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Certificate in
Child-Centered Play Therapy
with Neurorelational Emphasis
DESIGNED
for professionals
COST
$499/total
DURATION
self paced
CE APROVALS
APA & APT
ADMISSIONS
rolling
Certificate in Child-Centered Play Therapy

Certificate in Child-Centered Play Therapy with Neurorelational Emphasis

The Certificate in Child-Centered Play Therapy with a Neurorelational Emphasis is a professional training program for individuals wishing to deepen their knowledge of theory and skills in play-based therapeutic techniques with children. This program was designed in collaboration with renowned play therapy expert and co-founder of the Play Strong Institute, Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S, and New York Times bestselling author and parenting expert, Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, founder and Executive Director of The Center for Connection, to promote development and research in working with children, adolescents, and their families. The field of play therapy is innovative and highly rewarding, and professionals from all over the world have completed this program to learn the foundations of therapeutic play.

With a core emphasis in child-centered practice and neuroscience, the underpinnings of the Play Therapy Certificate currently include an integrative, multidisciplinary relationship-based model focused on the latest research in child development, individual differences, psychotherapy, trauma, and attachment. With the Play Strong Institute’s progressive program, professionals can expand their content knowledge through self-paced study and learn new strategies for leading the field with evidence-based practice. Students study diverse perspectives integrating play therapy with concepts associated with a child and family’s holistic well-being, including neurodevelopmental, biological, social-emotional, sensorimotor, language, cognitive, and caregiving systems. Program participation offers introductory to advanced level perspectives in evidence-based practice to promote healthy relationships in early childhood, school-age children, preadolescents, and families.

Course Overview

The Association for Play Therapy (APT) defines play therapy as “the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development.”

Child-Centered Play Therapy is an evidence-based, developmentally responsive, play-based mental health intervention for children and adolescents who are experiencing forms of relational and behavioral stress (CCPT; Landreth, 1991; 2002; 2012).

This intensive curriculum is presented as self-paced, video-based instruction and provides the theoretical knowledge and applied clinical and educational foundations for integrated assessment and intervention at an introductory to intermediate level employing play therapy techniques. The full certificate program, led by our play therapy faculty, as well as experts in neurobiology, development, and interdisciplinary practice, offers a combination of pre-recorded online webinar classes, interactive class participation included in the filmed recordings, video case presentations, instruction in reflective practice, and if desired, supervision of play therapy practice for an additional fee.

Live participants at the time of recording were guided through lectures, case formulations, experiential activities, role play skill building, and interactive demonstrations with real child volunteers while working towards their Certificate in Child-Centered Play Therapy with a Neurorelational Emphasis.

Study With Us

We welcome individuals who wish to study therapeutic play from a variety of backgrounds, all over the world. Anyone who works with or cares for children can benefit from learning therapeutic play techniques and more effective, neuroscience-informed strategies for supporting the child’s developing mind, brain and relationships. Our students range from mental health professionals, school counselors, teachers, early childhood educators, social workers, early developmental specialists, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, educational therapists, child welfare workers, medical professionals, child life specialists, play and recreational workers, parents, foster carers, and other home-based caregivers.

Meet the Faculty

Director, Play Strong Institute

Thank you for your interest in the Child-Centered Play Therapy Certificate! As the Co-Founder, Program Director, and Lead Faculty of the Play Strong Institute, I’d like to tell you more about this incredible program and the benefits of learning the research-based methods we teach in this course. Over the years, we have engaged with hundreds of professionals and parents, and worked extensively in schools, community agencies, nonprofits and private practice. Our strong commitment to teaching and training play therapy practitioners is evident as we supervise and guide the next generation toward their own successful practice.


About this Course

This course was initially recorded with a real time, in-person group of students, learning dynamically in our state-of-the-art play therapy rooms. It is now available to you as a self-paced program of video workshops. Over 1,000 on-demand students have now enrolled, and we continue to get overwhelmingly positive feedback every day.

In addition to this course, I have also designed the curriculum for three top university graduate programs that teach play therapy in the United States today. As a graduate professor with a Master’s degree in Child-Centered Play Therapy, sharing the art and science of play therapy is my passion.

What's inside the course

Modern play therapy involves a highly creative and deeply reflective set of techniques that can effectively help children and teens alleviate stress, build stronger relationships, learn emotional tools, and live a life full of meaning.

This course includes exploring cutting-edge research around attachment, trauma, child development and all the latest insight from the science of Interpersonal Neurobiology, founded by Dr. Daniel Siegel.

It contains recorded teaching sessions with our faculty and students in real world play sessions with kids, role play sessions with their colleagues, and in-depth group discussions to clarify concepts for students at different levels of training, from beginners to more advanced.

How this course improves your practice

  • We outline many strategies and techniques for dealing with difficult situations, like when behaviors arise in session, and how to transform those challenging moments into energized, meaningful therapy.
  • We cover the nitty gritty details of intake and assessment, and how to track and measure client progress in a way that makes it very clear to parents and caregivers that change is happening.
  • We expose the hidden language of what kids really mean when they play, and how to turn those signals into a therapeutic plan that parents can invest in, and kids truly enjoy.
  • We offer many tools for engaging skeptical parents, teachers, and other caregivers, so they actually become play therapy number one fans.
  • We uncover tried, tested, and proven strategies that help kids feel safe and super-engaged in therapy sessions, so they can't wait to come back for the next session.
  • We unlock joy and confidence that your play therapy work is making a difference. You'll be able to recognize when results unfold right in session, and know exactly how to translate those successful strategies to parents and families, schools, and everywhere else children are cared for.

The on-demand advantage

The original cohort paid $3,750 to attend a year long, twice monthly, in-person training weekend. We recorded the training sessions for everyone to use as a reference.

For remote attendees we made every effort to make them feel like they were part of the action and in the room with us. For example, we held the video camera right where the kids were playing. The camera even had its own seat at the table in the group discussion! We didn't plan to create an on-demand course, but after we reviewed the recordings, we realized we had captured something truly special that should be shared.

We released the on-demand version for only $499, because we know professionals need more support than ever to meet the unprecedented needs of families impacted by stress in our changing times.

Join a supportive community

I am excited to offer you this remarkable training that will greatly enhance your child, adolescent, and family psychotherapy practice. Feel free to watch the video above to get an inside look at the course. Also, by joining the course today, you'll get direct access to me and this vibrant community of play therapy professionals via our Slack community as we regularly network with each other and support everyone's important work. Once you've registered, the course access never expires, so you'll be able to go back and review this incredible material for years to come. I hope you'll join us!

"Right now, children and families are facing unprecedented levels of anxiety and toxic stress and everyone is looking for emotional first aid for our kids. The Play Strong Institute offers an incredible set of tools for clinicians, social workers, educators, child welfare and health care professionals, and anyone else who wants to make an immediate impact on the lives of children. If you want to learn how to tackle trauma with play and empathy and help build stronger brains, hearts and minds, join us today and sign up for this course!" – Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, PhD, Founder/Executive Director, The Center for Connection


Core Faculty

This certificate is taught by multiple faculty members. Click on a faculty member below to view their bio:

  • Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S

    Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.

  • Jennifer Shim Lovers, LMFT RPT

    Jennifer is a Play Therapy Supervisor at The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute. Jennifer received a Master of Science in Marital & Family Therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary School of Psychology and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Jennifer focuses on attachment relationships and multicultural perspectives in her work with individuals, couples, children and families. She specializes in parenting consultation and perinatal and fertility support for families. Jennifer is the lead supervisor of graduate trainees in school-based counseling at Aveson and Odyssey Charter Schools in Altadena, California and she maintains a private practice at The Center for Connection in Pasadena, California.

  • Rebekah Springs, LMFT RPT

    Rebekah received her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and her Bachelors from Azusa Pacific University. Using the framework of interpersonal neurobiology, child development, and the DIR model for intervention, Rebekah has many years' experience at Real Connections Child Development Institute where she provided parent support and education, DIR/Floortime Therapy focusing on children and families with diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory processing differences, medical fragility and Down Syndrome. Rebekah currently specializes in Infant and Toddler Mental Health at Portland State University and maintains a private practice at Firefly Counseling in Portland Oregon.

  • Felisha Cullum, LMFT RPT-S

    Felisha received her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and graduate study in Play Therapy at George Fox University, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University. Felisha is an adjunct faculty member at the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Certificate Program where she teaches and supervises graduate students. Felisha is the past president of the San Bernardino Chapter of the California Association for Play Therapy (CalAPT) and maintains a private practice serving children and families in the High Desert.

  • Dr. Sharon Tan, PsyD

    Sharon is a Play Therapy Supervisor at The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute. Dr. Tan received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University and her Bachelors from the National University of Singapore. Dr. Tan is a graduate fellow from the Infant-Parent Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate Program from the University of Massachusetts and is currently a California endorsed Infant-Family & Early Childhood Mental Health (0-5) Specialist. Dr. Tan specializes in play therapy approaches based in attachment theory and child development primarily focused on early childhood parent-child relationships and maintains a private practice at The Center for Connection in Pasadena, CA.

  • Annalise Kordell, LCSW

    Annalise is the Clinical Director of The Center for Connection and a Play Therapy Supervisor at the Play Strong Institute. Annalise received her Master of Arts in Social Work from the University of Chicago and completed her Bachelors at Pennsylvania State University. Annalise works primarily with adolescents and their parents towards understanding feelings and changes from a neurodevelopmental and physiological perspective, uncovering the origins of challenging behaviors and providing strategies and tools rooted in the latest developments in Interpersonal Neurobiology and mindfulness. She previously lead a team at the Institute for Girls Development in Pasadena, California, where she coordinated and ran therapy groups focused on girls' empowerment and healthy childhood and adolescence.

