• Sensory Processing Disorder in the Playroom

    Lisa Dion and Dr. Robert Jason Grant, creator of AutPlay Therapy, discuss what Sensory Processing Disorder is, how to begin to understand it in the context of play therapy, and offer helpful suggestions for therapists to get started.
  • Registration Deadline is August 12th, 2024!

    This dynamic two-hour live webinar course delves into the intricate interplay between trauma, neurocognitive processes, and communication patterns, shedding light on the challenges therapists face when working with survivors of trauma, especially those from culturally diverse backgrounds or with language barriers. Did you know that trauma's profound impact on neurocognitive functioning can significantly influence communication dynamics within therapeutic settings? This, coupled with cultural and linguistic disparities, can pose an added challenge when trying to establish rapport and foster healing with clients, particularly among Limited English Proficient or Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals! Join Lisa Dion, Founder & President of the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute, and Mila Golovine, President & CEO of Masterword, for this live webinar course that navigates the intersections of cultural competency, trauma-informed therapy, and effective communication strategies. You will also get insights into enhancing the therapeutic alliance, fostering better client engagement, and ultimately improving therapeutic outcomes! Key highlights include:
    • Understanding how trauma affects neurocognitive processes and communication patterns.
    • Exploring cultural competence in therapy and its significance in trauma recovery.
    • Identifying challenges and strategies for effective communication with clients from diverse backgrounds.
    • Best practices for working with Limited English Proficient or Deaf/Hard of Hearing clients.
    • Practical techniques to promote therapeutic alliance and engagement.
    • Ethical considerations and sensitivity when utilizing interpreters in therapy sessions.
    Don't miss this chance to learn actionable insights and tools to navigating the complexities of trauma, culture, and language and to more effectively meet your clients at this complex intersection! *Closed captioning will be available through Zoom for this live webinar course. *If you are attending live, select the "Live Event" option from the dropdown menu below. (No playback will be provided) *If you are unable to attend live, select the "Home Study" option from the dropdown menu below to view the recording. (Must be completed within 7 days following the live event)  
  • This course supports play therapists as they learn about setting boundaries from a neurobiological perspective, keeping the child’s brain and nervous system activation in mind! Drawing from Interpersonal Neurobiology and Synergetic Play Therapy®, participants will learn how to set boundaries without shaming the child or stopping the child’s play, allowing for deeper integration and connection. Working with emotional flooding (the child’s and the therapist’s) will also be explored. Please scroll down for course details.
  • From the dad with doubts to the mom with mixed emotions, not all parents are sold on the idea of play therapy. The resistant parent is a parent who may have questions, shame, or confusion about the process. This course explores how to encourage parental understanding of the power of play and why it’s a key step in helping children heal.
  • Research in neuroscience and interpersonal neurobiology sheds light on the need for the play therapist to act as the external regulator supporting the child to move towards the intensity they are experiencing allowing for integration. This 3 hour video course explores this need during trauma integration for two primary reasons: 1) The child need to borrow the play therapist’s regulatory capacity as they work through their traumatic thoughts, feelings and sensations in play therapy and 2) The play therapist’s ability to regulate themselves during the intensity increases the capacity for presence and attunement with the child, while simultaneously supporting the health and longevity of their own nervous system. Without the ability of the play therapist to become the external regulator for the intensity that arises during trauma integration, both the child and the play therapist are at risk for emotional flooding and high levels of dysregulation in their nervous systems. Over time, this can significantly impact a play therapist’s longevity in the field, as well as the ability to stay attuned and present to a child in sessions. This course is a recording of a 3 hour live webinar with Trusted Provider Network. See course details below.
  • Every therapist has been there – in a session with a child who doesn’t want to come in the room, a child who doesn’t want to do the task, a child who only wants to avoid the issue. This course explores what to do when a child client’s language and behavior say “no.” Join us as we explore resistance, with a focus on differentiating resistance from avoidance and differentiating resistance from the dorsal collapse in the nervous system. Emotional flooding is explored as well.
  • Divorce. The “D” word. The end of the marital road. A happily ever after run amok. It’s something that often gets a bad rap, especially when we think of the children stuck in the middle. But divorce, while it can be devastating to some kids, can also be a relief for others. Children’s perceptions are not all the same. This course explores how to support children in play therapy when they are experiencing divorce and separation.
  • Parents are the most important allies of the play therapist. But forming this alliance requires time, understanding, and lots of communication. It also requires congruence, adaptability, and an appreciation of the parents’ authentic selves. Parents and play therapists are on the same team with one common goal: promote healing for a struggling child.  This one-hour home study course explores this play therapy pact.
  • Helping a child heal involves helping them be themselves. One of the best ways to foster this type of environment is to cultivate safety. The therapist knowing the playroom is safe is not enough; the child must know it, too. This course explores what a neuroception of safety is and how to create it within the child and yourself.
  • Supporting a child struggling with obsessive compulsions and perfectionism can be incredibly challenging as the desire to move the child out of their rigidity and rituals can overshadow the deeper issues and stressors driving the behaviors.  In this course, you will gain an understanding of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the behavior of perfectionism, and how play therapy can support the integration of the underlying drivers of the behaviors so as not to intensify the inner struggle that is often experienced by these children as they attempt to stop, control and even deny the urges in their bodies.
  • From a stroll through the Lollipop woods of Candyland to a fight over the Thimble in Monopoly, games are part of childhood. In the playroom, certain games are more commonly used than others. How do we use chess as a pawn in our therapeutic healing? How can we call on checkers to check on the child’s state of regulation? What does a game tell us about a child’s emotional world? This webinar explores these questions and more!
  • The Synergetic Play Therapy Institute® in collaboration with PIP Solutions presents “Conceptualizing Cases from a Synergetic Play Therapy® Lens”. Translating a right brain play experience into a left brain conceptualization is not an easy task.  Play therapists often grapple with a sense of uncertainty when trying to comprehend a child’s unique therapeutic progression and assessing whether goals are being achieved. This course, led by Lisa Dion, aims to address this issue by introducing a structured framework derived from Synergetic Play Therapy. Students will gain insights into how to conceptualize cases effectively and apply this framework to enhance the efficacy of their therapeutic interventions.
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