Pre-Teens and Teens in Play Therapy

With their changing brains and hormones, finding ways to integrate play with pre-teens and teens can at times just feel “Awkward”.  Learn how to navigate therapy with our clients who are no longer children, but also not quite yet adults.

From twelve-year-olds to seniors in high school, adolescence is a time filled with change. This can make the notion of bringing play therapy to this population a challenge. Do we play? Do we talk? Do I ask questions? What do I do?”  As such, many therapists find themselves at a loss with this age group, feeling just as confused as they do!  In this workshop, play therapists will delve into the mysteries of the teenage mind as we bust myths and glean insight into how to best offer therapeutic support.  Using neuroscience, Developmental, Synergetic, and Systemic theories, participants will explore how to navigate this “awkward” and sometimes “overwhelming” developmental stage using an eclectic framework of non-directive and directive play therapy approaches.  Understanding how to assess the teen’s emotional age, an area often missed when working with this population, will also be covered as a way to understand how to incorporate play into the therapy process.  

The information presented is designed to open minds and hearts as participants uncover the wisdom of the changing brain and the wisdom of the teenage years.  Through lecture, demonstration, and discussion, this workshop will deconstruct this mysterious stage and support play therapists in discovering how they can help mature and remodel the teenage brain, while supporting movement towards the discovery of the authentic self- the cornerstone of the development of a teenager’s identity.

To get a sense for the course, check out this short video below: