Eligible for APT and NBCC credit only.

Many popular games for children and adults can be adapted into play therapy techniques. Common games such as UnO, checkers, Jenga,hopscotch can be modified for therapeutic benefit . This presentation will focus on numerous creative ways to modify such games.

Learning Objectives:

• List six purposes of adapting popular games to play therapy techniques.
• Adapt at least 15 popular games into play therapy techniques.
• Identify appropriate populations for use of such play therapy adaptations.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

Eligible for APT and NBCC credit only.

Many girls struggle with emotional regulation, anxiety and depressive symptoms. Female-specific play therapy allows clients to reclaim their authentic self, be vulnerable and experience freedom of self expression. Interventions taught are strength-based and best practice.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify theories and models that involved best-practice play therapy with female adolescents.
• Improve the therapeutic relationship with female clients through play therapy methods.
• Apply numerous play therapy interventions with pre-adolescent and adolescent females that correlate with best practice models and treat symptomatic behavior.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:s

• Special Topics

Eligible for APT and NBCC credit only.

*Supervision Training

Strategies for supervising school-based play therapists will be shared in this experiential, discussion-oriented workshop. We will focus on developing playful conceptualization and advocacy skills for school-based play therapists and how to integrate play counseling throughout supervisees’ comprehensive service delivery plans.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the challenges of using play-based counseling in K-12 school settings.
• Identify strategies that help with play-based intervention planning, implementation, and evaluation in K-12 school settings.
• Identify supervision strategies that help supervisees advocate for the use of play-based counseling in their unique school settings.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Skills and Methods
• Special Topics

Eligible for APT and NBCC credit only.

This workshop guides Play Thearpists in an advanced exploration of brain development, neurobiology, and psychopharmacolgy as they interact with maltreated children and adolescents. Play therapists will learn targeted ways to improve the negative impact of medication on emotions and cognitions.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe brain development and functioning as they relate to affect and behavior.
• Differentiate the complexities of brain functioning in non-maltreated and maltreated children and adolescents.
• Identify different medications and their mechanisms of action.
• Articulate the interaction of neurobiology, maltreatment, and medication in the developing brain.
• Discern how medication side effects impair Play Therapy process and be able to utilize Play Therapy to compensate for medication side effects.
• Develop an individualized Play Therapy plan for medicated, dysregulated children and adolescents.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

Eligible for APT and NBCC credit only.

Inviting parents into play therapy is a crucial, but often overlooked aspect of a child's therapy. You will learn new tools how to invite, incorporate, and engage the most resistant of parents to make lasting change in the family system.

Learning Objectives:

• Apply and maintain parent involvement in play therapy sessions.
• Introduce and explain what Play Therapy is to parents in an easy to understand language.
• Implement attachment-based play therapy techniques that parents and children can do together inside and outside of the play therapy session.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics