Creative Play Therapy Interventions for Children, Teens, and Families
May 9, 2025 @ 9:00 am - May 10, 2025 @ 5:00 pm
$250.00 – $425.00
Presented By: Liana Lowenstein, MSW, RSW, CPT-S
Day One
Play Therapy Techniques with Hard-to-Engage Children, Teens, and Families
Working with difficult-to-engage clients can be frustrating and challenging, even for seasoned play therapists. The challenge of working with children in therapy can be further compounded by their fear of entering therapy, their lack of control over the decision to attend therapy, and their developmental capacity which can make it difficult for them to respond to traditional talk-therapy. This training will explore factors that underlie therapeutic resistance and will present creative play therapy interventions for working with hard-to-engage children, teens, and families. Videos of client sessions will illustrate techniques, and experiential activities will augment the learning process.
Learning Objectives:
- Describe the factors underlying therapeutic resistance.
- Implement creative play therapy interventions to establish rapport-building with children of all ages.
- Describe creative play therapy interventions to facilitate goal setting.
- Utilize innovative strategies to engage resistant, hard to serve parents.
- Implement play therapy techniques with clients who are reluctant to verbally articulate their thoughts and feelings.
- Utilize activities to engage families in play therapy sessions.
Day Two
Creative Evidence-Based Play Therapy Interventions for Traumatized Children
There have been a number of treatments developed and tested in recent years specifically geared to treating traumatized children. These approaches share many of the same core components: Engaging clients; conducting a systemic assessment; providing psychoeducation; addressing traumatic stress reactions; enhancing emotional regulation; facilitating adaptive coping; completing a trauma narrative; enhancing safety skills; and strengthening parenting skills. The effectiveness of trauma-treatment with children is enhanced by integrating playful, developmentally appropriate interventions so clients will engage in treatment. This training will present innovative play therapy techniques for each of the core components of evidence-based trauma treatment. Participants will come away with many new and creative interventions they can use with traumatized clients from preschoolers to teens.
Learning Objectives:
- Define acute and complex trauma/
- Describe the core components of evidence-based trauma treatment.
- Discuss the benefits of integrating play therapy techniques when treating traumatized children.
- Apply at least three play therapy techniques to assess traumatized children and adolescents.
- Implement at least five new play therapy techniques to treat traumatized children and adolescents.
- Describe two techniques to strengthen parenting skills.
About Liana:
Liana Lowenstein is a Registered Clinical Social Worker, Certified Play Therapist-Supervisor, and Certified TF-CBT Therapist who has been working with children and their families in Toronto since 1988. She is internationally known as a dynamic speaker and presents trainings across North America and abroad. She provides clinical supervision to mental health practitioners and consults to several mental health agencies. Liana’s 14 books on child and family therapy are known internationally for their innovative and practical techniques. She is winner of the Monica Herbert award for outstanding contribution to play therapy in Canada.
12 CEU APT & NASW {Pending}
9:00 am – 5:00 pm each day (lunch 1.5 hour and on your own each day)