Holding the Child Who Won’t Be Held: Working with Avoidant and Dismissive Attachment in the Playroom

Holding the Child Who Won’t Be Held: Working with Avoidant and Dismissive Attachment in the Playroom

$35.00

Some children don’t cling. They don’t protest. They appear independent, self-contained, even unaffected. Yet beneath that independence often lives profound shame and a deep fear of rejection.

Children with avoidant or dismissive attachment patterns learned early that needing others was unsafe. In the playroom, this can show up as distance, compliance, control, or emotional flatness within the therapeutic relationship.

This one-hour home study course, drawing from the principles of Synergetic Play Therapy, will examine the neurobiological and relational foundations of avoidant attachment and explore how to work effectively with these children — not by forcing connection, but by creating the conditions for internal secure attachment to develop.

Because when we hold steady, children begin to discover that they can hold themselves.

 

For course details including cost, learning objectives, and CE Credit Hours, keep scrolling!

Category:

Description

What: A 1-hour home study course designed for clinical professionals working with children and to support in navigating the complexities of working with children with avoidant or dismissive attachment patterns in the playroom.

*This video course is a recording of a live webinar on March 31, 2026.

Where: Anywhere you are!

When: You will have access to this course for 365 days from the date of purchase. Access to this course and its content will expire at that time.

Holding the Child Who Won’t Be Held: Working with Avoidant and Dismissive Attachment in the Playroom Learning Objectives:

  • Identify at least three neurobiological or emotional characteristics associated with avoidant/dismissive attachment in children
  • Recognize at least two ways avoidant attachment patterns may present within the therapeutic relationship
  • Explain how therapist congruence and regulated presence support the development of internal secure attachment in children with avoidant patterns

CE Credit Hours: 1 CE Credit Hour, NBCC Content Areas: Counseling Theory/Practice and the Counseling Relationship, Human Growth and Development

Synergetic Play Therapy Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7450. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Synergetic Play Therapy Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Synergetic Play Therapy Institute is also an Approved Provider for the following associations:
*Australian Play Therapists Association (APTA) Approved Provider
*British Columbia Play Therapy Association (BCPTA) Approved Provider 23-01

Continuing education credit hours may be awarded to graduate-level counselors or students enrolled in a graduate-level mental health program. If you do not qualify for continuing education credit hours and would like to receive a certificate of completion for this course please contact the Institute directly.

Cost: $35 USD

Or, bundle this course with any 3, 1-hour courses and save. Get all the details here: Buy a Bundle of 4 and Save!

If you are needing financial assistance or would like to make a donation to support other play therapists in being able to afford play therapy training, please visit the Synergetic Play Therapy Foundation website to learn more.

Presenter: Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S

Refund Policy: Fees are non-refundable, but are transferable to other courses. You will not receive CE credit hours for this course should you choose to transfer your enrollment to another course. Please contact the Institute should you have any questions or concerns.

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