Curriculum

Click on a workshop below for its full description, facluty member, and play therapy sub-categories.

Prerequisites

This is an introductory to intermediate level course with no required prerequisite study. The goal of this certificate program is to provide participants with knowledge and practical skills in therapeutic play techniques for supporting and working with children who may have social, emotional, developmental and behavioral challenges using a relationship-based, neuroscience-informed approach.

Objectives

Participants who complete the certificate program will be able to:

  • Develop knowledge base of Child and Play Therapy including history, theory, legal and ethical considerations, child social-emotional development.
  • Learn the conceptual framework of neurobiology and integrate the brain science into the Play Therapy process.
  • Plan and prepare for a Play Therapy assessment at the outset of treatment, introduce Play Therapy to child and caregivers, conduct interactive play observation, treatment planning and documentation.
  • Working knowledge of Play Therapy skills and techniques, beginning with theoretical and practice issues including the Play Therapy space and relationship, and reflective responses.
  • Understand working with the child’s support system and within a multi-disciplinary team approach.
  • Develop knowledge base of Play Therapy clinical applications, such as recognizing content and process elements of the child’s therapy narrative, cultural competence and diverse clients, and working with special populations in Play Therapy.
  • Evaluate therapeutic progress, plan for termination, and create an effective therapeutic ending for children in Play Therapy.

Registered Play Therapist (RPT) Credential

The title of “play therapist” is governed by the Association for Play Therapy (APT) in the United States. This national organization outlines credentialing requirements to earn the Registered Play Therapist (RPT) credential. Several countries (including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea) have their own play therapy associations to provide specific pathways to play therapy training and credentialing.

As an Association for Play Therapy (APT) Approved CE Provider (#16-456), we offer play therapy specific continuing education credits that can be used to satisfy partial educational requirements toward the Registered Play Therapist (RPT) application process for eligible mental health professionals in the United States. All of the workshops contained within this online, self-paced certificate program are presented as pre-recorded video, so they may count as APT approved non-contact hours of play therapy education.

If you are interested in becoming a Registered Play Therapist in the United States, you should inform yourself of the current RPT guidelines for how many non-contact CE workshop hours are allowed by visiting the APT website (www.a4pt.org) or by contacting APT directly at (559) 298-3400.

If you are interested in earning a play therapy credential in another country that has a national play therapy association, please contact the corresponding association to determine whether our hours of play therapy education may be transferable to meet some of their educational requirements.

Should you wish to earn our Play Therapy Certificate but your country does not have a play therapy association or credentialing pathway, then you may describe your completed course of study as advancing your learning of therapeutic play techniques and their theoretical basis.

Continuing Education

The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute offers up to 150 non-contact hours of Play Therapy Continuing Education (CE) per enrollment for workshops attended under the Certificate in Child-Centered Play Therapy with a Neurorelational Emphasis. For those working toward the Registered Play Therapist (RPT) credential, the Association for Play Therapy (APT) provides the most up-to-date information on the maximum limit of non-contact CE hours allowed that may be applied to the RPT application (www.a4pt.org for more details).

The following approvals are available:

Georgeanne Wisen, LMFT RPT-S is approved by the Association for Play Therapy to offer continuing education specific to play therapy (APT Approved Provider #16-456) and the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Georgeanne Wisen, LMFT RPT-S, CE Program Administrator, maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Cancellations and Refunds: Requests for refunds must be made in writing to Georgeanne Wisen, LMFT RPT-S, 3030 E. Colorado Blvd. #214, Pasadena CA 91107. Requests must be postmarked within one week of registration date in order to receive refund. There is a $15 administrative fee for refunds. There are no discounts or refunds for partial attendance.

Grievances: If you are dissatisfied with this workshop or its procedures at any time, please contact Program Administrator, Georgeanne Wisen, LMFT RPT-S at georgie@petitplay.com, or Psychologist Advisor Dr. Rebecca Bokoch, PsyD at rebecca@rebeccabokoch.com, to receive a timely response along with copy of the written grievance policy for addressing participant complaints in a reasonable, ethical, and timely fashion.

Disability: If you have a disability and need accommodations per ADA/504, please provide notification at time of registration but no later than two weeks after starting the first workshop to provide accessibility.

Conflicts of Interest: Georgeanne Wisen, LMFT RPT-S and the associated Faculty instructors do not maintain any relationships associated with these workshops that could be construed as a conflict of interest or commercial support.

Reviews for this Program

"I found the course to be absolutely amazing. The way it was delivered, the content, everything. For me, the course has changed the whole direction of my practice. I have found my niche - this is who I am - I don't even want to work with adults in general counselling anymore. I love how play therapy works, I love how you taught it, I love the miracles I am seeing on my playmat. You have a very evident love for children in how you present it and so it doesn't just feel like a lecturer teaching something in a university - but rather like you are trying to impart passion for the work we do. That made the course all the more effective." – Sharon du Preez, BA Couns

"Truthfully, I have been loving the course so much. It has been filling in so many gaps of my play therapy training. I feel more confident going into my sessions and I am able to assess clients functioning and presence in the room so much more meaningfully. Having the neurodevelopmental perspective in addition to CCPT has enhanced my practice and also the way I communicate with parents. I have been spreading the word about this training to all my child therapist friends and colleagues!" – Sophie Pierce, PsyD

"I wanted to take a moment to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude for the Child-Centered Play Therapy certification course. It proved to be an invaluable experience for deepening my understanding of play therapy. I wanted to express much appreciation for how you created a warm, welcoming, safe learning environment. It was clear throughout that the original cohort felt at ease in their learning process, making mistakes, being open to feedback, sharing openly, laughing often, and this translated into my own learning journey as well. Thank you once again for offering such a well-structured and insightful course." – Ariadne Brill, Parenting Educator

"I have slowly been making my way through this course. I love the flexibility to learn, then integrate what I’m learning into my practice, then learn more to integrate. This course content JUST MAKES SENSE. I love seeing the wonder in parents’ eyes as I’m able to help them connect play themes/behaviors to things that are going on at home. The insight I’m able to offer because of this training is making a difference in so many families and bringing peace to parents." – Lindsey Prince, LPC

"I am really enjoying the course. I am already using what I've learned. I would definitely recommend this program to other therapists. Thank you for such a comprehensive, accessible program. I particularly appreciate having continuous access to it instead of having it expire at certain date. Being able to have a reference to go back to is invaluable." – Liz Jemielita, AMFT

"I was really grateful to have this platform to gain more knowledge and obtain an actual certification. With all the changes to the RPT process, I had been feeling defeated about how or when I could move forward with that. This course was a huge blessing to not only provide me with knowledge and content, but also allow me to claim my speciality with credentials. I look forward to receiving the certificate and hopefully continuing to pursue my play therapy journey to be an official RPT. I appreciate you and the time and effort you put into this course. I can't recommend it enough!" – Jess Wallace, LPC

Frequently Asked Questions

Click any question below to expand its answer.

  • Will this course give me everything I need to become a Play Therapist?

    We designed this extensive training in Child Centered Play Therapy with a Neurorelational Emphasis to give you the most comprehensive foundation in neuroscience-informed play therapy theory and skills available in a convenient online, self-paced format. People from all over the world are welcome to study play therapy with us, from mental health professionals, to educators, to parents, anyone who works with or cares for children. Once you have completed the entire 150-hour workshop series, you will earn a full certificate of completion awarded by our organization, The Center for Connection PlayStrong Institute. Once you have earned the certificate, you can say that you have completed training in therapeutic play techniques and you may apply these techniques differently depending on the scope of your professional discipline.

  • Does this course provide a nationally or internationally recognized qualification as a Play Therapist?

    Many countries offer a credentialing pathway for licensed or registered mental health professionals to become a Play Therapist. You can search for whether your country of residence has a national play therapy association that governs the process of application and registration as a Play Therapist. This typically includes hours of play therapy instruction, plus additional requirements, such as a specific number of play therapy client contact hours under the supervision of a qualified play therapy supervisor. Our organization is not a national play therapy association and cannot confer the title of “Play Therapist”, but you may be able to apply our educational credit hours toward the nationally recognized pathway to become a Play Therapist in your home country.

  • Can I apply these continuing education credits toward becoming a Registered Play Therapist with the Association for Play Therapy (APT) in the United States?

    As an APT Approved CE Provider (#16-456), we offer play therapy specific continuing education credits that can be used to satisfy part of the RPT hours of play therapy instruction for eligible mental health professionals in the United States. All of the workshops contained within this online, self-paced certificate program are pre-recorded, so they may count as RPT non-contact hours of play therapy education. You can check out the current APT guidelines around how many non-contact CE workshop hours are allowed on their website (www.a4pt.org) or by contacting APT directly at (559) 298-3400.

  • Can I sign up for this program if I do not wish to become a Play Therapist?

    Yes, you can! We welcome individuals who wish to study play therapy from a variety of backgrounds, all over the world. Anyone who works with or cares for children can benefit from learning therapeutic play techniques and more effective, neuroscience-informed strategies for supporting the child’s developing mind, brain and relationships. Our students range from mental health professionals, school counselors, teachers, early childhood educators, social workers, early developmental specialists, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, educational therapists, child welfare workers, medical professionals, child life specialists, play and recreational workers, parents, foster carers, and other home-based caregivers.

  • Will I receive a certificate of completion on a per workshop basis?

