SERIOUS PLAY

Serious Play the blog weaves together threads from the worlds of art, culture, and psychology where play informs purpose, even on the most serious of subjects – and where collaborative conversations can happen.

Serious Play like a koan is a paradox requiring continual negotiation and reconciliation in life, two words together that keep me focused and at peace.

Serious Play as a brand informs my strategy, values, promise, and substance in working with clients and students.

Serious Play as a muse inspires my writing and photography.

Serious Play as a location is an interior landscape to stage Serious Play inside and out.

How do I seriously play?

• I am a psychologist who works in organizations. Talent, creativity, innovation: Beyond the strategic plan, how does it cascade throughout a work culture? I help organizations “execute on innovation” by working with individuals and teams so ideas get into action, productivity increases, communication is engaged and effective, and cultures become resilient. www.gansworks.com

• I am a psychologist who helps individuals and families as a therapist in private practice. See the page about Strategic Career Coaching. More about Dr. Gans at:#mce_temp_url#

• I teach at New York University in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology MA program. More about Prof. Gans at: #mce_temp_url#.

• I am a photographer. You can see my work at: www.adriennegansphotography.com. Let me know what you think.

• I believe in the school as a healing ecosystem: Pro-bono, I developed The Cultivate Your Gardens Program — a three year program which partnered traditional curriculum, community service, and school-based clinical intervention with at-risk teenagers at the school. Photojournalism as project-based learning was funded by Walgreens and B & H Photo and Video. The program was profiled in the San Francisco Chronicle:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/03/05/EB104698.DTL

• I think play is good, not just for children but for adults and developed a process called PlaySolving for just that – to help people have fun while staging life scenarios using miniature props and storyboarding solutions. See #mce_temp_url# for some stories.

How do you seriously play? I’m interested in your comments. Seriously!