Upcoming Trainings

CCPT-L1-501: Introduction to the Neurorelational Child-Centered Play Therapy Model (8.0 CE)

Saturday, September 7, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

Describe and demonstrate 3 principles of Child Centered Play Therapy within a neurorelational framework in clinical and community settings.
Identify and discuss the use and implementation of 2 primary strategies found in the Child Centered Play Therapy protocol.
Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills and attitudes.
Discuss 2 legal and ethical principles guiding the considerations and actions of clinicians utilizing play therapy.
Describe the role of the play therapist and play therapy in at least 2 broader clinical and non-clinical contexts.
Examine and discuss 2 key elements of research and intervention contributing to the effectiveness of play therapy.

Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, PhD 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 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.

CCPT-L1-601E: Interpersonal Neurobiology and Implications for Parent Child Filial Play Therapy (4.0 CE)

Saturday, September 21, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm

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 parent and child-centered, brain-building play therapy experiences to achieve relational attunement, neural integration, and the development of a fully functioning attachment will be clearly defined.

Learning Objectives

After the workshop participants will be able to:

Describe 3 play therapy principles from a Child-Centered Neurorelational model of play therapy.
Recognize 4 tools and materials necessary to use with children in order to provide filial play therapy interventions that improve neural functioning.
Utilize 3 filial play therapy interventions designed to build up left-right brain integration, and bottom up/top down processing, leading to sensory and emotional improvement.
Observe and track 4 specific types of therapeutic change recognizing gains from an interpersonal neurobiology and play-therapy based perspective.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-508: Play Therapy, Neurobiology and Trauma (8.0 CE)

Saturday, October 5, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

Identify and describe 3 of the most commonly observed features of children’s post-traumatic play in Play Therapy.
Describe 3 theoretical principles informed by neuroscience and Child Centered Play Therapy of establishing neuroception of safety in the Play Therapy space and relationship.
Identify 2 methods outlined in Child-Centered Play Therapy to assist children in problem-solving and hopeful solution formation toward trauma recovery.
Explain 2 Child-Centered Play Therapy strategies supported by neuroscience toward the child’s trauma processing and development of a coherent trauma narrative.
Demonstrate 2 improved Child-Centered Play Therapy skills to increase the child’s capacities for trauma recovery.
Formulate 3 steps toward effective treatment evaluation to determine the child’s progress in trauma-informed play therapy.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-608E: Delving into Trauma-Based Narratives in Filial Play Therapy: Reflection, Analysis and Integration (4.0 CE)

Saturday, October 19, 2019 8:00am – 12:30pm

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 filial play therapy story-telling process. Participants will learn how to identify and recognize traumatized play and the Filial 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 within safe parent-child relationship.

Learning Objectives

After the workshop participants will be able to:

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.
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 filial play therapy story-telling process.
Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills in theme reflection to increase the child’s capacities for trauma recovery.
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.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-502: Play Therapy Assessment (8.0 CE)

Saturday, November 2, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

Discuss the 3 basic components of assessing the needs of a child presenting for Play Therapy.
Demonstrate 3 criteria for determining whether Play Therapy may be an appropriate treatment intervention.
Explain 2 types of rationale for using active child observation within Child-Centered Play Therapy assessment.
List the 3 components of active child observation in child-directed play therapy.
List the 6 basic skills and techniques of Child-Centered Play Therapy assessment.
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.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-602E: Evaluating Individual Neurodevelopmental Needs in Filial Play Therapy with Children and Their Parents (4.0 CE)

Saturday, November 16, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm

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 filial 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:

Assess for and differentiate between 9 developmental stages of children and children’s play within play therapy.
Discuss 2 assessment interventions for evaluating neurodevelopmental needs in play therapy assessment.
Describe the 7 sensory systems and appropriate assessment for function of each system in a play therapy setting.
Demonstrate at least 3 areas of focus for conducting a play therapy assessment of a child with individual neurodevelopmental needs.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-503: Play Therapy Skills and Techniques 1 (8.0 CE)

Saturday, December 7, 2019, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

Describe 3 principles connecting theory to practice from a neurorelational model of Child-Centered Play Therapy.
Recognize 3 tools and materials necessary to use with children in order to provide child-centered play therapy interventions that improve neural functioning.
Utilize 2 methods to design a Child-Centered Play Therapy space and relationship to provide the optimal conditions for therapeutic challenge and growth.
Recognize and apply 3 types of Child-Centered Play Therapy reflective responses to develop the therapy relationship and further therapeutic progress.
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.
Compare and contrast 2 theoretical underpinnings of Child Centered Play Therapy and the formats in which they are most widely used.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-603E: Filial Play Therapy Reflective Responses in Action: Reflective Attunement (4.0 CE)