    We have an easy to use, online dashboard to help you navigate course content and materials. You’ll view workshop videos within the online dashboard, and it tracks your attendance for you. Each time you complete one of our workshops, you’ll be prompted to complete a workshop survey and post-test. Once those are completed, a workshop certificate of completion will appear within the dashboard, stored there and ready to print at your convenience. Once all of the workshops in the certificate program have been completed, you’ll be sent the full program certificate of completion.

  • Once I complete all the workshops, how do I get the full program certificate of completion?

    The course online dashboard system tracks how many workshops you have completed in the series. When you have viewed 100% of the workshops, completed the workshop surveys and post-tests, you will be eligible to receive the full program certificate of completion. Feel free to contact Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S, Program Administrator, georgie@thecenterforconnection.org, if you have completed the entire course but have not yet been sent the full certificate of completion.

  • Can you provide continuing education credits toward renewal of my mental health license in the United States?

    Our CE Program Administrator, Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S, is approved to provide continued education credits (CEs) through the Association for Play Therapy (APT) for aspiring RPTs and RPT-S, the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (CAMFT) for LCSWs, LMFTs, and LPCCs in California only, and the American Psychological Association (APA) for psychologists across the United States. CE credit completion forms earned from our program could be used toward license renewal for California LCSWs, LMFTs, and LPCCs, and psychologists across the US.

  • Is it all didactic lecture-style teaching within the program, or are there experiential activities as well?

    This certificate program began as a live training cohort of students meeting in-person and over Zoom, learning together in the room as a highly engaged, dynamic and cohesive group. Within the training, you’ll watch a close-knit group of students learning through lectures, small group discussion, role play skill building, creative activities, and live demonstrations with real child volunteers. Most of the people attending the training sessions already had some experience working with children and some already had some introductory skills in play therapy or child and family counseling and psychotherapy. In fact, we used this exact program of study to fully train our team of play therapists at The Center for Connection. Then the Covid-19 pandemic happened, and as our services moved to telehealth, we moved the entire certificate program online and drastically reduced the price (from $3750 to $499) to help professionals meet the unprecedented levels of mental health need of families.

  • Are there any required readings or assignments associated with the program?

    Each workshop comes with course materials and handouts and suggested readings, but there are no required readings or assignments associated with the on-demand version of the certificate program. You’ll simply watch all 150 hours of the workshop series and complete the workshop surveys and post-tests. The original live cohort of students was asked to complete two major assignments, a competence log and a final role play demonstration of skills, which you’ll see reviewed in the final two recorded workshops in the program. But on-demand students are not required to complete either of these assignments at this time, because the course is now only offered as pre-recorded workshop videos.

  • Is the course all video on demand, or are there any live workshops available?

    The Child Centered Play Therapy Certificate with a Neurorelational Emphasis is offered exclusively online, as a series of pre-recorded video workshops that you can work through conveniently at your own pace. There are no required live workshops. We do offer free live workshops on a monthly basis that you can sign up for through our website to enrich your professional learning and connect with our faculty and other students in the program. At the moment, we are not able to provide live workshop CEs for these free trainings.

  • Do you offer a group discount if my work colleagues and I want to sign up together?

    Definitely! For groups of 5+ individuals, we have a special discounted rate of $399 per person. All you need to do is reach out to us by email with a few details about each participant, including their first and last names and email addresses, and let us know if your workplace will be handling the registration or if each person will be paying individually. From there, we can send out an invoice if your agency will be paying by check, set up a secure method of credit card payment, or create a discount link for each person to register individually. Feel free to contact Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S, Program Administrator, georgie@thecenterforconnection.org, to arrange for the discounted rate for your group.

  • What if my agency wants to schedule a speaking engagement or a bespoke training program?

    Our core Faculty are frequently invited to speak at conferences and offer keynote presentations. We can also send your agency a proposal for in-house, bespoke trainings if you would be interested in having your staff learn play therapy theory and practice. Feel free to contact Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S, Program Administrator, georgie@thecenterforconnection.org, to request more information about speaking engagements or agency trainings.

  • Do you offer RPT-S play therapy specific supervision?

    We do offer a monthly Zoom play therapy supervision group, led by an RPT-S play therapy supervisor. There is an additional cost for group at $75 per 1.5-hour session. The groups are vibrant, highly engaged play therapists at various stages of training or earning the RPT, from seasoned licensed therapists to unlicensed associates. Most of them have a neurorelational focus to their clinical work. We also work with a number of individual supervisees who either need to supplement the number of hours of supervision they need per month based on the number of hours of play therapy clients they serve per week, or they want to do some in-depth consultation around concepts and detailed case review. Individual times are based on shared availability and the additional cost for individual supervision is $150 per 45 min session. Feel free to <a href='/group'>contact us</a> if you are interested in group or individual play therapy supervision (or both).

  • Can I meet or speak with Georgie or other faculty to ask questions or get support?

    You absolutely can! The quickest way to get support is to contact Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S, Program Administrator, georgie@thecenterforconnection.org, by email and she typically responds within a 24-hour turnaround. We also give every student full access to our play therapy community on Slack, where people can text chat in real time with questions, look for resources, post about upcoming events, network with each other, and deepen the course learning.

  • How long will I have access to the videos of the certificate program?

    Once you have registered for the full course, you’ll have ongoing access to all the videos and course materials with no end date. Yes, you read that right! Course access never expires, so you can return to the online dashboard anytime, anywhere to work through the videos and take as long as you like. It’s meant to be the most convenient play therapy training available for busy professionals. Unlimited course access also means that there is no rush to print out certificates because they will always be stored for you in one, easy to navigate dashboard.

