Emerging neuroscientific research highlights accessing iconically stored traumatic memories with expressive interventions such as play, art, & sandtray. This workshop highlights the underpinnings & use of such approaches in play therapy. Emphasis will be on targeting traumatic memories to manage posttraumatic reactions.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify core components of trauma treatment as delineated in the literature
• Link specific play therapy techniques to several core components of trauma treatment
• Explain how traumatic memories are stored, accessed, and reprocessed
• Articulate how play therapy and other expressive interventions are consistent with findings in the neurosciences
• Describe how expressive interventions can be utilized to access and reprocess traumatic experiences
• Explain how reprocessing traumatic memories can reduce posttraumatic reactions in play therapy

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

Attendees will gather skills to assess for the presence of the Highly Sensitive Child trait, and examine how this trait impacts the child’s emotional well-being. Attendees will discover and apply new play therapy techniques when working with highly sensitive children.

Learning Objectives:

• Summarize the main tenets of the Highly Sensitive Child trait to educate the child’s family and inform treatment planning in play therapy
• Assess for and detect a highly sensitive child
• Discover, adapt and utilize a minimum of two play therapy interventions with the Highly Sensitive Child within their own play therapy practice

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

An overview of the presentation, neurobiology, and challenges associated with children that have sensory-processing disorder. Participants will be introduced to appropriate sensory-informed interventions and will have opportunity to practice and apply these concepts in an experiential manner in play therapy.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the clinical presentation of sensory processing disorder (SPD)
• Articulate 3-5 unique challenges associated with this population, and how this necessitates play therapy
• Explain 5-6 play therapy interventions that are sensory-specific, as well as create a sensory-lifestyle for a case example

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

Discover simple play therapy preventions and interventions to create a more mindful and regulated client. This workshop focuses on the basics of emotion regulation, introducing varieties of play therapy techniques that can be used to increase emotion regulation in clients.

Learning Objectives:

• Apply the Gross Model of Emotion Regulation when working with clients in play therapy settings
• Describe the importance of both antecedent and response focused strategies when implementing play therapy preventions and interventions
• Detail at least 3 antecedent focused play therapy strategies to assist in clients maintaining healthy levels of emotion regulation

This interactive workshop addresses the effectiveness of Child-Centered Group Play Therapy (CCGPT) for addressing social skills and behavioral impairments. Participants will explore the benefits of group play therapy to better understand play behaviors and improve social and behavioral well being.

Learning Objectives:

• Adapt skills for use with group play therapy explaining the special considerations needed to effectively employ this intervention in a variety of therapeutic settings in a culturally competent manner
• Describe the typical issues and play themes of Child-Centered Group Play Therapy and how to address them with children in the playroom
• Identify strategies that explain to parents, teachers and other consultants how the group play therapy model benefits children with regards to goals, progress and behavior change outside of the playroom.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
• Skills and Methods
• Special Topics

Make parents a dynamic part of play therapy sessions with children and adolescents through learning to incorporate them in directive play, creative arts, mindfulness, CBT, playful psychoeduction and more. Understand evidence-based parent-led therapies through experiential activities and fun!

Learning Objectives:

• Name and describe at least one parent-led play therapy which has been proven to be an evidence based intervention according to research
• Implement a creative multisensory family play therapy strategy for developing goals and interventions for the child/adolescent
• Explain the use of a feelings thermometer to conduct a family play therapy trauma processing session

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

Play therapists often struggle with writing behavioral treatment goals and objectives. We will learn ways to construct goals that are compatible with play therapy interventions. In this hands-on workshop participants will practice writing goals and objectives that drive successful treatment.

Learning Objectives:

• Apply at least two methods of writing therapeutic goals and measurable objectives in play therapy
• Analyze three theories of play therapy and explain how their application impacts goal setting
• Formulate two play-based activities that help children and their families set play therapy goals for themselves

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

This experiential workshop will help participants understand the process of childhood grief, and develop an appropriate play therapy treatment plan. After reviewing child development from the perspective of grief and loss, we will look at the treatment model of Sharon Rugg’s Healing Hearts.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the developmental stages of childhood, and explain how each impacts the way a child grieves
• Describe a theoretical model for the treatment of loss/grief in children
• Demonstrate at least three (3) interventions that may be useful in the treatment of childhood grief/loss and develop a play therapy treatment plan based on the above model of grief/loss treatment

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

The reluctance of sexual abuse victims to immediate disclose their experience(s) has been cited as common and powerful phenomenon. This training will highlight the beneficial paradigm of play therapy interventions throughout the disclosure process for survivors of sexual abuse.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common challenges in the disclosure process for victims of sexual abuse
• Demonstrate three specific play therapy techniques to empower children in the disclosure process
• Apply a variety of theories of play therapy when empowering children in the disclosure process

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
• Skills and Methods
• Special Topics

Shootings, disasters, accidents…play therapists often assist survivors and indirectly exposed children following tragic events. Be prepared to respond by learning how to disclose tragic events to children and use play therapy coping/psychoeducation activities that correspond to Psychological First Aid modules.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the US best -practice standard protocol for crisis intervention following disasters and terrorism
• Identify at least three play therapy techniques corresponding to modules in the protocol identified above
• Describe three steps play therapists can use when disclosing tragedy to play therapy clients or mass-scale disaster survivors

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics