How to Play in the Dark

What if learning to play with your deepest struggles is the key to unlocking your greatest potential?

What if the experience wasn’t just deep and impactful, but also fun, creative, pleasurable, and rewarding?

What if you could walk into a space where you knew—deep in your bones—that you were safe enough to bring all of you? 

What if shame and pain melted away while you were playing?

What if the healing you need is the very thing that could help heal the collective?

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At How to Play in the Dark, transformation doesn’t just come from merely facing hardship—it comes from meeting it with curiosity, creativity, and a playful sense of adventure. Here, you don’t just think about shifting beliefs—you experience it. Through movement, expression, and co-creation, you step directly into the shift, embodying change in real-time.

Each group is emergent and shaped by the unique energy and expression of those involved. No two journeys are the same, making every encounter a powerful catalyst for transformation. By witnessing and engaging in each other’s explorations, we strengthen our collective power to heal, create, and support one another.

Together, we step into the unknown with curiosity and courage, uncovering freedom, magic, and unexpected possibilities along the way. If it seems mysterious—that’s because it is!

This isn’t just about healing. It’s about reimagining what it means to live fully, authentically, and vibrantly by reclaiming every part of yourself—even the ones hidden in the shadows.

And yes, it’s FUN!!!

FACILITATOR:
Danielle Rifkin, LPC, ATR is the owner of How To Play In The Dark. She is a Somatic, Art & Play Therapist, and Grief Ritualist. She has been running grief circles, art groups, and other experiential offerings for over a decade. She got her Master's degree from Naropa University in Transpersonal Psychology and has worked in a variety of therapeutic settings in her career. She has facilitated hundreds of groups where she emphasizes creating spaces that allow for authenticity and feeling safe enough to show all parts of themselves. She believes that the biggest moments of transformation happen in community and through experiences, when we are safe enough to surrender.

TESTIMONIALS:
"Danielle is a masterful and intuitive facilitator. How to Play in the Dark is a space of deep exploration, creativity, healing, and connection. I felt so deeply seen and held as we explored our edges and our darkness with curiosity, compassion, and of course - play! It's hard to capture in words, but this experience is sacred, healing, and, dare I say, holy. If you want to receive support around a challenge, in a way that feels honoring and authentic while also bringing lightness, joy, and transmutation, I highly encourage you to attend this potent experience. It's one of a kind." -Kimberly

“Danielle creates the safest spaces because she cares so deeply about feeling safe.” -Julie

“In my 55 years, I have never been a ‘group person’, feeling a private, vulnerable, not my cup of tea vibe, maybe protection.  The experience I had, facilitated and held with such profound love and grace by Danielle, was like spiritual honey and homecoming. To gather in the dark, to transform the dark, in such a space of power and safety was like a long awaited and yearned for exhale. It was important. It was beautiful. It was nurturing and gently nudging that edge simultaneously. It was healing and transformative. And it was stabilizing. I am profoundly grateful to Danielle for creating and guiding this experience, the effects of which will Ripple and alchemize much more than I can even know now. Just beautiful.”  -Laurel

FAQS:
Do you literally play in the DARK?
The word dark is metaphorical for when we feel in the dark about something. Although we could shut off the lights and put on some blindfloods if that was needed or part of the play, in this context the word “dark” refers to “struggle, challenge, mystery, unknown, wounds, fears, etc.”

What type of play do you do in the groups?
Since these are co-created and emergent experiences, every group is different. The play that we utlize is activated from the group field and the creativity of participants, which can take us in a lot of different directions. That being said, some examples could include psycho-drama, somatic processing, singing, dancing, parts work, etc.

Do I need to feel comfortable knowing how to play?
Absolutely not. This group is about coming as you are and learning. A lot of people that have come to these groups feel self-conscious and uncomfortable around play and it becomes an incredible opportunity to reclaim your relationship with play. We welcome you truly as you are.

Do I need to know what I am struggling with when I arrive?
Nope. You are taken through a process to uncover your needs and intentions as we land into the experience.

Host or Publisher Danielle Rifkin, LPC, ATR