 
CCPT-L1-501: Introduction to Neurorelational Child-Centered Play Therapy
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (2 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (4 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Introduction to the Child Centered Play Therapy Model
  • The Basic Principles and Theory of the CCPT Model
  • Introduction to the Neurobiology of Play
  • Evaluating Play Therapy Models for the Child’s Individual Profile
  • Legal and Ethical Considerations for Child and Play Therapists
Workshop Description
Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) is a developmentally responsive, research supported, play-based treatment intervention for children and adolescents who are experiencing social, emotional, and behavioral disorders. The 8-hour workshop will integrate theory and practice using the modality of play therapy within a neurorelational framework. CCPT combines the benefits of play and therapeutic relationship to provide the ideal conditions in which a child can experience safety and full acceptance from the therapist and process trauma and other painful experiences through symbolic play. This training is intended to present the step-by-step fundamental skills and techniques you may bring to your practice with children who struggle to engage in top-down, verbal treatment approaches. Play therapy will be described and demonstrated in detail regarding its use and effectiveness with children who present in both clinical and community settings, the neurobiology of play therapy, addressing the child’s neurodevelopmental profile, and legal and ethical considerations for play therapists. Participants will learn the CCPT treatment protocol as well as actively engage in CCPT skills throughout the training experience.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Describe and demonstrate 3 principles of Child Centered Play Therapy within a neurorelational framework in clinical and community settings.
  2. Identify and discuss the use and implementation of 2 primary strategies found in the Child Centered Play Therapy protocol.
  3. Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills and attitudes.
  4. Discuss 2 legal and ethical principles guiding the considerations and actions of clinicians utilizing play therapy.
  5. Describe the role of the play therapist and play therapy in at least 2 broader clinical and non-clinical contexts.
  6. Examine and discuss 2 key elements of research and intervention contributing to the effectiveness of play therapy.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, September 1, 2018, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenters
Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, PhD Tina is the Executive Director of The Center for Connection, a multidisciplinary relationally based practice guided by the science of interpersonal neurobiology, and the Play Strong Institute, a specialist hub for play therapy for children and families and play-based training for parents and professionals. Dr. Bryson is the co-author (with Daniel Siegel MD) of two New York Times bestsellers: THE WHOLE-BRAIN CHILD (Random House Delacorte 2011) and NO-DRAMA DISCIPLINE (Random House Bantam 2014), as well as the recently released book THE YES BRAIN (Random House Bantam January 2018). She is a pediatric and adolescent psychotherapist who makes frequent media appearances and keynotes conferences and conducts workshops for parents, educators, and clinicians all over the world.
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (2 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (4 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-601E: Interpersonal Neurobiology and Implications for Play Therapy
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (0 hrs)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Introduction to Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB)
  • The Neurobiological Basis for Play Therapy
  • Integration of Play Therapy and IPNB
Workshop Description
Over the last decade, we have seen a significant trend toward integrating the neurobiological perspective when offering parenting advice and creating effective therapies for our children. Play therapists have long been aware of the therapeutic benefits of play in working with children, but participants of this workshop will learn how play specifically nurtures healthy brain development in order to understand the neurobiology of play experiences that happen at home, school, and in the therapy room to optimize a child’s sensory integration and emotional regulation. In this 4-hour workshop, you will learn specific play practices designed to improve sensory and emotional functioning targeted to meet the diverse needs of children. Drawing on concepts of interpersonal neurobiology, the benefits of child-centered, brain-building play therapy experiences to achieve relational attunement, neural integration, and the development of a fully functioning sense of self will be clearly defined.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Describe 3 play therapy principles from a Child-Centered Neurorelational model of play therapy.
  2. Recognize 4 tools and materials necessary to use with children in order to provide child-centered play therapy interventions that improve neural functioning.
  3. Utilize 3 play therapy interventions designed to build up left-right brain integration, and bottom up/top down processing, leading to sensory and emotional improvement.
  4. Observe and track 4 specific types of therapeutic change recognizing gains from an interpersonal neurobiology and play-therapy based perspective.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, September 15, 2018, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (0 hrs)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-502: Play Therapy Assessment
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (4 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Using Child Centered Principles to Design The Play Therapy Space
  • Introducing a Play Therapy Intervention to the Child
  • Incorporating Parents and Support System into CCPT Assessment
  • Interactive Play Observation as Primary Assessment Tool
  • Play Therapy Assessment, Treatment Planning and Documentation
Workshop Description
This workshop provides students with the basic components of assessing the needs of a child or adolescent presenting for Play Therapy and determining whether Play Therapy may be an appropriate treatment intervention. In this 8-hour workshop, you will learn various methods of assessment including “active” child observation, that is, simultaneously observing, evaluating, and experiencing the child’s needs through their play interactions. Participants will also have opportunity to learn and practice Child-Centered Play Therapy techniques that are suggested as an optimal format for an initial assessment meeting with a child, no matter what the Play Therapist’s theoretical orientation or plan for ongoing treatment. Attention will be paid to how to structure and offer an initial Child-Centered Play Therapy session using case examples and experiential activities. Participants will also learn how to synthesize assessment information, understand the meaning of the child’s play, and conceptualize the child’s needs toward developing a treatment plan.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Discuss the 3 basic components of assessing the needs of a child presenting for Play Therapy.
  2. Demonstrate 3 criteria for determining whether Play Therapy may be an appropriate treatment intervention.
  3. Explain 2 types of rationale for using active child observation within Child-Centered Play Therapy assessment.
  4. List the 3 components of active child observation in child-directed play therapy.
  5. List the 6 basic skills and techniques of Child-Centered Play Therapy assessment.
  6. Describe 3 ways to understand the meaning of the child’s play and consider the child’s needs expressed in play therapy sessions toward developing a treatment plan.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, October 6, 2018, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (4 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-602E: Neurodevelopmental Differences in Play Therapy Assessment
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Learning Differences and Treatment Considerations
  • ADHD Symptoms, Autism, and Play-Based Interventions
  • Speech, Motor, Sensory Processing and Other Developmental Delays
Workshop Description
An increasing number of clinicians, child care professionals and educators report the need for education and support in assessing the individual developmental needs of children. In the past decade, the field of mental health, interpersonal neurobiology, and behavioral health have sought to come together in understanding of how to accurately assess and diagnose children who may have individual neurodevelopmental needs. This 4-hour workshop will increase the participant’s ability to assess and identify developmental levels and individual differences in children from birth to 18 and to successfully implement strategies in play therapy for meeting the identified needs of children. Participants will learn the importance of relationship-based work at each developmental level, how individual differences affect movement through developmental levels, and how to create an effective treatment plan for children with individual differences. You will also discuss ways to identify points of entry for empathically connecting with parents of children with individual and developmental differences and the particular needs of these families and children.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Assess for and differentiate between 9 developmental stages of children and children’s play within play therapy.
  2. Discuss 2 assessment interventions for evaluating neurodevelopmental needs in play therapy assessment.
  3. Describe the 7 sensory systems and appropriate assessment for function of each system in a play therapy setting.
  4. Demonstrate at least 3 areas of focus for conducting a play therapy assessment of a child with individual neurodevelopmental needs.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, October 20, 2018, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Rebekah Springs, LMFT RPT Rebekah received her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and her Bachelors from Azusa Pacific University. Using the framework of interpersonal neurobiology, child development, and the DIR model for intervention, Rebekah has many years' experience at Real Connections Child Development Institute where she provided parent support and education, DIR/Floortime Therapy focusing on children and families with diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory processing differences, medical fragility and Down Syndrome. Rebekah currently specializes in Infant and Toddler Mental Health at Portland State University and maintains a private practice at Firefly Counseling in Portland Oregon.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-503: Play Therapy Skills and Techniques 1
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Connecting Theory to Practice within the CCPT Model
  • Constructing the Play Therapy Space and Therapeutic Relationship
  • CCPT Reflective Response 1: Content
  • CCPT Reflective Response 2: Feelings
  • CCPT Reflective Response 3: Themes
Workshop Description
Clinicians have been aware of the developmental appropriateness of play in therapeutic interventions with children and adolescents. As we work to integrate the neurobiological perspective with play therapy, clinicians in the field are challenged to understand how play therapy skills and techniques help further the child’s brain development, and therefore augments social, emotional, and behavioral functioning, in the implementation of the approach. In this 8-hour workshop, you will learn specific play therapy skills and techniques as well as the theoretical underpinnings of the Child Centered Play Therapy model, with emphasis on enhancing neurobiology, which was designed to improve social and emotional functioning targeted to meet the diverse needs of children. Drawing on Person/Child Centered concepts of relational attunement, secure attachment, congruence, unconditional positive regard, and therapeutic limit setting, participants will learn a variety of techniques to create the optimal conditions for therapeutic challenge and growth for children.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Describe 3 principles connecting theory to practice from a neurorelational model of Child-Centered Play Therapy.
  2. Recognize 3 tools and materials necessary to use with children in order to provide child-centered play therapy interventions that improve neural functioning.
  3. Utilize 2 methods to design a Child-Centered Play Therapy space and relationship to provide the optimal conditions for therapeutic challenge and growth.
  4. Recognize and apply 3 types of Child-Centered Play Therapy reflective responses to develop the therapy relationship and further therapeutic progress.
  5. Identify and recognize at lease 3 aspects of how social context and cultural diversity impacts implementation of techniques designed to create the optimal conditions for therapeutic challenge and growth.
  6. Compare and contrast 2 theoretical underpinnings of Child Centered Play Therapy and the formats in which they are most widely used.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, November 3, 2018, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-603E: Play Therapy Reflective Responses: Attunement
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • CCPT Reflective Response 1: Content
  • CCPT Reflective Response 2: Feelings
  • CCPT Reflective Response 3: Themes
Workshop Description
Exciting new research in neurobiology supports therapies that allow for freedom of expression, safety and attunement. The Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) model is exemplary of these facets, and the relationship with an attuned Child-Centered Play Therapist who can reflect the child’s experiences is essential for healing, growth and neural integration. Play Therapy gives children a developmentally appropriate way to “play out” their experiences in way that builds insight, self-esteem, tolerance for big emotions. If they are working with an attuned clinician who promotes a sense of safety, a child uses the play therapy space and relationship to express themselves, regulate and modulate emotions, gain a sense of mastery of experiences, and practice new skills. A foundational skill of the Child-Centered Play Therapist is ability accurately understand and reflect to the child a shared understanding of the thoughts, feelings, and themes emerging from their efforts and narratives in the play therapy room. This 4-hour workshop gives you a chance to practice the reflective responses of Reflecting Content, Reflecting Feelings, and Reflecting Themes in greater depth to achieve emotional attunement with child and adolescent clients.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Utilize 3 methods for appropriate reflective responses to achieve attunement in play therapy.
  2. Describe 2 elements of attuned responses and when to employ reflective attunement in play therapy.
  3. Demonstrate play therapy skills of reflective responses in a play therapy setting and provide 1 theory-based rationale for the use of each reflective response.
  4. Recognize and apply 3 types of responses in a variety of play therapy relationships in developing the therapeutic relationship and facilitating progress.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, November 17, 2018, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Felisha Cullum, LMFT RPT-S Felisha received her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and graduate study in Play Therapy at George Fox University, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University. Felisha is an adjunct faculty member at the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Certificate Program where she teaches and supervises graduate students. Felisha is the past president of the San Bernardino Chapter of the California Association for Play Therapy (CalAPT) and maintains a private practice serving children and families in the High Desert.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-504: Play Therapy Skills and Techniques 2
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • CCPT Reflective Response 4: Creativity
  • CCPT Reflective Response 5: Self-Esteem
  • CCPT Reflective Response 6: Responsibility
  • CCPT Reflective Response 7: Relationship
  • CCPT Reflective Response 8: Limit Setting
Workshop Description
Children often have difficulty verbalizing their thoughts and feelings, which may produce obstacles for the child therapist or counselor. Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) is a unique evidence-based counseling approach in which the relationship between therapist and child is the foundation for therapeutic change. In CCPT, the healing factor is identified as the relationship between play therapist and child. Relationship is based on clear communication between therapist and child, yet the child communicates through play. The therapist provides attitudinal conditions and neurodevelopmentally appropriate materials to facilitate free expression and self-directed play of the child. In a safe environment, the child moves toward self-enhancing behaviors and ways of being. This 8-hour workshop is intended to present step-by-step introductory methods on how to help children accurately express themselves to the counselor in their primary language of play. This workshop will offer a process for developing healing relationships with children, as well as help counselors use play therapy methods including reflective responses to reach treatment goals.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Describe 3 principles connecting theory to practice from a neurorelational model of Child-Centered Play Therapy.
  2. Recognize 3 tools and materials necessary to use with children in order to provide child-centered play therapy interventions that improve neural functioning.
  3. Utilize 2 methods to design a Child-Centered Play Therapy space and relationship to provide the optimal conditions for therapeutic challenge and growth.
  4. Recognize and apply 5 types of Child-Centered Play Therapy reflective responses to develop the therapy relationship and further therapeutic progress.
  5. Identify 2 issues of diversity and how they influence the process for developing healing relationships with children and using play therapy methods to reach treatment goals.
  6. Describe 3 elements that create a safe environment for supporting the child’s self-enhancing behaviors and ways of being in the play therapy setting.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, December 1, 2018, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-604E: Play Therapy Reflective Responses: Emotional Resilience
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • CCPT Reflective Response 4: Creativity
  • CCPT Reflective Response 5: Self-Esteem
  • CCPT Reflective Response 6: Responsibility
  • CCPT Reflective Response 7: Relationship
  • CCPT Reflective Response 8: Limit Setting
Workshop Description
Experience changes the brain, and repeated attuned, affective experiences with a trained Play Therapist can promote long-term healing and increased emotional resilience. Play Therapy gives children a developmentally appropriate way to “play out” their experiences in way that builds insight, self-esteem, and tolerance for big emotions. If they are working with an attuned clinician who promotes a sense of safety, a child uses the play therapy space and relationship to express themselves, regulate and modulate emotions, gain a sense of mastery of experiences, and practice new skills. An important function of the Child-Centered Play Therapist is to accurately understand and reflect to the child a shared understanding of the thoughts, feelings, and themes emerging from their efforts and narratives in the play therapy room. This takes practice and a detailed understanding of the world of the child. This 4-hour workshop delves into practical applications of reflective responses and provides you with additional insight into scaffolding the child’s emotional regulation and experience. This workshop builds upon your skillset as a play therapist and offers a chance to practice the reflective responses of Creativity, Responsibility, Relationship, Self-Esteem, and Limit Setting in greater depth to develop the child’s emotional resilience.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Utilize 3 methods for appropriate reflective responses to develop resilience in play therapy.
  2. Demonstrate and implement 5 types of reflective responses that build resilience in play therapy.
  3. Demonstrate understanding of at least 2 situations in which to employ therapeutic limit-setting in play therapy.
  4. Recognize and apply the use of at least 3 reflective responses that facilitate self-esteem, relationship, creativity and responsibility.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, December 15, 2018, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Felisha Cullum, LMFT RPT-S Felisha received her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and graduate study in Play Therapy at George Fox University, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University. Felisha is an adjunct faculty member at the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Certificate Program where she teaches and supervises graduate students. Felisha is the past president of the San Bernardino Chapter of the California Association for Play Therapy (CalAPT) and maintains a private practice serving children and families in the High Desert.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-505: Play Therapy Clinical Applications 1: Themes
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (4 hrs)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (1 hr)
Summary
  • Recognizing Major Themes of the Child’s Play Narrative
  • Deconstructing the Play Narrative and Reflecting Themes
  • Theme Analysis and CCPT Case Conceptualization
  • Tracking and Sharing Therapeutic Progress with Support System
  • Working with Diverse Clients: Cultural Competence in Play Therapy
Workshop Description
An important function of the Child-Centered Play Therapist is to accurately understand and reflect to the child a shared understanding of the thoughts, feelings, and themes emerging from their efforts and narratives in the play therapy room. Themes are the morals of the story or the lessons children are trying to learn and convey through repeated observation and direction of play as a “window into the child’s psyche”. Children often have difficulty verbalizing their thoughts and feelings at a cognitive level, which may produce obstacles for the child therapist or counselor. Many times play therapists in training feel “stuck” in trying to decipher the messages and meanings children are trying to sort through as both adult and child ask themselves, “What does this story mean for you?” and “How does this lesson help you?” The Child-Centered Play Therapy relationship is one in which the adult is trained to listen closely and tune into the stories the child is telling as the child communicates through play. This full-day workshop is intended to present the ten most commonly conveyed themes of children’s play therapy, so that play therapists feel more competent in recognizing and communicating through the child’s safe use of metaphorical language. This 8-hour workshop will offer a process for developing attunement and reflection of the child’s growing insights and problem solving that is happening in the story-telling process. Participants will learn the Child Centered Play Therapy skills of theme identification, reflection, clarification, and creating space for problem-solving and hopeful solution formation toward the child’s treatment goals.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Identify and describe 4 commonly observed themes emerging in Child Centered Play Therapy narratives.
  2. Identify and discuss the 4 Child Centered Play Therapy skills of theme identification, reflection, clarification, and creating space for problem-solving and hopeful solution formation toward the child’s treatment goals.
  3. Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills applicable to theme reflection to increase the child’s capacities for change.
  4. Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills applicable to creating space for problem solving to increase the child’s capacities for change.
  5. Identify 3 elements of the process for developing attunement and reflection of the child’s growing insights and problem solving that is happening in the story-telling process.
  6. Demonstrate the ability to name 2 developmentally appropriate ways of recognizing and communicating through the child’s safe use of metaphorical language.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, January 5, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (4 hrs)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (1 hr)
 
