Jennifer Baggerly
Title: Assistant Professor of Counselor Education
Specialty: Play therapy for children; filial therapy for parents, trauma resiliency for children and adults, bioterrorism preparedness, diversity issues including homeless and gay/lesbian.
Contact Information:
USF College of Education
EDU 380L
Phone: (813) 974-6714
E-mail this USF Collaborative Partner
Details:
Topics of expertise:
Play therapy for children; filial therapy for parents, trauma resiliency for children and adults, bioterrorism preparedness, diversity issues including homeless and gay/lesbian.
Educational and professional background:
Baggerly received her bachelor’s in Sociology from Trinity University, Texas; her master’s in Counseling from Colorado Christian University; and her Doctorate of Philosophy in Counseling, specializing in Play Therapy and Filial Therapy, at the University of North Texas. She is a licensed mental health counselor and supervisor, a registered play therapist and supervisor, and a field traumatologist.
What was your USF Collaborative grant and what did you learn from it?
“My first Collaborative grant was for play therapy with homeless children. There is lots of trauma from living in poverty. Children who are homeless have two unique play themes. Money is important (they will pretend ‘I’m rich’), and eviction (where play dolls are thrown out of the house). In my study, 58 percent of the kids had low self-esteem and one in four was clinically depressed. Play therapy helped decrease their self-anxiety and raise their self-concept and is an effective way to reach homeless children improve in academics, behavior and social interactions. The grant opened the door for me at Metropolitan Ministries as a clinician and a USF professor, and opened up a door for me to do other research about homeless people.” “My second grant was for trauma resiliency training for mental health professionals in Seminole Heights (Tampa), where 32 percent of the mental health professionals had compassion fatigue.” What have you done since the grant? “I have a grant to continue the play therapy research and presented that research in England at an International Play Therapy Learning Institute.”
News you can use:
“USF now has a graduate certificate in play therapy, offered through the College of Education. I train students and have them do practicums at Metropolitan Ministries. This helps me make sure the kids there get services.”
What do you think are the biggest issues in your field right now?
“Access to mental health services for children and families who are poor or don’t have health care, and training in play therapy for children’s mental health therapists.”