Saturday, December 21, 2019, 8:00am – 12:30pm

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 Filial Play Therapist is ability accurately understand and reflect to the parent and 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 parent filial therapy

Learning Objectives

After the workshop participants will be able to:

Utilize 3 methods for appropriate reflective responses to achieve attunement in play therapy.
Describe 2 elements of attuned responses and when to employ reflective attunement in play therapy.
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.
Recognize and apply 3 types of responses in a variety of play therapy relationships in developing the therapeutic relationship and facilitating progress.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-504: Play Therapy Skills and Techniques 2 (8.0 CE)

Saturday, January 4, 2020, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

Describe 3 principles connecting theory to practice from a neurorelational model of Child-Centered Play Therapy.
Recognize 3 tools and materials necessary to use with children in order to provide child-centered play therapy interventions that improve neural functioning.
Utilize 2 methods to design a Child-Centered Play Therapy space and relationship to provide the optimal conditions for therapeutic challenge and growth.
Recognize and apply 5 types of Child-Centered Play Therapy reflective responses to develop the therapy relationship and further therapeutic progress.
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.
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.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-604E: Filial Play Therapy Reflective Responses in Action: Developing Emotional Regulation and Resilience (4.0 CE)

Saturday, January 18, 2020, 8:00am – 12:30pm

Experience changes the brain, and repeated attuned, affective experiences with a sensitive caregiver 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 supportive caregiver 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 Filial Play Therapist is to accurately understand and reflect to the parent and 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:

Utilize 3 methods for appropriate reflective responses to develop resilience in play therapy.
Demonstrate and implement 5 types of reflective responses that build resilience in play therapy.
Demonstrate understanding of at least 2 situations in which to employ therapeutic limit-setting in play therapy.
Recognize and apply the use of at least 3 reflective responses that facilitate self-esteem, relationship, creativity and responsibility.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-505: Play Therapy Clinical Applications 1: Analysis of Themes and Developing Self-Awareness (8.0 CE)

Saturday, February 1, 2020, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

Identify and describe 4 commonly observed themes emerging in Child Centered Play Therapy narratives.
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.
Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills applicable to theme reflection to increase the child’s capacities for change.
Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills applicable to creating space for problem solving to increase the child’s capacities for change.
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.
Demonstrate the ability to name 2 developmentally appropriate ways of recognizing and communicating through the child’s safe use of metaphorical language.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-605E: Accurately Utilizing Self-Reflection in Filial Play Therapy: Helping the Parent From the Inside Out (4.0 CE)

Saturday, February 15, 2020, 8:00am – 12:30pm

Clinicians who work with children and families 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 transference is often left out of important discussions in Play Therapy. Transference occurs when the child’s or parent's unconscious past experiences and needs significantly impact the therapeutic relationship. Since healing, growth, and integration happen only in relationship, our ability to manage transference reactions and accurately use them in the family’s best interest is foundational. This 4-hour workshop facilitates an understanding of the parent's emotional reactions to children throughout the play therapy process and how to remain authentic in our responses while monitoring our own nervous system activation. Informed by neurorelational and 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 filial play therapy setting.

Learning Objectives

After the workshop participants will be able to:

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.
Identify and discuss 3 skills for remaining authentic in responses while monitoring the clinician’s own nervous system activation in Play Therapy.
Demonstrate understanding of 3 steps for managing transference reactions in Filial Play Therapy.
Implement at least 2 strategies for tracking emotional responses in the session and integrating skills for monitoring the parent’s individual nervous system activation.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-506: Play Therapy Clinical Applications 2: Specific Presenting Concerns and Special Populations (8.0 CE)

Saturday, March 14, 2020, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

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.
Identify 2 symptoms in the play therapy relationship associated with the specific presenting concerns of anger and aggression.
Identify 2 symptoms in the play therapy relationship associated with specific presenting concerns of attachment distress and trauma.
Identify 2 symptoms in the play therapy relationship associated with specific presenting concerns of anxiety, sadness or grief/loss.
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.
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.

Jennifer Shim Lovers, LMFT 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.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-606E: Increasing Engagement of Parents and Caregivers in the Filial Play Therapy Process and Treatment of Children and Adolescents (4.0 CE)

Saturday, March 21, 2020, 8:00am – 12:30pm

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:

Identify and describe 3 types of interventions used to effectively engage parents and caregivers in the play therapy process.
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.
Implement 5 strategies for parenting and behavioral intervention from and emotional regulation-based Whole Brain perspective from play therapy theory and practical application.
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.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-507: Play Therapy Termination: Creating an Ending Ritual (8.0 CE)