CCPT-L1-605E: Countertransference in Play Therapy: A Psychodynamic Perspective
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Defining Countertransference in Play Therapy
  • Recognizing Relationship Transference
  • Using Self Reflection and Regulation to Manage Countertransference
Workshop Description
Clinicians who work with children from a relationship-based model are often told that therapist is the most important toy in the playroom. Change occurs within the connection between child and therapist, yet the term countertransference is often left out of important discussions in Play Therapy. Countertransference occurs when the therapist’s unconscious past experiences and needs significantly impact the therapeutic relationship. Since healing, growth, and integration happen only in relationship, our ability to manage countertransference reactions and accurately use them in the child’s best interest is foundational. This 4-hour workshop facilitates an understanding of the therapist’s own emotional reactions to clients throughout the play therapy process and how to remain authentic in our responses while monitoring our own nervous system activation. Informed by psychodynamic play therapy, this workshop provides an essential lens for viewing issues of transference and countertransference and will provide you with the skills for effectively managing and utilizing these experiences within the play therapy setting.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate awareness of 2 ways that the therapist’s own emotional reactions to clients throughout the play therapy process can affect the relationship and treatment progress.
  2. Identify and discuss 3 skills for remaining authentic in responses while monitoring the clinician’s own nervous system activation in Play Therapy.
  3. Demonstrate understanding of 3 steps for managing countertransference reactions in Play Therapy.
  4. Implement at least 2 strategies for tracking emotional responses in the session and integrating skills for monitoring the clinician’s individual nervous system activation.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, January 19, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (0 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-506: Play Therapy Clinical Applications 2: Special Populations
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (3 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (1 hr)
Summary
  • Anger and Aggression in the Play Therapy Room
  • Attachment Distress in the Play Therapy Room
  • Sensory Issues and Learning Difficulty in the Play Therapy Room
  • Trauma and Anxiety in the Play Therapy Room
  • Sadness, Loss and Grief in the Play Therapy Room
Workshop Description
Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) combines the benefits of play and therapeutic relationship to provide the ideal conditions in which a child can experience safety and full acceptance from the therapist and process trauma and other painful experiences through symbolic play. The goal of CCPT is to use and build upon the child’s creative, authentic potential to move toward sensory and emotional integration and improved relational functioning. In this 8-hour training, you will learn how to construct, introduce, and facilitate a Play Therapy intervention to effectively to reach treatment goals for specific presenting concerns including anger, aggression, attachment distress, sensory issues and learning difficulty, trauma, anxiety, sadness, and grief/loss. Play therapy from a neurorelational framework will be described and demonstrated in detail regarding its use and effectiveness with special populations who present in both clinical and community settings. Participants will actively engage in CCPT skills throughout the training experience.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate 3 Play Therapy skills in working with specific presenting concerns including anger, aggression, attachment distress, sensory issues and learning difficulty, trauma, anxiety, sadness, and grief/loss to increase the child’s capacities for change.
  2. Identify 2 symptoms in the play therapy relationship associated with the specific presenting concerns of anger and aggression.
  3. Identify 2 symptoms in the play therapy relationship associated with specific presenting concerns of attachment distress and trauma.
  4. Identify 2 symptoms in the play therapy relationship associated with specific presenting concerns of anxiety, sadness or grief/loss.
  5. Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills in theme reflection to increase the child’s capacities for recovery from specific presenting concerns including anger, aggression, attachment distress, sensory issues and learning difficulty, trauma, anxiety, sadness, and grief/loss.
  6. Recognize and apply 2 elements of neurodiversity in special populations and how they influence the process for developing healing relationships with children and using play therapy methods to reach treatment goals.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, February 2, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (3 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (1 hr)
 
