential and as such can easily engage you
in personal as well as professional issues. You are expected to take responsibility for yourself,
and to determine and respect your own as well as other’s limits, boundaries and confidentialities.
At the same time, it is acknowledged that creative arts therapy processes often work in indirect
ways and it is not always possible to prepare in advance for possible strong responses. Because
of this, the instructors and students will work together to navigate the various intersections of
education and the therapeutic in a transparent and open exchange. Students will not be graded
on the depth of their personal experience, but their capacity for awareness and insight will be
noted as an important aspect of being competent drama therapists. If you find yourself needing/
wanting to explore issues in a therapeutic context, please utilize your personal therapist.
Gender Inclusive Language:
In keeping with Lesley University’s commitment to diversity in education, students should
commit themselves to the use of respectful and gender- inclusive language. This course calls
upon students to adopt respectful and gender- inclusive language throughout all academic
coursework, inclusive of classroom presentations and conversations, and both written and oral
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student materials. In addition, the department encourages all its members to use such language
while participating in all their collegial and social gatherings. Overall, the instructor of this
course is committed to common exploration of ways that the uses of language by all its members
foster a culture of inclusion and equity in the academy and society. We also acknowledge there
may be moments of rupture and the call for repair, as we each work towards learning to be more
thoughtful with language.
Learning Community Statement:
Faculty, staff and students are all responsible for advancing a campus and classroom climate that
creates and values a diversity of ideas, perspectives, experiences and identities. As such, we
aspire to engage together in a community where each person is respected and empowered to
express themselves and be heard.
We commit to creating an environment and developing course content that recognizes the
learning experience of every student with dignity and respect, regardless of differences that
include, but are not limited to: race, socio-economic status, ethnicity, indigenous background,
immigration status, nationality, gender identity/expression, language, abilities and
accommodations, religion/spirituality, sexual orientation, veteran status or membership in
uniformed services, political views, age and physical appearance.
Lesley University's Mission Statement (lesley.edu/about/mission-history) states that “…Lesley
prepares socially responsible graduates with the knowledge, skills, understanding and ethical
judgment to be catalysts shaping a more just, humane, and sustainable world.” Among many
experts in the field, Diane Goodman has described the following competencies: (1) Building selfawareness, (2) Understanding and valuing others, (3) Knowledge of societal inequities, (4)
Interacting effectively with a diversity of people in different contexts, and (5) Fostering equity
and inclusion. Our mission and these competencies are embedded in our curricula and our
classrooms. They provide a foundation for transformative teaching and learning, and approaches
to social justice.
Disability Statement:
Lesley University is committed to ensuring that all qualified students with disabilities are
afforded an equal opportunity to participate in and to benefit from its programs and services. To
receive accommodations, a student must have a documented disability as defined by Section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and must provide
documentation of the disability. Eligibility for reasonable accommodations will be based on the
documentation provided.
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If you are a student with a documented disability, or feel that you may have a disability, please
contact the appropriate disability administrator.
For On-Campus Students with Learning Disabilities, Attention Disorders and Autism/Asperger's
Syndrome:
Kimberly J. Johnson, Director LD/ADD Academic Support Program
Doble Hall, 2nd floor
Phone: 617.349.8462 • Fax: 617.349.8324
kjohnso7@lesley.edu
For On-Campus Students with Physical, Sensory, and Psychiatric Disabilities:
Daniel Newman, Executive Director Academic Support Services, Lesley University ADA/504
Coordinator for Students
11 Mellen Street
Phone: 617.349.8572 • Fax: 617.349.8324
dnewman@lesley.edu
For All Off-Campus Students:
Daniel Newman, Executive Director Academic Support Services, Lesley University ADA/504
Coordinator for Students
11 Mellen Street
Phone: 617.349.8572 • Fax: 617.349.8324
dnewman@lesley.edu
The contact persons play the role of facilitator between the student's needs, faculty requirements,
and administrative guidelines of the University. Disability-related information is not shared
without the permission of the student.
Equal Opportunity and Inclusion Policy:
Lesley University is committed to preventing discrimination and promoting equal opportunity,
affirmative action, and inclusion for all current and prospective faculty, students, and staff.
Lesley University strictly prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, religion,
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national origin or ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, pregnancy or parental status, sex,
sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, veteran or
military status, membership in Uniformed Services, and all other categories protected by
applicable state and federal laws in admission to, access to, participation in, or employment in its
programs and activities. Lesley also prohibits retaliation against any person who brings a
complaint of discrimination or harassment against anyone who cooperates in a complaint
investigation.
The full policy and be found at lesley.edu/students/policies/equal-opportunity-and-inclusionpolicy or for further information contact these Lesley University officers:
Dr. Anita Poole-Endsley
Equal Opportunity & Title IX Coordinator
617.349.8809 or apooleen@lesley.edu
Ms. Michelle Polowchak
Associate Vice President for Human Resources
617.349.8785 or michelle.polowchak@lesley.edu
Lesley University Library Services:
The Library Research Portal (research.lesley.edu) provides access to multiple services and
authoritative resources for academic research including books, articles, texts, visual media, and
teaching resources. The Lesley University Library encourages students and faculty to use these
academic resources for their assignments:




Our Ask-A-Librarian page lets you chat, text, call, e-mail, or request a meeting with a
librarian!
Visit our two libraries for drop-in help, course reserves, computers/Wi-Fi, printing, new
magazines and journals, and (of course) books!
Sherrill Library, the main University library, Brattle Campus, 617-349-8850
Moriarty Library, the arts library, Porter Campus, 617-349-8070
Academic Integrity Statement
Approved by Board of Trustees, December 17, 1997
Approved by Academic Affairs Committee, November 5, 1997
Approved by Faculty Assembly, May 20, 1997
Revised by FAAP and AAC, May 2009
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Academic freedom is essential in institutions of higher education. It is the freedom to engage in
teaching, research, scholarship, or other creative work as the basis for expanding knowledge,
promulgating research findings, and teaching and learning in an atmosphere of free inquiry and
expression.
The rights of faculty and students to academic freedom carry with them duties and
responsibilities. Faculty and students are entitled to freedom of inquiry and discussion in
teaching and learning, to freedom of investigation in research, and to freedom of publication
regarding research, scholarship, and creative work. Since discussing different points of view is
an essential aspect of free academic inquiry and teaching, it is appropriate for faculty to
incorporate both their knowledge and beliefs into their teaching. Concomitant with these
freedoms must be a commitment to accuracy and integrity.
Faculty members are private citizens, professionals, and members of an educational institution.
Faculty, recognizing that the public may judge an institution by their utterances, should indicate
when they are speaking as official representatives of the University.
The complete policy may be found online: http://lesley.smartcatalogiq.com/2018-2019/GraduateCatalog/Academic-Policies/Academic-integrity-Statement
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