Children's trauma shows up in complex ways — dissociative behaviors, emotional numbing, self-harm, fear —often difficult to recognize and even harder to address.
At the 2025 Play Therapy Conference, you’ll gain a therapeutic toolbox filled with ready-to-apply techniques to break down emotional barriers, build resilience, strengthen attachments, and foster family bonds helping young clients face future challenges with confidence and strength.
Play therapy will ignite transformation—even in your most difficult cases!
This inspiring event features the brightest minds in the field, including keynote speaker Stephen Porges, the visionary behind Polyvagal Theory, alongside an all-star panel of play therapists including:
- Clair Mellenthin, creator of Attachment-Centered Play Therapy
- Paris Goodyear-Brown, creator of TraumaPlay™
- Carmen Jimenez-Pride, creator of Diversity in Play Therapy
- Jessica Stone, creator of the Virtual Sandtray App®©
- and so many more!
Join us for 2.5 days to experience the unmatched power of Play Therapy—the most trusted approach for helping children heal and thrive. Register now!
2025 Play Therapy Conference
Bridging a Transformative Pathway from Trauma to Healing with Children & FamiliesYour registration is 100% risk-free
APT Approved Provider 05-165
Click here for Credit hours breakdown
CE details available 4–6 weeks after the event
We've all witnessed a young client triggered by trauma—angry, anxious, depressed, or impulsive, caught in a spiral of self-criticism and distress.
In moments, they can become overwhelmed, struggling to find calm and regulation.
As therapists, are you equipped with the essential tools to guide them back to safety, stability, and well-being?
By joining us at the Play Therapy Conference you'll gain:- Interventions specifically crafted to address trauma-driven emotional and behavioral responses in young clients, helping them achieve stability and resilience.
- Key signs of dissociation and how underlying trauma can intensify symptoms like disconnection, avoidance, and heightened reactivity.
- Approaches that honor unique family structures, ensuring every child and caregiver feel seen, supported, and empowered.
- Proven methods like bibliotherapy, backstory exploration, and Theraplay to create safe spaces for adopted children, enhancing your understanding of their unique experiences and challenges.
- Practical play therapy techniques paired with thorough assessment tools to help children process and respond to medical trauma.
- ...and so much more!
- 10 expertly crafted sessions packed with interventions and approaches designed to meet the demands of modern practice broadcast live over 2.5 days
- 30-days of unlimited replays to watch at your convenience
- Get your questions answered live from our faculty of leading play therapy experts
- Up to 25.5 CE hours included with your registration (up to 19.5 live and up to 6 self-study hours)
- Up to 25.5 Non-Contact Play Therapy Credit Hours
- Comprehensive manuals, slides, client handouts and resources
- AND we're giving you complete unlimited access to 3 on-demand sessions
2025 Play Therapy Conference
Bridging a Transformative Pathway from Trauma to Healing with Children & FamiliesYour registration is 100% risk-free
APT Approved Provider 05-165
Click here for Credit hours breakdown
CE details available 4–6 weeks after the event
Day 1 | Wednesday, June 4, 2025
8:30 AM– 4:50 PM Central Time
Clair Mellenthin LCSW, RPT-S™ | Click here for information about Clair Mellenthin
Join Dr. Porges and Clair, where you'll gain essential insights into recognizing and adjusting biobehavioral states.
You'll learn to:- Shift from Stimulus-Response to S-O-R emphasizing how a child's autonomic state mediates response to stimuli
- Guide children into social engagement to support therapy and peer connection
- Help move a child toward regulation with grounding techniques, sensory tools, and routines
Catherine Denham, LCSW, RPT-S™ | Click here for information about Catherine Denham
Join Carmen and Catherine as they deliver a powerful message on practicing cultural humility in the playroom, emphasizing its crucial role in creating a safe and inclusive therapeutic environment for all children and families.
You'll explore principles from play therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and sandtray therapy, gaining insights into the unique impacts of cultural trauma on children of color.