CCPT-L1-606E: Incorporating Parents and Family into Play Therapy
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (0 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (3 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Engaging Parents, Caregivers, and the Family System
  • Attachment and Forming Child-Caregiver Relationships
  • Brain-Based Parenting Strategies
  • Addressing Parent-Child Difficulties and Treatment Implications
Workshop Description
Mental health clinicians have been aware of the importance of including the family in the treatment of individuals, and the literature shows that in many cases, working with the family system results in long-term positive outcomes. Parent and caregiver involvement in the treatment of children and adolescents with regulation and behavioral difficulties is a critical part of effective care. Engaging families and caregivers in the play therapy process is essential for promoting ideal conditions in which a child can experience safety within attachment relationships and achieve neural integration. Yet this level of involvement presents can be daunting for clinicians and parents alike. In this 4-hour workshop participants will gain an understanding of the unique challenges of working with parents and caregivers in the play therapy process, how to effectively incorporate parents as therapeutic partners, and how to provide supportive strategies in parenting and behavioral intervention from an emotional regulation-based perspective supported by neuroscience research.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Identify and describe 3 types of interventions used to effectively engage parents and caregivers in the play therapy process.
  2. Discuss 2 unique challenges of working with parents and caregivers with respect to social context, trauma history, cultural and neuro diversity, and play therapy best practices.
  3. Implement 5 strategies for parenting and behavioral intervention from and emotional regulation-based Whole Brain perspective from play therapy theory and practical application.
  4. Describe 3 elements that create a safe environment for supporting the parent/caregivers’ capacity for growth and understanding of the child’s needs for engagement and ways of being in the play therapy setting and in caregiving relationships.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, February 16, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Jennifer Shim Lovers, LMFT RPT Jennifer is a Play Therapy Supervisor at The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute. Jennifer received a Master of Science in Marital & Family Therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary School of Psychology and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Jennifer focuses on attachment relationships and multicultural perspectives in her work with individuals, couples, children and families. She specializes in parenting consultation and perinatal and fertility support for families. Jennifer is the lead supervisor of graduate trainees in school-based counseling at Aveson and Odyssey Charter Schools in Altadena, California and she maintains a private practice at The Center for Connection in Pasadena, California.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (0 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (3 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-507: Play Therapy Termination: Creating an Ending Ritual
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (3 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (1 hr)
Summary
  • Termination Planning in Play Therapy
  • Directive Play Activities for Termination
  • Managing Relationship Transference in Play Therapy Termination
  • Relapse Prevention in Play Therapy Termination
  • Therapeutic Endings with Play Therapy Clients
Workshop Description
Providing effective and sensitive termination rituals are an essential part of the play therapist’s practice, regardless of theoretical orientation. Goodbyes, change, grief and loss are part of the child’s life and termination offers a space to facilitate a healing process for coming to terms with termination of the play therapy relationship. In this 8-hour workshop, you will be prepared to plan termination procedures that are developmentally and culturally sensitive, manage relationship transference that occurs during Play Therapy termination, and integrate Relapse Prevention strategies into your practice. We will also implement directive play activities to support termination process and describe ways to apply theory to practice in ending play therapy relationships in a planned, sensitive manner. You will apply neurorelational and attachment-oriented perspective to enhancing the child’s resiliency and strengthen protective factors in ending the therapeutic relationship.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Utilize at least 5 creative, developmentally and culturally sensitive play therapy directives that enhance Relapse Prevention and strengthen protective factors during termination with children and adolescents.
  2. Integrate grief/loss work, attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology and trauma theory in planning termination procedures that are developmentally and culturally sensitive.
  3. Identify and apply 2 skills for effectively managing countertransference in Play Therapy Termination.
  4. Identify and discuss 5 factors to consider when planning for termination of the play therapy relationship.
  5. Demonstrate understanding of 2 play therapy best practices articulated by the Association for Play Therapy regarding termination of the therapeutic relationship.
  6. Facilitate at least 2 Play Therapy Termination Directives in a clinical or community based setting with children or adolescents.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (3 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (1 hr)
 
