• Engaging the Resistant Child in Play Therapy

    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- what it is and what it is not.  This course will further explore emotional avoidance and flooding as components of resistant behaviors.
  • *This is NOT a course. Earn non-contact continuing education credit by completing a quiz based on the book.  Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurobiological Approach to Integrating Intensity offers a way to work with aggressive play that allows children to learn how integrate the intensity they are experiencing from their thoughts, emotions, and sensations while simultaneously supporting regulation in the therapist's nervous system. These will help therapists understand the neurobiological processes that lead kids to dys-regulation, and help them facilitate emotional healing in their clients.  Topics Covered Include:
    • What Regulation Really Means
    • Making Aggressive Play Therapeutic
    • Authentic Expression
    • Setting Boundaries
    • Hyper-Aroused Play
    • Observing Play
    • Hypo-Aroused Play
    • Working with Parents
    • Developing Yourself as the External Regulator
    Note: Test fee does not include publication material. Purchase book prior to completing online tests. If you have not read this book or need to purchase it, please scroll down for the Amazon link.  *For additional class details and objectives, please see below.
  • 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.
  • Working with families as a whole presents a complex and multifaceted endeavor, often marked by intricate dynamics. This course delves into the significance of integrating families into the play therapy process, providing guidance on effectively engaging all family members during sessions and examining the myriad benefits this inclusive approach offers.  You will also understand the role of the nervous system in family interactions and strategies for regulating and harmonizing family dynamics within the context of play therapy sessions.
  • Eating challenges in children can show up in many ways. From the refusal to eat to eating too much, underneath often lies the need for perfectionism and control. Helping kids take these challenges off their plates involves offering choices and uncovering co-existing issues, as well as providing parental support. This course takes a look at this important struggle.
  • The Synergetic Play Therapy Institute® in collaboration with PIP Solutions presents “Working with Adopted Children in Play Therapy”. Many adopted children have unique challenges which present in different ways in the playroom.  Play Therapists can often feel unsure but are aware of the importance of responding through a different lens.  In this course, there will be an emphasis on the importance of working with the child’s neuro-biological processes such as regulation and dys-regulation, as well as the importance of educating and working with the child’s adoptive parents. 
  • We live in a technological age: there is no pacifying Pac-Man, no axing Apple. But screen time doesn’t always mean zoning out. In moderation, Mickey Mouse and Mario can be our allies, helping children better connect to the world around them. This webinar explores the therapeutic value of screen time and how to use it as part of a play therapy process. Learn how to recognize when a child is using it to avoid and when a child’s use of technology is the perfect entry into the therapeutic alliance.
  • As play therapists, we are often searching for ways to help our clients regulate their emotions and body. This webinar explores how therapists can use yoga to increase their ability to connect with themselves and their clients while facilitating the regulation of emotions and body during play therapy sessions.
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) can be a part of growing up. But how can we help turn these obstacles into opportunities for growth and resilience and apply this knowledge to the play therapy process? This course explores how play therapy can be used to help mitigate the effects of ACES. Learn the major categories of ACES, along with protective factors or strategies that have been shown to be helpful both in the short-term and long-term. This course is designed to enhance or increase the professional knowledge of graduate-level counselors.    
  • This program is for you if you work IN SCHOOLS (as a school counselor, social worker or psychologist, or a school-based mental health professional) or if you COLLABORATE WITH educators or schools!

    **For all program details and dates of when this program is offered, please visit the Synergetic Education Institute's website**

