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Playmaker Spotlight- Gabriela Krainer

March is Social Worker Appreciation Month.  Nearly, 15% of the 12,000 childcare professionals engaging the Playmaker Program are social workers.   In celebration and honor of their work, we sat down with Gabriela Krainer, a social worker and Life is Good Playmaker at our partner, Family & Children’s Aid (FCA) in Danbury, Connecticut.

How did you come to your work with children who’ve experienced trauma as a social worker?

In Uruguay I was a clinical psychologist.  When I came to the States, throughout my years working with kids fighting addiction, I became a Licensed Alcohol Drug Abuse Counselor and later on I became a Clinical Social Worker.  Working with kids fighting addiction has become my passion.  In 2007, when I came to FCA, I came in touch with the Life is Good Playmaker Program for the first time.  I’ve learned that being a Playmaker is not just a credential, but a philosophy of life; it’s how we view and interact with the world.

It was in 2014 that the idea of creating an outpatient substance abuse for adolescents in FCA started to emerge. It was a need in our area. I realized we could start a program focused on substance abuse for our kids, which is how, with support from Dr. Jennings and everyone at FCA, “A Better Choice” was born.  So, we built the  Substance Abuse Program that I am responsible for today,  where we serve about 30 kids at any given time and it continues to grow.

Why specifically substance abuse?

Through all of my work, I’ve held on to what I call my, “theory of holes.”

Many of us go through experiences that leave holes in us – hurt and pain – especially kids who have suffered from trauma.  Working with kids who struggle with addiction and substance abuse, I learned very quickly that it’s never actually about the substance they’re taking – it’s about what they’re missing, what they are trying to self-medicate.  All they can see is the holes and they can’t see the beauty and light they have within. When I work with kids who are struggling—I see that they cannot see their strengths, that their lives have a meaning or a purpose. In our program we help the kids to find their “lights,” their inner beauty and strengths and we help them to grow – so they can see it in themselves and the holes are filled with light and self-love. They don’t need the substance to fill the holes anymore.

Working with children and families struggling with addiction and the impacts of trauma feels like awfully heavy, hard stuff to absorb day in and day out, how do you continue to take care of yourself while taking care of so many others?

I have a lot of experience in the field.  The difference coming to work at FCA is our happiness.  Our joy.  Everyone here (including me!) truly wants to be doing what we’re doing.  There’s an energy and philosophy heavily influenced by the Playmaker Program here, that allows us to be more open, creative, and fun.  Every agency has its own personality, and at a lot of agencies you can get this sense that there’s just too much weight.  That everything the kids and staff is carrying is just too heavy and hard.  But here, there’s a weightlessness.  It’s easier to take care of yourself when you show up and know that everyone here is working actively to promote happiness and well-being, of course for the kids and families who come here, but for our team of Playmakers as well.

How does the Playmaker Program make a positive difference at FCA and your kids?

The whole team uses the Playmaker Program to create a sense of positive connection.  One of the best examples I can give is probably our “multi-family nights,” it’s one of the components of the substance abuse program. My talented colleague Daren has been the one able to beautifully instrument these groups using Playmaker principles, games, and tools.

When working on the program we focused on how we could help these families reconnect, create positive interactions, and bring happiness and fun to their lives—all key components of the Playmaker framework!

These gatherings can sound simple, but creating a space where almost the ONLY thing these families have in common is addiction and trauma is tricky.  There are cultural barriers, language barriers, and different levels of acceptance and openness.  Our goal is to make it okay, for anyone—everyone—to walk in as they are and walk out, feeling just a little bit lighter—having experienced a little bit of that weightlessness and brightness and happiness I talked about earlier.

The original idea was having these multi-family groups only for our Substance Abuse Program clients and their families, but very quickly these events became so popular that all FCA clients started attending!

Is there a particular child or case that you can think of who’s benefited directly from the Playmaker Program being a part of your services at FCA?

All of them.

The first who comes to mind is a young teenage girl.  She was a child of generational trauma – poverty, abuse, and neglect.  She had serious alcohol issues and was engaging in very bad at-risk behaviors to get the alcohol.  She’d suffered awful abuse by those adults who should’ve protected her.  She ran away and was very, very alone.  When I asked her what she liked best about herself or what she was good at, she simply couldn’t answer.  Her self-worth was zero.  It was clear that the person she hated the most was herself. She felt it was all her fault.

I knew in order to have a chance of changing any of the self-destructive behavior, I’d first have to help her change at least some of ways she thought and talked about herself. To do that, she needed to start seeing herself through different eyes. I worked with her and she was getting better, but things at home kept bringing her back to the at-risk behavior and alcohol.

One night, her family came to our multi-family night.  For the first time, her family played games, ate pizza, and connected with her and the other families.  The safe and joyful place we created helped that happen.  They had fun and were actually smiling and connecting with one another.  It brought them together and made a huge difference in her recovery.

Most families struggling with the impact from trauma  forget how to have fun with the people they love. There are no barriers in the Playmaker practice –– you feel that something is changing inside when you are doing Playmaker activities.  It connects us with a part of ourselves that is not exactly verbal but is so powerful.

How do you define success in your work?

I believe, success is recognizing that with each interaction we have the opportunity to save and reach a child—to change the entire course of their journey.  I’m actually not sad to see kids who need help.  I’m thankful that I can see their worth.  I’m thankful that I’m not isolated, that I have a team of Playmakers who know how to reach out to these kids and to each other.  I’m thankful to help.