Saturday, April 4, 2020, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

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.
Integrate grief/loss work, attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology and trauma theory in planning termination procedures that are developmentally and culturally sensitive.
Identify and apply 2 skills for effectively managing countertransference in Play Therapy Termination.
Identify and discuss 5 factors to consider when planning for termination of the play therapy relationship.
Demonstrate understanding of 2 play therapy best practices articulated by the Association for Play Therapy regarding termination of the therapeutic relationship.
Facilitate at least 2 Play Therapy Termination Directives in a clinical or community based setting with children or adolescents.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-607E: Filial Play Therapy with Adolescents: Brain-Based Approaches to Reduce Emotional Storm and Stress (4.0 CE)

Saturday, April 18, 2020, 8:00am – 12:30pm

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 filial therapy involving parents 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 working with parents in the therapy room. 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 healthy differentiated parent-adolescent relationship will be clearly defined.

Learning Objectives

After the workshop participants will be able to:

Describe 4 developmental theories specific to adolescence found in the literature base underpinning current thinking in play therapy and expressive arts therapies for adolescents.
Describe 2 theories and principles applicable to filial play therapy extended to working with adolescents.
Recognize 3 tools and materials necessary to use with adolescent clients in order to provide filial play therapy interventions that improve neural functioning.
Utilize 2 filial play therapy interventions designed to build up left-right brain integration, and bottom up/top down processing, leading to emotional improvement for adolescent clients.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-509: Play Therapy, Infant and Early Child Development (8.0 CE)

Saturday, May 2, 2020, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

Identify based on history and observation at least 2 stages of fetal development and growth
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.
Utilize 2 types of observation strategies for infant/early childhood assessment within a play therapy setting.
Demonstrate an understanding of 3 factors influencing difficulties arising in the early years and treatment implications for play therapy.
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.
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.

Dr. Sharon Tan, PsyD 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.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-609E: Filial Play Therapy Approaches for Working with Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children and Their Parents (4.0 CE)

Saturday, May 16, 2020, 8:00am – 12:30pm

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 filial 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 filial 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:

Identify 4 main skills for filial play therapy approaches focusing on attachment and developmental play therapy.
Discuss at least 3 issues that may occur within individual or filial play therapy session and how to facilitate these sessions effectively.
Identify at least 2 roles that parents can utilize in play therapy sessions.
Articulate at least 2 specific examples of attachment and developmentally-based assessment considerations when working in a filial play therapy model with infants, toddlers and young children.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-510: Play Therapy, Relationships and Attachment (8.0 CE)

Saturday, June 6, 2020, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

Articulate 3 major tenets of Attachment theory and styles of Parent-Child Attachment and its relationship to play therapy relationship and treatment planning.
Describe at least 2 issues considered in the formation of the Child-Play Therapist Relationship within the play therapy setting.
Demonstrate self-awareness and reflection around at least 2 complex relational issues within play therapy relationships.
Demonstrate understanding of 3 appropriate and accurate diagnostic considerations in attachment in the play therapy setting.
Identify 2 methods outlined in child-centered play therapy for working with parents and families around adoption and attachment repair.
Identify and describe 2 of the most commonly observed features in working with attachment disorders within the play therapy relationship.

Felisha Cullum, LMFT RPT 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.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-610E: Family Play Therapy for Trauma and Attachment: Working with Parents, Siblings, and Family Systems (4.0 CE)

Saturday, June 20, 2020, 8:00am – 12:30pm

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:

Describe and discuss 2 main tenets of Filial Play Therapy and Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) and its practical application to play therapy relationships.
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.
Describe 3 important aspects of relationship-based play therapy interventions for working with parents, siblings and family systems.
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.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-511: Working with Challenging Behavior Using a Whole-Brain Mindset in Play Therapy (8.0 CE)

Saturday, July 11, 2020, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

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.
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.
Describe at least 2 differences between using techniques/strategies of Emotional Regulation versus Behavioral Modification in play therapy practice.
Demonstrate 3 Child Centered Play Therapy skills and attitudes pertaining to limit setting.
Demonstrate 3 neurobiologically informed behavioral interventions for working with challenging behaviors in a play therapy setting.
Identify 2 issues of neurodiversity and how they influence assessment and treatment of challenging behaviors in the play therapy relationship.

Annalise Kordell, LCSW 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 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.

CCPT-L1-611E: Responding to Different Parenting Styles and Culture in Filial Play Therapy (4.0 CE)

Saturday, July 18, 2020, 8:00am – 12:30pm

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:

List 3 steps for building sensitivity and developing competence in working across cultures in play therapy.
Discuss the 2 aspects of both the universality and diversity of play in providing play therapy to diverse communities.
Describe 1 aspect of the impact of a culturally responsive play therapist on children receiving play therapy.
Identify 2 items of importance in understanding cultural issues of privacy, trust, and beliefs when treating families from various cultures in play therapy.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-512: Supporting Learning and Developmental Differences in Play Therapy (8.0 CE)

Saturday, August 1, 2020, 8:00am – 5:00pm

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:

Utilize at least 3 developmentally focused skills for engaging in play therapy with a child with individual developmental differences.
Identify 5 strategies for supporting the needs of a child with individual differences in a play therapy room.
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.
Demonstrate at least 3 areas of focus for play therapy intervention to support a child with individual neurodevelopmental needs.
Describe the 5 stages of the loss/grief cycle in parents coming to terms with the birth of a child with a disability.
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.