    A Synergetic Approach to Education (formerly One Foot in Education: Exploring Education Through an SPT Lens) offered by our sister institute, the Synergetic Education Institute, is a distinct and transformative approach to learning and teaching, working at the intersection of education and mental health! Synergetic educators recognize that the collaborative efforts of educators, students, classrooms, and educational systems produce a more substantial impact than individual contributions. This approach spans the landscape of working with students and perceived challenges and barriers, considering all aspects of learners and the learning environment. It incorporates neuroscience and nervous system regulation research with empowerment practices to create positive change within the immediate environment while maintaining a broader perspective using integrated and differentiated approaches. You will delve into strategies designed for educational settings that promote trauma-informed, social-emotional support within schools. You'll learn to implement these strategies as well as understand the neuroscience behind them, empowering you to support others in deepening their knowledge and awareness. You will also learn how to...
    • Implement approaches based on neuroscience that support the development of self-regulation skills, including critical skills that are often missing from SEL programming.
    • Support educators in understanding how to prepare brains and bodies to learn, including articulating the links between neurophysiological states and classroom behaviors
    • Identify the dynamics behind complex student-adult relationships and how to shift these challenging interactions.
    • Increase feelings of safety and belonging for students and adults
    • Implement small shifts in daily routines that include explicitly teaching critical skills using both "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches.
    • Reframe “resistance” to meeting educators at their level of readiness.
    • Embody Synergetic Play Therapy® principles and collaborate with teachers to empower them and shift their perceptions of students
    "This course has been life-changing for me personally and for so many of the clients and families I work with! I love that your class applies to clinical practice as well! Judith has a brilliant mind and it was an honor to learn from her. I am so grateful. There are moments in your life that are pivotal and I know my Synergetic Play Therapy (SPT) and SPT in schools are one of those pivotal moments for me as a professional and a mom." - Chey Cochran, LPC Check out the clip below for a sample of what you can expect during live webinars!
    Program Prerequisites: This program requires that you have taken a Level 1 Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® program. This includes the completion of one of the following: If you have not yet completed one of the above programs, you now have the opportunity to meet the prerequisites for A Synergetic Approach to Education by taking the new Fundamentals Course through the Synergetic Education Institute!* *The Fundamentals Course has been created specifically for individuals who wish to take a Synergetic Approach to Education but have not yet completed a Level 1 Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® program. This course will take you through key Synergetic Play Therapy® principles, creating a foundation on which to build. Please note: This course has been paired down to focus on specific concepts to prepare students for A Synergetic Approach to Education, and, therefore, is not a full replacement for the Level 1 Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® program.  Should your goal be to apply for the Synergetic Play Therapy Certification program, you must complete the entire Introduction program.
  • This 1.5-hour recorded webinar, in the form of a roundtable discussion, delves into the evolving landscape of diversity, inclusion, and cultural awareness in mental health, exploring how to create a more inclusive and culturally sensitive clinical practice. Led by Lisa Dion, guest panelists Marshall Lyles, Liliana Baylon, and Robert Jason Grant will share their insights and expertise on a range of essential topics, fostering a deeper understanding of the role culture plays in the therapy process, embracing neurodiversity, and creating inclusive play spaces to cater to individual needs.  *The course is provided by the Synergetic Play Therapy Foundation. The Synergetic Play Therapy Foundation is dedicated to helping make play therapy trainings accessible and affordable to clinicians worldwide and to funding research initiatives in Synergetic Play Therapy. The Synergetic Play Therapy Foundation provides scholarships to clinicians seeking post-graduate training in Synergetic Play Therapy or another play therapy model of their choosing. Scholarships are funded through donations from webinars, donors, and supporters of Play Therapy. By purchasing this course, you are making a direct donation to the Synergetic Play Therapy Foundation. All proceeds will contribute to future scholarships and to the foundation itself! Please scroll down for course details and objectives.
  • CLARIFYING! ENERGIZING! EYE-OPENING! INSPIRING! AMAZING!!!! 

    These are just a few words students have used to describe this course!

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE COURSE DETAILS!!

    Back by popular demand - revised, energized, and with an in-person and virtual option, join us November 9th-11th, 2023, for the next The Business of Therapy course! Custom designed for therapists, coaches, helpers and healers like yourself, who are deeply committed to making an impact and want to be of greater service - whether it's one-on-one in private practice, launching a product or program, or running a company - Elevate and take your entrepreneurial dream to new heights! This course teaches you the steps involved in building a dream, as well as helps you understand the why behind them so you can think like a business entrepreneur. Plus, for 2.5 days, Lisa Dion, creator of Synergetic Play Therapy®, President of the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute and co-founder of the Synergetic Education Institute, will give you the key ingredients she's learned and discovered along her own entrepreneurial journey.  "This weekend was one of the best investments in myself I have ever made." - Bianca Kisselburg This course is for you, if you:
    • Have a business idea and don't know where to start
    • Have a successful business and want to take it to the next level
    • Have launched a dream and can't seem to get traction
    • Feel overwhelmed by the many to-dos and responsibilities of your business
    • Feel alone, confused and filled with self doubt as you think about building and growing your dream
    • Keep finding yourself in-debt and/or not able to grow your finances
    • Keep finding that your fears and limiting beliefs are stopping your growth 
    • Want to become more efficient with the business you have (no matter the size of your business) so that your business is working for you, not you having to keep working your business
    And this year's event will be held at the gorgeous Renaissance Denver Downtown City Center Hotel, housed in the former Colorado National Bank building! This building's historic allure is just one of the reasons The Denver Post coined it as the "most beautiful room in Denver"! Located in Denver's financial district, this area is buzzing with individuals ready to get down to business just like you! We chose this location for you as a symbol of your worth and the possibility of your goals - because you are worth it! And you deserve to dream BIG!  

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE COURSE DETAILS!!

    Keep scrolling to learn more about this course and the In-Person Experience! If you know that you would like to attend the course online, click here!
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