July 2023 3-Day In-Person Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy (SPT Credential Renewal/Recertification)

Description

Course Details: 

This course includes 3 days, 18 hours, of in-person training with Lisa Dion, followed by 3 one-hour additional video lessons and a Book Review of Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurological Approach to Integrating Intensity to further your learning!  

*This course does not require nor does it include consultation with a Synergetic Play Therapy® Consultant. If you would like to schedule a few consultation sessions along the way as an additional support to your continued integration of the material, you may purchase individual consultation or form a group for a discount here!

When: July 21-23, 2023, 9:00am – 4:30pm Mountain Time (Denver). We will have a one-hour lunch break each day. Lunch will not be provided so please plan accordingly.

Where: Boulder Marriott Hotel, Boulder, Colorado, USA

2660 Canyon Boulevard, Boulder, Colorado, 80302

If you are looking to book a hotel room for these dates, please use the link above to explore options at the venue or try one of these nearby hotels:

Embassy Suites by Hilton Boulder
Residence Inn Boulder Canyon
Hilton Garden Inn Boulder

What You’ll Learn: Special topics such as tracking the play, attachment, facilitating sand, art, trauma, and aggressive play are covered from the perspective of nervous system regulation, attunement, mindfulness, and authenticity and how to apply these concepts to play therapy. Participants will also learn how to track their client’s changes for caregivers, teachers, agencies, and themselves. Plus, we’ve added three additional video lessons just for you – “Synergetic Play Therapy® in Teletherapy”, “Synergetic Play Therapy® and Cultural Humility”, and “4 Threats and the Set Up Through a Cultural Lens”!

Mandatory Book: You should already have a copy of the required book, Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurobiological Approach for Integrating Intensity by Lisa Dion. You will be asked to re-read the book and complete a short book study as part of the course.  

Course Objectives:

Understanding the Projective Process (3 Contact CE Credits)

• Describe the basics of Synergetic Play Therapy® including the tenets, the history, and the main play therapy influences
• Explain how children use the projective process in play therapy to set the toys and the therapist up to feel how they feel
• Assess and explain the significance of why authenticity is so important in the playroom
• Describe how a Synergetic Play Therapist accesses (his/her/their) authentic self and deepens the child’s therapeutic process in play therapy

Exploring the Nervous System in the Playroom (3 Contact CE Credits)

• Explain the link between nervous system states and the symptoms that show up in the playroom in play therapy
• Describe the importance of regulation in the playroom in play therapy
• Demonstrate how the play therapist can become the external regulator so that the child can begin to learn how to regulate in play therapy
• Explain what the concept “rocking the baby” means in Synergetic Play Therapy®

Regulation: What It Is and What It Isn’t (3 Contact CE Credits)

• Explain what regulation is and what it isn’t according to Synergetic Play Therapy®
• Discuss what it means to “overcome a challenge” in the play therapy process
• Describe what it means to become the external regulator in a play therapy session to help a child integrate their challenges
• Explain why you, the play therapist, are the most important toy in the playroom

Working with Caregivers (3 Contact CE Credits)

• Discuss how to involve caregivers in Synergetic Play Therapy® sessions
• Describe what it means to become the caregiver’s external regulator
• Discuss the importance of setting goals and speaking in terms of what is important to the caregiver in play therapy

Understanding Attachment & the Self Object in Synergetic Play Therapy® (3 Contact CE Credits)

• Discuss Synergetic Play Therapy’s definition and perspective on attachment
• Explain and demonstrate how to use the self-object as a way to support the client attaching to self in play therapy
• Describe the link between a child’s attachment styles and their nervous system states in play therapy

Sand, Art, & Aggression in Synergetic Play Therapy® (3 Contact CE Credits)

• Explain how to use regulation as a way to help integrate aggressive energy in the playroom
• Describe how to facilitate the use of sand from a Synergetic Play Therapy® perspective in the playroom
• Explain how to facilitate the use of art from a Synergetic Play Therapy® perspective in the playroom
• Explain the concept of emotional flooding in the playroom for both the play therapist and the child and list ways to create a neuroception of safety

Video Lesson – Synergetic Play Therapy® and Cultural Humility (1 Non-Contact CE Credit)

• Identify the importance of differences in how a child approaches play therapy depending on an individual’s culture
• Explain what it means for play therapists to have “done the work” to become curious with their clients in play therapy using a cultural approach
• Understand the term “microaggressions’ and how to apply Synergetic Play Therapy® concepts in the play therapy process

Video Lesson – 4 Threats and the Set Up Through a Cultural Lens (1 Non-Contact CE Credit)

• Explain why culture is important when considering the 4 Threats in play therapy
• Understand how culture impacts the Set Up and Offering in play therapy
• Demonstrate ways that as a therapist culture can be considered in the play therapy process

Video Lesson – Synergetic Play Therapy® and Teletherapy (1 Non-Contact CE Credit)

• Explore how to become the client’s external regulator while facilitating a telehealth play therapy session
• Identity at least 3 ways the play therapist can regulate during a teletherapy session to prevent compassion fatigue and burnout
• Explore how the Synergetic Play Therapy® concept of “The Set Up/The Offering” applies in a telehealth play therapy session

Book Review – Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurological Approach to Integrating Intensity (6 Non-Contact CE Credits)

• Develop an understanding of aggression and death play that is based on brain function and neuroscience in the play therapy process
• Explain the four threats to the brain that activate a fight/flight/collapse response and why this is so important to know when working with children in play therapy
• Assess the concept of “one foot in and one foot out” and its impact on the play therapy process
• Understand the practical ways to authentically work with the intensity of aggression and death play, without causing compassion fatigue or burnout in play therapy
• Develop an understanding of how to set boundaries without shaming or shutting the child down in the play therapy process
• Identify ways to regulate yourself in the midst of an intense play therapy session so as to model to the child client how to do the same, thereby enhancing the child’s capacity for self-regulation