CCPT-L1-607E: Play Therapy with Adolescents: Brain-Based Approaches
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Neurodevelopmental Changes in Adolescence
  • Anger, Aggression, Impulsivity and Other Externalizing Behaviors
  • Anxiety, Depression, and Related Internalizing Behaviors
  • Working with Parents and Caregivers Around Adolescent Behavior
Workshop Description
Adolescence has been described in recent literature as a time of “brainstorm” - intense neurological and physiological change, when the brain is pruning unused synapses and scaffolding in mature skills needed to take on adulthood. We will look to developmental science in this workshop on the adolescent brain and the unique benefits of play therapy and expressive arts in working with the challenges and strengths of adolescent clients. You will learn how playful dialogue with teens specifically nurtures healthy brain development and how we understand the neurobiology of creative experiences that happen in the therapy room to tame the chaos and optimize the adolescent’s self-regulation. In this 4-hour training, you will learn specific therapy practices designed to improve social and emotional functioning targeted to meet the diverse treatment needs of adolescents, especially those who seem resistant to talk-therapy models. Drawing on concepts of interpersonal neurobiology, the benefits of creative, brain-building therapy interventions to achieve relational attunement, emotional integration, and the development of a fully functioning adolescent to young adult identity will be clearly defined.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Describe 4 developmental theories specific to adolescence found in the literature base underpinning current thinking in play therapy and expressive arts therapies for adolescents.
  2. Describe 2 theories and principles applicable to a Child-Centered model of play therapy extended to working with adolescents.
  3. Recognize 3 tools and materials necessary to use with adolescent clients in order to provide play therapy interventions that improve neural functioning.
  4. Utilize 2 direct play therapy interventions designed to build up left-right brain integration, and bottom up/top down processing, leading to emotional improvement for adolescent clients.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, March 16, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Annalise Kordell, LCSW Annalise is the Clinical Director of The Center for Connection and a Play Therapy Supervisor at the Play Strong Institute. Annalise received her Master of Arts in Social Work from the University of Chicago and completed her Bachelors at Pennsylvania State University. Annalise works primarily with adolescents and their parents towards understanding feelings and changes from a neurodevelopmental and physiological perspective, uncovering the origins of challenging behaviors and providing strategies and tools rooted in the latest developments in Interpersonal Neurobiology and mindfulness. She previously lead a team at the Institute for Girls Development in Pasadena, California, where she coordinated and ran therapy groups focused on girls' empowerment and healthy childhood and adolescence.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-508: Play Therapy, Neurobiology and Trauma
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Structure and Function of the Child’s Developing Brain
  • Negative Effects of Trauma and Attachment Distress
  • Neuroception of Safety and Stress Responses
  • Zones of Emotional Regulation and Trauma Recovery
  • Whole Brain Approach to Working with Families
Workshop Description
Trauma impacts the biology and architecture of the brain at its most fundamental levels. Children who experience trauma are particularly vulnerable to trauma-induced brain changes as shown by research on the physical and psychological effects of childhood trauma. Treating trauma in children can pose certain challenges because at younger ages these children may have preverbal procedural memories of trauma that are not easily accessed using verbal therapies that rely on later development of higher cognitive processes. In this 8-hour training, you will learn the latest research in neuroscience and the clinical approach of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT), an evidence based practice that has been shown to be an effective method for meeting the developmental and neurological needs of traumatized children and assisting in their trauma recovery. You also learn how play therapists can provide an attuned relationship based on the neuroception of safety, how playful collaboration keeps children in the green zone of neurobiological receptivity to process trauma, and why reconstructing an effective narrative of trauma recovery with children is about staying present with their experiences in the “here and now”.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Identify and describe 3 of the most commonly observed features of children’s post-traumatic play in Play Therapy.
  2. Describe 3 theoretical principles informed by neuroscience and Child Centered Play Therapy of establishing neuroception of safety in the Play Therapy space and relationship.
  3. Identify 2 methods outlined in Child-Centered Play Therapy to assist children in problem-solving and hopeful solution formation toward trauma recovery.
  4. Explain 2 Child-Centered Play Therapy strategies supported by neuroscience toward the child’s trauma processing and development of a coherent trauma narrative.
  5. Demonstrate 2 improved Child-Centered Play Therapy skills to increase the child’s capacities for trauma recovery.
  6. Formulate 3 steps toward effective treatment evaluation to determine the child’s progress in trauma-informed play therapy.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, April 6, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-608E: Delving into Trauma-Based Play Therapy Narratives
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Common Themes of Trauma and Attachment Distress
  • Providing Neuroception of Safety in Play Narratives
  • Shaping Play Narratives Toward Whole Brain Trauma Recovery
Workshop Description
Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) offers mental health professionals a way of leveraging collaborative play with children, a process that relies primarily on non-verbal interaction, to enhance resilience and protect the brain from the negative effects of chronic stress and trauma. Informed by the latest research in neuroscience, the clinical approach of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) is an evidence based practice that has been shown to be an effective method for meeting the developmental and neurological needs of traumatized children and assisting in their trauma recovery. In this 4-hour training, you will learn about the most commonly conveyed themes of trauma in children’s play therapy, including physical abuse and neglect, witnessing violence, emotional abuse and relationship trauma, accident, injury, disaster, and medical trauma, so that play therapists feel more competent in recognizing and communicating through the child’s safe use of metaphorical language. This workshop will offer a process for developing attunement and reflection of the child’s growing insights and problem solving that is happening in the play therapy narrative story-telling process. Participants will learn how to identify and recognize traumatized play and the Child Centered Play Therapy skills of theme identification, reflection, clarification, and creating space for problem-solving and hopeful solution formation toward the child’s development of a coherent life narrative and trauma recovery.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Identify and describe the 3 of the most commonly observed features of post traumatic play in a play therapy setting after experiencing a traumatic event.
  2. Recognize 2 steps in the process for developing attunement and reflection of the child’s growing insights and problem solving that is happening in the play therapy narrative story-telling process.
  3. Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills in theme reflection to increase the child’s capacities for trauma recovery.
  4. Utilize 5 Child Centered Play Therapy skills of theme identification, reflection, clarification, and creating space for problem-solving and hopeful solution formation toward the child’s development of a coherent life narrative and trauma recovery.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, April 20, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-509: Play Therapy, Infant and Early Child Development
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Fetal Development and Growth
  • Early Attachment and Forming Infant-Caregiver Relationships
  • Infant – Young Child Observation
  • Developmental Stages and Major Milestones
  • Difficulties Arising in the Early Years and Treatment Implications
Workshop Description
Mental health practitioners, educators, and child and adolescent specialists are beginning to access research from neuroscience and infant toddler mental health that shows experiences from infancy and early childhood markedly influencing social and academic success and overall mental health. Despite this, those in the mental health field have only recently begun to recognize the importance of infant mental health and incorporate it into a play therapy model. In this 8-hour workshop, you will gain an in-depth understanding of fetal development and growth and its influence on infant mental health and early attachment. Informed by the latest research on infant development, interpersonal neurobiology and attachment theory, this 8-hour workshop will offer a broad understanding of effects of early attachment, resiliency, risk, and protective factors around forming infant-caregiver relationships, and the developmental states and major milestones in infant and early child development. Participants will learn how to identify attachment patterns, attunement, and parent-child relationship patterns. You will also learn how caregivers can facilitate attunement and safety in infancy and early childhood, and how to facilitate an infant-young child observation in a play therapy session. Finally, participants will gain a practical understanding of the difficulties that can arise in the early years, and treatment implications for Play Therapists.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Identify based on history and observation at least 2 stages of fetal development and growth
  2. Discuss 2 long-term outcomes of early attachment and the formation of infant-caregiver relationships and the application of play therapy to promote healthy attachment and caregiver relationships.
  3. Utilize 2 types of observation strategies for infant/early childhood assessment within a play therapy setting.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of 3 factors influencing difficulties arising in the early years and treatment implications for play therapy.
  5. Identify at least 2 issues of cultural and neurodiversity affecting play therapy assessment and treatment of children within the context of their developmental, birth, and early childhood history.
  6. Demonstrate competence in engaging caregivers and parents in the play therapy process with respect to at least 2 aspects of early attachment and infant-caregiver relationship history.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, May 4, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Dr. Sharon Tan, PsyD Sharon is a Play Therapy Supervisor at The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute. Dr. Tan received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University and her Bachelors from the National University of Singapore. Dr. Tan is a graduate fellow from the Infant-Parent Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate Program from the University of Massachusetts and is currently a California endorsed Infant-Family & Early Childhood Mental Health (0-5) Specialist. Dr. Tan specializes in play therapy approaches based in attachment theory and child development primarily focused on early childhood parent-child relationships and maintains a private practice at The Center for Connection in Pasadena, CA.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-609E: Play Therapy Approaches for Infants and Young Children
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Early Attachment and Forming Infant-Caregiver Relationships
  • Neurodevelopmental Stages and Major Milestones
  • Difficulties Arising in the Early Years and Treatment Methods
Workshop Description
Research shows that experiences from infancy and early childhood markedly influence social and academic success and overall mental health. In the world of neuroscience, research also shows that infant brains are particularly attuned to and affected by social and environmental cues and responses. Yet recognition of the importance of infant mental health and its incorporation into a play therapy model has been very recent, and Play Therapists often feel unprepared for working with infants and very young children. It is crucial for clinicians to have the tools to effectively intervene in these early stages to facilitate long term positive outcomes for children. In this 4-hour workshop, participants will learn developmental and attachment-based play therapy techniques for working with infants, toddlers and young children. Participants will also gain working knowledge of dyadic play therapy approaches and how to implement theory and practice into play therapy with very young children and their parents and caregivers.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Identify 4 main skills for dyadic play therapy approaches focusing on attachment and developmental play therapy.
  2. Discuss at least 3 issues that may occur within individual or dyadic play therapy session and how to facilitate these sessions effectively.
  3. Identify at least 2 roles that parents can utilize in play therapy sessions.
  4. Articulate at least 2 specific examples of attachment and developmentally-based assessment considerations when working in a dyadic play therapy model with infants, toddlers and young children.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, May 18, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Dr. Sharon Tan, PsyD Sharon is a Play Therapy Supervisor at The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute. Dr. Tan received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University and her Bachelors from the National University of Singapore. Dr. Tan is a graduate fellow from the Infant-Parent Mental Health Postgraduate Certificate Program from the University of Massachusetts and is currently a California endorsed Infant-Family & Early Childhood Mental Health (0-5) Specialist. Dr. Tan specializes in play therapy approaches based in attachment theory and child development primarily focused on early childhood parent-child relationships and maintains a private practice at The Center for Connection in Pasadena, CA.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-510: Play Therapy, Relationships and Attachment
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Attachment Theory and Styles of Parent-Child Attachment
  • Issues in Formation of the Child- Play Therapist Relationship
  • Diagnostic Considerations in the Play Therapy Room
  • Adoption and Attachment Repair in Working with Parents and Families
  • Self-Evaluation and Reflection in Relationships
Workshop Description
Over the last decade, we have seen a significant trend toward integrating the attachment theory and a neurobiological perspective when offering parenting advice and creating effective therapies for our children. Participants of this workshop will learn how play specifically nurtures healthy brain development and provides a space for assessment of attachment styles and emotional repair. In order to understand the neurobiology of play and how early attachment influences experiences that happen at home, school, and in the therapy room, you will learn the tenets of Attachment Theory, and the different styles of Parent-Child Attachment. Since the child’s attachment relationships directly influence the therapeutic relationship, Play Therapists can provide a safe environment for a corrective attachment experience. This 8-hour workshop will delve into diagnostic considerations around relationships and attachment, issues that arise in the formation of the child/play therapist relationship, and effective measures for self-evaluation and reflection within these relationships. We will also cover adoption and attachment repair in working with parents and families with specific case examples and insight around play therapy interventions for these special topics.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Articulate 3 major tenets of Attachment theory and styles of Parent-Child Attachment and its relationship to play therapy relationship and treatment planning.
  2. Describe at least 2 issues considered in the formation of the Child-Play Therapist Relationship within the play therapy setting.
  3. Demonstrate self-awareness and reflection around at least 2 complex relational issues within play therapy relationships.
  4. Demonstrate understanding of 3 appropriate and accurate diagnostic considerations in attachment in the play therapy setting.
  5. Identify 2 methods outlined in child-centered play therapy for working with parents and families around adoption and attachment repair.
  6. Identify and describe 2 of the most commonly observed features in working with attachment disorders within the play therapy relationship.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, June 1, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (1 hr)
  • Seminal Theories (3 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (3 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-610E: Filial Play Therapy: Parents, Siblings, and Family Systems
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Introduction to Filial Play Therapy and Child-Parent Relationship Therapy
  • Following the CPRT Model and Techniques
  • Adapting CPRT and IPNB to Support Parents in Treatment
Workshop Description
Engaging the family system in mental health treatment provides positive, sustainable outcomes for growth and health of the child. This 4-hour workshop will provide you with specific targeted approaches to working with families and dyads. This will include a comprehensive overview of two family-based play therapy approaches: Filial Play Therapy and Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) with a discussion of history, application, and supportive evidence and efficacy for both types of Family Play Therapy practice. These two modalities of Family Play Therapy will be compared and contrasted to determine appropriate client-therapy fit. Participants will also gain an understanding of systemic issues for assessment, treatment planning and ongoing practice including the step-by-step interventions outlined by these two relevant Family Play Therapy models. Incorporating siblings into play therapy sessions and offering Sibling Play Therapy as the primary modality will be presented in terms of structuring and delivering treatment when reducing sibling issues and conflicts has been identified as the focus of treatment.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Describe and discuss 2 main tenets of Filial Play Therapy and Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) and its practical application to play therapy relationships.
  2. Identify 3 problems that can arise in the parent-child dyad or family system and adapt Filial and CPRT Play Therapy models to address treatment goals.
  3. Describe 3 important aspects of relationship-based play therapy interventions for working with parents, siblings and family systems.
  4. 4. Demonstrate 3 specific Filial and CPRT Play Therapy skills for addressing the unique needs of parents, siblings and family systems as the primary unit of treatment.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, June 15, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Felisha Cullum, LMFT RPT-S Felisha received her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and graduate study in Play Therapy at George Fox University, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Point Loma Nazarene University. Felisha is an adjunct faculty member at the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Certificate Program where she teaches and supervises graduate students. Felisha is the past president of the San Bernardino Chapter of the California Association for Play Therapy (CalAPT) and maintains a private practice serving children and families in the High Desert.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-511: Challenging Behavior in Play Therapy
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (4 hrs)
  • Special Topics (3 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Anger, Aggression, Impulsivity and Other Externalizing Behaviors
  • Anxiety, Depression, and Related Internalizing Behaviors
  • Working with Parents and Caregivers Around Challenging Behaviors
  • Emotional Regulation
  • Neurobiologically Informed Behavioral Interventions
Workshop Description
Children and adolescents often express their needs and difficulties through their mental health symptoms and behaviors, so Play Therapists often see a wide range of behavioral expression in the Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) setting. This 8-hour workshop will provide participants with the tools and interventions needed for working with some of children’s most complex and challenging behaviors and highly resistant Play Therapy clients from a neurorelational, strengths-based perspective. Play therapy will be described and demonstrated in detail regarding its use and effectiveness with children with complex and challenging mental health symptoms and behaviors who present in both clinical and community settings. Participants will actively engage in Child-Centered Play Therapy skills throughout the workshop and will gain practical tools for working with children with anxiety, withdrawal, internalizing behaviors, anger and aggression, impulsivity, and other externalizing behaviors. In addition, participants will learn about engaging more effectively with parents and caregivers around these challenging behaviors. This workshop will also define and compare strategies of emotional regulation versus behavioral modification, as well as discuss current neurobiological research supporting a strengths-based approach to behavioral assessment and intervention.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Describe and demonstrate 3 skills toward the use and effectiveness of Child Centered Play Therapy in clinical and community settings around issues of Anger, Aggression, Impulsivity and Other Externalizing Behaviors.
  2. Identify and discuss the 2 methods for the use and implementation of Child Centered Play Therapy protocol for Anxiety, Depression, Withdrawal, and Related Internalizing Behaviors.
  3. Describe at least 2 differences between using techniques/strategies of Emotional Regulation versus Behavioral Modification in play therapy practice.
  4. Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills and attitudes pertaining to limit setting.
  5. Demonstrate 3 neurobiologically informed behavioral interventions for working with challenging behaviors in a play therapy setting.
  6. Identify 2 issues of neurodiversity and how they influence assessment and treatment of challenging behaviors in the play therapy relationship.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, July 6, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenters
Annalise Kordell, LCSW Annalise is the Clinical Director of The Center for Connection and a Play Therapy Supervisor at the Play Strong Institute. Annalise received her Master of Arts in Social Work from the University of Chicago and completed her Bachelors at Pennsylvania State University. Annalise works primarily with adolescents and their parents towards understanding feelings and changes from a neurodevelopmental and physiological perspective, uncovering the origins of challenging behaviors and providing strategies and tools rooted in the latest developments in Interpersonal Neurobiology and mindfulness. She previously lead a team at the Institute for Girls Development in Pasadena, California, where she coordinated and ran therapy groups focused on girls' empowerment and healthy childhood and adolescence.
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (4 hrs)
  • Special Topics (3 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-611E: Culturally Responsive Play Therapy
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Cultural Experiences and CCPT Case Conceptualization
  • Keeping Cultural Values in Focus Around Parenting and Family
  • Treating Diverse Clients: Cultural Competence in Play Therapy
Workshop Description
The American Psychological Association, Board of Behavioral Sciences, The Association for Play Therapy and other licensing boards in the field of mental health underscore the importance of awareness of cultural identity, practice of obtaining ongoing education around working with diverse communities and attempts to incorporate culturally appropriate practices. Founders of play therapy models such as Virginia Axline and Garry Landreth also set forth recommendations for insuring playroom materials and clinical practice are sensitive to diversity. This 4-hour play therapy workshop will provide participants with a socio-cultural lens through which to develop culturally competent and responsive play therapy interventions. In particular participants will gain an understanding of specific culturally appropriate treatment interventions to employ when the client and play therapist are ethnically or culturally different.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. List 3 steps for building sensitivity and developing competence in working across cultures in play therapy.
  2. Discuss the 2 aspects of both the universality and diversity of play in providing play therapy to diverse communities.
  3. Describe 1 aspect of the impact of a culturally responsive play therapist on children receiving play therapy.
  4. Identify 2 items of importance in understanding cultural issues of privacy, trust, and beliefs when treating families from various cultures in play therapy.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, July 20, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Jennifer Shim Lovers, LMFT RPT Jennifer is a Play Therapy Supervisor at The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute. Jennifer received a Master of Science in Marital & Family Therapy from Fuller Theological Seminary School of Psychology and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Jennifer focuses on attachment relationships and multicultural perspectives in her work with individuals, couples, children and families. She specializes in parenting consultation and perinatal and fertility support for families. Jennifer is the lead supervisor of graduate trainees in school-based counseling at Aveson and Odyssey Charter Schools in Altadena, California and she maintains a private practice at The Center for Connection in Pasadena, California.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
 