Maria Laquerre-Diego, LMFT-S, RPT-S™ | Click here for information about Maria Laquerre-Diego
In this engaging session, experts Liliana and Maria unveil critical assessment tools designed to address the unique challenges of medical trauma in children.
You'll learn to:- Assess five critical domains of play therapy
- Integrate assessments into play therapy
- Recognize and address trauma responses in play therapy
- Critical periods in parts development
- Narrative splintering
- Countertransference
- Dynamics between parent and therapist parts
8:30 AM– 5:20 PM Central Time
Jessica Stone, PhD, RPT-S™ | Click here for information about Jessica Stone
Clair and Jessica share core concepts behind systemic trauma and generational patterns, revealing how these forces shape our young clients' behaviors and relationships.
In this session you'll get:- Hands-on play therapy activity designed for immediate application in your practice
- Techniques for involving family members effectively while respecting client autonomy
- Tools to work through relational trauma and strengthen family bonds
Join Sueann as she shares how a trauma-informed cognitive behavioral therapy (CBPT) lens equips you with the tools and knowledge of short- and long-term effects of childhood sexual trauma.
Annie Monaco, LCSW, RPT-S™ | Click here for information about Annie Monaco
Join Annie and Ann, experts in EMDR, attachment, and dissociation, as they get to the heart of how fragmentation of the self can be recognized through our case examples within a play therapy framework. They'll offer practical play therapy tools, including Gestalt play therapy and other prescriptive play therapy invitations to move the child towards healing. These play therapy-based techniques help children describe their inner life, including fragmented self-states and lay the groundwork for trauma processing.
Sabra Starnes, LCSW, RPT-S™ | Click here for information about Sabra Starnes
Join Chaitra, an international/transracial adoptee and adoptive parent, alongside Sabra, a transracial adoptee and adoptive parent with over 24 years of experience as an adoption therapist, as they reveal how different types of adoption and the 7 core issues of adoption shape session dynamics and profoundly influence children's self-expression.
8:30 AM– 12:40 PM Central Time
Clair Mellenthin, LCSW, RPT-S™ | Click here for information about Clair Mellenthin
- Navigating identity and belonging in biracial and LGBTQ+ families
- Addressing trauma and loss in single-parent or grandparent-led households
- Fostering attachment and communication skills among diverse family structures
Join Georgie Wisen-Vincent, co-author of upcoming The Way of Play (with Dr. Tina Payne Bryson) for an innovative approach to strengthening parent-child relationships through play therapy, trauma resilience, and brain development.
In this groundbreaking session Georgie equips you with play therapy strategies to support young clients and families facing stress, dysregulation, chaos and conflict.
2025 Play Therapy Conference
Bridging a Transformative Pathway from Trauma to Healing with Children & FamiliesYour registration is 100% risk-free
APT Approved Provider 05-165
Click here for Credit hours breakdown
CE details available 4–6 weeks after the event
Join Cherie to discover ShadowPlay™—an ethical, engaging framework that uses expressive arts and play therapy to help teens safely explore and integrate shadow aspects.
You'll learn:- A creative, ethical framework for guiding teens in shadow exploration in play therapy
- Depth-psychology insights and ethical considerations in shadow work
- Play therapy strategies that foster autonomy and safety in and self-exploration
- Healing the Trauma Brain - Rewiring Broken Connections
- Polyvagal Theory & The Vagus Nerve Superhighway
- Somatic & Sensory Strategies in Play Therapy
Attendees are encouraged to contact their local crediting agencies to confirm the acceptance and reciprocity of credit.
Together, let's transform the narrative of trauma into a journey of resilience, healing, and hope!
2025 Play Therapy Conference
Bridging a Transformative Pathway from Trauma to Healing with Children & FamiliesYour registration is 100% risk-free
APT Approved Provider 05-165
Click here for Credit hours breakdown
CE details available 4–6 weeks after the event