When the Woods Darken: Playful Ways of Working with Long Shadows
Lead Author: Dr Elrika Erasmus
Additional authors:
Timetable: ,
Description:
Playfulness is widely used to support learning, creativity, engagement, and collaboration across many contexts. Yet wherever playfulness appears, moments of seriousness might follow. As light increases in the woods, shadows grow longer. These moments may take the form of uncertainty, strong reactions, difficult questions, or a sudden shift in atmosphere. This session explores how to work with those moments without abandoning playfulness or losing direction.
Informed by psychology and research on adult playfulness, yet designed for broad application, the session uses the conference theme “Into the Woods” to frame playful practice as a journey through changing light and shadow. The woods are spaces of exploration and imagination, but also of ambiguity, risk, and transformation. Long shadows often signal that something meaningful is emerging and that greater care, attention, and psychological safety are needed to continue.
The session is intentionally interactive and inclusive. After a brief conceptual framing, participants will take part in a small-group activity. Using simple prompts, groups will explore forest-based metaphors that help them stay oriented when a playful process shifts in tone – for example, when a group becomes stuck, when emotions surface, or when the work becomes more complex. Participants will then shape their chosen metaphor into a short written or visual artefact.
This artefact acts as a practical anchor that participants can adapt for use in their own settings wherever playfulness is present. The emphasis is on shared meaning-making rather than performance or artistic skill, supporting accessibility and inclusion. The participants will have the opportunity to explain their metaphors to each other and consider how they complement each other. At the end of the session, participants will take their metaphors with them.
Throughout the session, participants will reflect on questions such as:
1. How do we recognise when a playful process enters long-shadow territory?
2. What helps us sustain playfulness without minimising a shadow that might be emerging?
3. How can a metaphor support orientation, inclusion, and psychological safety?
The session concludes with integration and reflection. Participants leave with a personally meaningful metaphor or image that supports playful yet grounded practice across contexts.
References, web links and other resources:
Aquilina, E. (2018). Self as Instrument. In E. Turner & S. Palmer (Eds.), The Heart of Coaching Supervision (pp. 105-124). Routledge.
Erasmus, E. (2024). Perceptions of Playfulness in Coaching Psychology Supervision. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Teesside University.
Lawley, J., & Tompkins, P. (2014). Metaphors in Mind: Transformation through Symbolic Modelling. The Developing Company.
Lieberman, J. N. (1977). Playfulness: Its relationship to imagination and creativity. New York: Academic Press.
Lockwood, R., & O’Connor, S. (2017). Playfulness in adults: an examination of play and playfulness and their implications for coaching. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 10(1), 54–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/17521882.2016.1268636
Magnuson, C. D., & Barnett, L. A. (2013). The Playful Advantage: How Playfulness Enhances Coping with Stress. Leisure Sciences, 35(2), 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2013.761905
McCoy, E., Lonn, A., & Harasymchuk, C. (2023). Interpersonal Playfulness as a Protective Factor Against Loneliness and Boredom in Single People Living Alone during the COVID-19 Lockdown. Leisure Sciences, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2023.2201584
Porges, S. W. (2022). Polyvagal Theory: A Science of Safety. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2022.871227
Proyer, R., & Rodden, F. (2013). Is the Homo Ludens cheerful and serious at the same time? An empirical study of Hugo Rahner’s notion of Ernstheiterkeit. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 35(2), 213–231. https://doi.org/10.1163/15736121-12341262
Seto, L., & Geithner, T. (2018). Metaphor Magic in Coaching and Coaching Supervision. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 16(1), 1-15.
Wheeler, S., & Leyman, T. (2023). Playfulness in Coaching: Exploring Our Untapped Potential Through Playfulness, Creativity, and Imagination. Routledge.
When the Woods Darken: Playful Ways of Working with Long Shadows
Lead Author: Dr Elrika Erasmus
Additional authors:
Timetable: ,
Description:
Playfulness is widely used to support learning, creativity, engagement, and collaboration across many contexts. Yet wherever playfulness appears, moments of seriousness might follow. As light increases in the woods, shadows grow longer. These moments may take the form of uncertainty, strong reactions, difficult questions, or a sudden shift in atmosphere. This session explores how to work with those moments without abandoning playfulness or losing direction.
Informed by psychology and research on adult playfulness, yet designed for broad application, the session uses the conference theme “Into the Woods” to frame playful practice as a journey through changing light and shadow. The woods are spaces of exploration and imagination, but also of ambiguity, risk, and transformation. Long shadows often signal that something meaningful is emerging and that greater care, attention, and psychological safety are needed to continue.
The session is intentionally interactive and inclusive. After a brief conceptual framing, participants will take part in a small-group activity. Using simple prompts, groups will explore forest-based metaphors that help them stay oriented when a playful process shifts in tone – for example, when a group becomes stuck, when emotions surface, or when the work becomes more complex. Participants will then shape their chosen metaphor into a short written or visual artefact.
This artefact acts as a practical anchor that participants can adapt for use in their own settings wherever playfulness is present. The emphasis is on shared meaning-making rather than performance or artistic skill, supporting accessibility and inclusion. The participants will have the opportunity to explain their metaphors to each other and consider how they complement each other. At the end of the session, participants will take their metaphors with them.
Throughout the session, participants will reflect on questions such as:
1. How do we recognise when a playful process enters long-shadow territory?
2. What helps us sustain playfulness without minimising a shadow that might be emerging?
3. How can a metaphor support orientation, inclusion, and psychological safety?
The session concludes with integration and reflection. Participants leave with a personally meaningful metaphor or image that supports playful yet grounded practice across contexts.
References, web links and other resources:
Aquilina, E. (2018). Self as Instrument. In E. Turner & S. Palmer (Eds.), The Heart of Coaching Supervision (pp. 105-124). Routledge.
Erasmus, E. (2024). Perceptions of Playfulness in Coaching Psychology Supervision. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Teesside University.
Lawley, J., & Tompkins, P. (2014). Metaphors in Mind: Transformation through Symbolic Modelling. The Developing Company.
Lieberman, J. N. (1977). Playfulness: Its relationship to imagination and creativity. New York: Academic Press.
Lockwood, R., & O’Connor, S. (2017). Playfulness in adults: an examination of play and playfulness and their implications for coaching. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 10(1), 54–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/17521882.2016.1268636
Magnuson, C. D., & Barnett, L. A. (2013). The Playful Advantage: How Playfulness Enhances Coping with Stress. Leisure Sciences, 35(2), 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2013.761905
McCoy, E., Lonn, A., & Harasymchuk, C. (2023). Interpersonal Playfulness as a Protective Factor Against Loneliness and Boredom in Single People Living Alone during the COVID-19 Lockdown. Leisure Sciences, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2023.2201584
Porges, S. W. (2022). Polyvagal Theory: A Science of Safety. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnint.2022.871227
Proyer, R., & Rodden, F. (2013). Is the Homo Ludens cheerful and serious at the same time? An empirical study of Hugo Rahner’s notion of Ernstheiterkeit. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 35(2), 213–231. https://doi.org/10.1163/15736121-12341262
Seto, L., & Geithner, T. (2018). Metaphor Magic in Coaching and Coaching Supervision. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 16(1), 1-15.
Wheeler, S., & Leyman, T. (2023). Playfulness in Coaching: Exploring Our Untapped Potential Through Playfulness, Creativity, and Imagination. Routledge.