CCPT-L1-512: Supporting Neurodevelopmental Differences in Play Therapy
 
8.0 CE / 8 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (3 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (1 hr)
Summary
  • Learning Differences and Treatment Considerations
  • ADHD Symptoms and Play-Based Interventions
  • Speech, Motor, Sensory Processing and Other Developmental Delays
  • Understanding the Autism Spectrum
  • Working Sensitively with Parents and Families with ASD/LD
Workshop Description
Over the last decade, we have seen a significant trend toward integrating the neurobiological perspective with developmental/behavioral-based treatment such as DIR/Floortime or ABA therapies when offering parenting advice and creating effective therapies for children with developmental differences and special needs. An increasing number of parents are also seeking relationship-based play therapy for children with neurodevelopmental differences. In this 8-hour workshop you will understand how child-centered, brain-building play therapy experiences to achieve relational attunement, neural integration, and the development of a fully functioning sense of self can support children with learning and developmental differences. We will focus on Learning Differences and Treatment Considerations, ADHD Symptoms and Play-Based Interventions, Speech, Motor, Sensory Processing, Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Developmental Delays. This 8-hour workshop will also supply participants with knowledge of appropriate referrals and linkages to make to families seeking play therapy services for a child with an individual developmental difference or diagnosis, and effective ways to collaborate with the child’s treatment team including occupational therapists, speech therapists, and IEP plans. Participants will also engage in a discussion around practical ways to support these children in the playroom and how to work sensitively with parents and families with a diagnosis of ASD, Learning Disability, or other neurodevelopmental disorder.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Utilize at least 3 developmentally focused skills for engaging in play therapy with a child with individual developmental differences.
  2. Identify 5 strategies for supporting the needs of a child with individual differences in a play therapy room.
  3. Demonstrate at least 2 skills in effectively providing psychoeducation around neurobiology, appropriate referrals, and provide sensitive support to families of children with a developmental differences.
  4. Demonstrate at least 3 areas of focus for play therapy intervention to support a child with individual neurodevelopmental needs.
  5. Describe the 5 stages of the loss/grief cycle in parents coming to terms with the birth of a child with a disability.
  6. Identify and recognize at lease 3 aspects of how social context and cultural diversity impacts play therapy assessment and treatment planning for a child presenting with neurodevelopmental differences.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, August 3, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Rebekah Springs, LMFT RPT Rebekah received her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and her Bachelors from Azusa Pacific University. Using the framework of interpersonal neurobiology, child development, and the DIR model for intervention, Rebekah has many years' experience at Real Connections Child Development Institute where she provided parent support and education, DIR/Floortime Therapy focusing on children and families with diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory processing differences, medical fragility and Down Syndrome. Rebekah currently specializes in Infant and Toddler Mental Health at Portland State University and maintains a private practice at Firefly Counseling in Portland Oregon.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 8 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 8 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 8 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (2 hrs)
  • Skills and Methods (2 hrs)
  • Special Topics (3 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (1 hr)
 
CCPT-L1-612E: Reflective Practice in Play Therapy
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (1 hr)
Summary
  • Relational Style and Impact on the Play Therapy Relationship
  • Reflective Practice in Play Therapy and Benefits to Treatment
  • Guidelines for Neuro-Informed Reflective Practice
Workshop Description
Most supervisory protocols and licensing boards in behavioral and mental health fields include recommendations for clinical practice of self-care and reflective practices. A growing body of research around vicarious trauma and burnout in clinicians working in high-intensity relational work has highlighted the need for reflective practices and self-awareness in the therapeutic relationship. Reflective practice is essential for clinicians to manage difficult emotions and understand complex interactions that arise in Play Therapy. This participation-based workshop will provide you with the tools for engaging in reflective practice in play therapy. You will gain skills for enhancing insight into your relationship with the client and the client’s relationship with both you and the play therapy setting.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Evaluate 2 elements of personal and professional relational style and the impact of relational style on the relationship with the client in play therapy.
  2. Identify 2 potential signs of transference and counter-transference within play therapy and describe ethical steps to managing transference and countertransference in the relationship.
  3. Define 3 aspects of reflective practice in play therapy and its benefit to treatment.
  4. Identify 4 of the minimal training/supervision guidelines for reflective practice and play therapy best practices defined by the Association for Play Therapy.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, August 17, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (1 hr)
  • Applicant Choice (1 hr)
 
CCPT-L1-701: Evaluating Self-Competence in Play Therapy
 
4.0 CE / 4 hours
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)
Summary
  • Core Competencies of the Neurorelational CCPT Therapist
  • Analysis and Demonstrating Competence Through Practice
  • Qualitative Feedback in the Observation of Play Therapy Competencies
  • Review and Reflection of Theories Learned and Skills Developed
Workshop Description
Evaluation of self-competence in areas of specialty is best practice for clinicians. Competence is based on training, supervision, and experience and clinicians must take steps to insure they are competent to work with a particular population or presenting problem. Through the process of research, presentation, and discussion, this 4-hour workshop intends to provide a space for synthesis of information and evaluation of competence as a Play Therapist. This workshop walks participants through the presentation of final project. Each participant will also describe one play therapy case with analysis of how the play therapist demonstrated the core competencies of the Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) therapist. ***This workshop is required to complete CCPT Certificate.
Learning Objectives
After the workshop participants will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate understanding of 4 core competencies of the CCPT therapist.
  2. Describe 1 play therapy case with in-depth analysis of how the play therapist demonstrated at least 4 CCPT core competencies.
  3. Demonstrate through verbal presentation and discussion working knowledge of 2 legal and ethical principles guiding play therapists.
  4. Provide at least 2 qualitative feedback responses to each presentation by colleagues around play therapy core competencies.
Schedule
On Demand Only (Originally aired: Saturday, August 17, 2019, 1:00pm – 5:00pm)
Presenter
Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S Georgie is the Managing Director and Lead Faculty for The Center for Connection Play Strong Institute, a clinical and training institute focused on helping children and families connect and thrive with play therapy. Georgie completed advanced postgraduate study in Child-Centered Play Therapy at the University of Roehampton, England, Intensive Play Therapy Supervision at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, and her Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy at Chapman University. Georgie helped create and coordinate the Loma Linda University Play Therapy Program where she also teaches and supervises graduate students as an adjunct faculty member. Georgie is a frequent speaker for parents and professional groups interested in learning about her Play Strong model for trauma resilience, and other topics related to trauma-informed care and the neurobiology of play and relationships.
CE/Hour Applicability
  • PSI Certificate: 4 hours out of 150 total required
  • RPT: 4 non-contact CEs of play therapy education
  • APA/CA BBS: 4 CEs toward license renewal for LCSW, LMFT, LPCC, PhD, PsyD
RPT Core Instructional Categories
  • History (0 hrs)
  • Seminal Theories (1 hr)
  • Skills and Methods (1 hr)
  • Special Topics (2 hrs)
  • Applicant Choice (0 hrs)