Rebekah Springs, LMFT RPT 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.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-612E: Reflective Practice in Play Therapy (4.0 CE)

Saturday, August 15, 2020, 8:00am – 12:30pm

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:

Evaluate 2 elements of personal and professional relational style and the impact of relational style on the relationship with the client in play therapy.
Identify 2 potential signs of transference and counter-transference within play therapy and describe ethical steps to managing transference and countertransference in the relationship.
Define 3 aspects of reflective practice in play therapy and its benefit to treatment.
Identify 4 of the minimal training/supervision guidelines for reflective practice and play therapy best practices defined by the Association for Play Therapy.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

CCPT-L1-701 Seminar: Evaluating Self-Competence in Play Therapy (4.0 CE)

Saturday, August 15, 2020, 1:00pm – 5:00pm

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:

Demonstrate understanding of 4 core competencies of the CCPT therapist.
Describe 1 play therapy case with in-depth analysis of how the play therapist demonstrated at least 4 CCPT core competencies.
Demonstrate through verbal presentation and discussion working knowledge of 2 legal and ethical principles guiding play therapists.
Provide at least 2 qualitative feedback responses to each presentation by colleagues around play therapy core competencies.

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT RPT-S 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.

8:00am	Theoretical Foundations
9:45am	Break
10:00am	Practice Application
11:30am	Lunch (on your own)
12:00pm	Consultation Group
2:00pm	Break
2:15pm	Small Group Discussion
3:30pm	Experiential Activity
5:00pm	Adjournment

8:00am	Theoretical Foundations
9:45am	Break
10:00am	Practice Application
11:30am	Break
11:45pm	Small Group Discussion
12:30pm	Adjournment

2019-2020 Training Schedule

Child-Centered Play Therapy Certificate with Neurorelational Emphasis

Training Location

Online Option

Continuing Education

Target Audience

Instructional Level

Audience Pre-requisites

Daily Schedule

Child-Centered Play Therapy Certificate with Neurorelational Emphasis

2019-2020 Training Schedule**

CCPT-L1-501: Introduction to the Neurorelational Child-Centered Play Therapy Model (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-601E: Interpersonal Neurobiology and Implications for Parent Child Filial Play Therapy (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-508: Play Therapy, Neurobiology and Trauma (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-608E: Delving into Trauma-Based Narratives in Filial Play Therapy: Reflection, Analysis and Integration (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-502: Play Therapy Assessment (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-602E: Evaluating Individual Neurodevelopmental Needs in Filial Play Therapy with Children and Their Parents (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-503: Play Therapy Skills and Techniques 1 (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-603E: Filial Play Therapy Reflective Responses in Action: Reflective Attunement (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-504: Play Therapy Skills and Techniques 2 (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-604E: Filial Play Therapy Reflective Responses in Action: Developing Emotional Regulation and Resilience (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-505: Play Therapy Clinical Applications 1: Analysis of Themes and Developing Self-Awareness (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-605E: Accurately Utilizing Self-Reflection in Filial Play Therapy: Helping the Parent From the Inside Out (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-506: Play Therapy Clinical Applications 2: Specific Presenting Concerns and Special Populations (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-606E: Increasing Engagement of Parents and Caregivers in the Filial Play Therapy Process and Treatment of Children and Adolescents (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-507: Play Therapy Termination: Creating an Ending Ritual (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-607E: Filial Play Therapy with Adolescents: Brain-Based Approaches to Reduce Emotional Storm and Stress (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-509: Play Therapy, Infant and Early Child Development (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-609E: Filial Play Therapy Approaches for Working with Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children and Their Parents (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-510: Play Therapy, Relationships and Attachment (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-610E: Family Play Therapy for Trauma and Attachment: Working with Parents, Siblings, and Family Systems (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-511: Working with Challenging Behavior Using a Whole-Brain Mindset in Play Therapy (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-611E: Responding to Different Parenting Styles and Culture in Filial Play Therapy (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-512: Supporting Learning and Developmental Differences in Play Therapy (8.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-612E: Reflective Practice in Play Therapy (4.0 CE)

CCPT-L1-701 Seminar: Evaluating Self-Competence in Play Therapy (4.0 CE)

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