Full Course Description

Attachment Centered Play Therapy: Repair Relational Trauma and Build Secure Attachment to Accelerate Family Treatment

Program Information

Outline

Advancing Family Treatment with Play Therapy

4 key concepts of attachment
Blending attachment theory with play therapy
Attachment patterns across the lifespan and impact on parent/child relationship
Risks and limitations

Invite Parents to Play

Engagement strategies to strengthen parent/child relationship
- Roadblocks and triggers – parent/child/therapist
- Shame and vulnerability – shame shields
- Build rappaport and make room for parent in the playroom
  - Sand tray, genograms, play-based treatment planning
- Establish boundaries and set expectations
- Encourage participation

Attachment Centered Play Therapy Strategies

Treatment of relational trauma – Attachment, wounding and ruptures
- Parent/child relationship cycle
- Generational attachment patterns -
  - Catch me if you can
  - Butterfly fly away
  - Two hands
  - Empowerment collage

Case Studies of Abuse; Healing Attachment Wounds

Challenging Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Defiance, ODD, moodiness, anger, aggressiveness and school refusal
Attachment injuries at root of undesirable behavior
Prescriptive play therapy interventions
Self-regulation, co-regulation
calm down jars, guided imagery

Case Studies of Extreme Defiance and School Refusal

Strategies to Promote Positive Attachment-Based Parenting

Maximize parent involvement to rebuild trust, repair injuries
Proactive vs reactive parenting
Get parent buy in

Case Study of Proactive vs Reactive Parenting

Target Audience

Play Therapists
Psychologists Counselors
Social Workers
Educators
Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Speech-Language Pathologists
Marriage and Family Therapists

Copyright : 02/08/2019

Play Therapy for Young Children: Innovative Attachment-Based Interventions to Treat Behavioral and Sensory Challenges

Program Information

Outline

Introduction: Ice breaker activity

Building Healthy Relationships: Attachment Theories

Video on neuroscience of attachment and the brain
Mary Ainsworth: 4 types of attachment styles
Bolby Attachment Theory
Video of Still Face experiment
Group activity

Infant & Child Development Theory

Maternal mental health
Freud, Erikson, Piaget and Mahler
Video: marshmallow test with children ages 3-5

Why Play?

Evidence supporting benefit of play
Therapeutic powers of play
Group activity

Play Therapy

Getting started
Therapeutic benefit
Limitations & potential risks
Assessment and treatment
- What is the need behind the behavior?
- What does the behavior tell us?
- What are the skills behind the behavior?

Engaging Children in Play

Neurobiology of play
Repair of developmental trauma
Tools for self-regulation
What is needed for a play therapy room: the basics
From intake to termination
An ongoing process

Creative Play Therapy Interventions for:

Sensory
Aggression
Anxiety
Sensory Processing D/O
Enuresis
Trauma/Grief
Nightmare/Sleep Disorders
Hyperactivity
Divorce

Play Therapy and Techniques

Non-directive play
- Client-centered play therapy
- Sandtray
- Art & music
- Dolls and dollhouse
- Case study and video

Developmental Play Therapy Ethical Issues of Therapeutic Touch

Intro to Dr. Courtney’s FirstPlay® Kinesthethic Storytelling Infant Massage®
FirstPlay® - Demonstration with baby dolls
Becky Baily: Baby doll groups and “I love you rituals”
Developmentally-appropriate songs and games

Directive Techniques

Fun with Feathers
Puppet play
6 Senses Safe Place
Superpowers
Fun with Food
Bubble Tennis
Pooh/Inside-Out Feelings
Favorite books and interventions
Casey’s Greatness Wings
Greatness Sticks®
Sandtray Interventions
Mindful Freeze Dance
Wiggle out the sillies
Sandtray play therapy

Case Studies will be shared throughout the workshop when introducing interventions to participants, so you will get real life examples of the therapeutic value of my most beloved play therapy interventions I use with young children.

Group Activity: creative reflection exercise

Final Community Activity

Target Audience

Play Therapists
Psychologists
Counselors
Social Workers
Educators
Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Speech-Language Pathologists

Copyright : 02/20/2019

Play Therapy for Tweens and Teens: Strategies to Build Rapport, Invite Emotional Expression, and Navigate the Unique Challenges of this Developmental Stage

Program Information

Objectives

Facilitate verbal and nonverbal expressions of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in teens and tweens through the use of four or more play therapy interventions.
Develop play therapy strategies that build resilience and self-esteem.
Discover how play therapy can increase engagement and build therapeutic rapport within this dynamic developmental stage via play-based assessments and icebreakers.
Evaluate the balance between both structure & freedom and independence & dependence, and learn at least four play therapy strategies to maintain this flow.
Build confidence in teaching caregivers how to play with their adolescents, and how to make these experiences part of their daily routines.
Integrate play therapy and traditional therapies to support the constant shifts in this developmental stage.

Outline

ADVANCING ADOLESCENT TREATMENT WITH PLAY THERAPY

Why Play Therapy? What is It, and How is It Different with Teens and Tweens?

Evidence supporting the benefits of play and creativity with this population
Therapeutic powers of play
- Neurobiology of play & impact on trauma and attachment
Avoid pitfalls when working with teens and tweens
- The frustration factor ~ use of cognitive skills and language
- Understand the difference between resistance, opposition and shut-down
- Play-based assessments and icebreakers to increase engagement
Limitations & potential risks

From Client-Centered to CBT, a Myriad of Play Therapy Approaches as Applied to Adolescents

Developmental Play Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy
Adlerian Play Therapy
Client-centered Play Therapy
Theraplay®
Play therapy with families and groups

ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT ~ TASKS, THEORIES & CHALLENGES

Physical, Cognitive, Moral, and Psychosocial Development Changes and Milestones of Tweens and Teens

Autonomy from parents & family
Relationships, friendships & intimacy
Identity development
Moral reasoning & physical and intellectual growth

Influences of Culture, Heredity, Environment and Social Setting on Adolescents

Social media, television and movies, music, electronics…oh my!
This is the world we live in…how it effects treatment and growth

Striking a Balance

Structure & freedom and independence & connection
Verbal intellect & playfulness and creativity
Strategies to teach caregivers how to play with their adolescents, and how to make these experiences part of their daily routines

PROVEN PLAY THERAPY TECHNIQUES

Enjoy the Silence ~ How to Use Silence to Increase Engagement and Therapeutic Rapport

Try not to laugh
Hide & seek & peek-a-boo
What might this be? What can this do??

Walk this Way ~ Embodied Play Therapy and Movement Techniques to Increase Emotional and Behavioral Regulation

The floor is lava...The floor is quick sand
Mirror, mirror
Trauma-informed yoga

What’s on Your Play List? ~ How to Use Music to Facilitate Therapeutic Discussion

Trashballs
Catch the beat
What are you listening to?

Enter Sandman ~ The Use of Sandtrays to Facilitate Verbal and Nonverbal Expressions of Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviors

Safe Place
Futurerama
Half & half

How to Use Drawing, Paint, Clay, Masks, and More!

Target Audience

Psychologists
Social Workers
Counselors
Educators
Speech-Language Pathologists
Occupational Therapists