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A Synergetic Approach to Education (A Synergetic Education Institute Program)

Do you work in a school—or collaborate with educators and schools? Then this program is for you.

A Synergetic Approach to Education (formerly One Foot in Education: Exploring Education Through an SPT Lens) is offered through the Synergetic Education Institute (SEI), our sister institute dedicated to bringing Synergetic principles into educational environments.

Participants receive a Certificate of Completion at the end of the program and can also earn up to 3 Graduate credits from Colorado State University. CE Credit Hours

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A Synergetic Approach to Education (A Synergetic Education Institute Program)

A Synergetic Approach to Education (A Synergetic Education Institute Program)

Education and mental health don’t exist in separate worlds. A child’s nervous system, relationships, sense of safety, classroom environment, and ability to learn are deeply interconnected. A Synergetic Approach to Education brings neuroscience, nervous system regulation, empowerment, and relational awareness into the complex ecosystem of schools.

Designed for school counselors, social workers, psychologists, school-based mental health professionals, and clinicians who collaborate with educators, this 23-hour program explores how small shifts in the way we understand students, educators, and the systems around them can create meaningful change.

Please note: This is an SEI program, not an SPTI course. Registration, program details, and upcoming dates are available directly through the Synergetic Education Institute.

Presenter

Judith Norman

Judith is licensed as both a Professional and School Counselor. Judith is a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor and is also Certified as a Synergetic Play Therapy® Teacher and Supervisor, and in EMDR therapy, along with being trained in Mindfulness in Education. She has been utilizing the tenets of Synergetic Play Therapy® in educational settings for the past 10 years, leading to the development of social-emotional, trauma-informed programming to support students and educators.

Why Add SPT to Your Practice?

  • “I personally took a lot out of this [program], not all of it was new, but what was new was extremely useful and impactful. What wasn’t new was an excellent reminder to go back to my roots of attachment and emotional work when working with children just like I have worked with youth and adults over the years but in a slightly different context. My entire team has felt the positive impact of this training on our work and we are very happy that we all did it at the same time. We will be able to continue to practice it together and that is very exciting.”

    Mike Smith

  • “This experience has been validating to my entire human experience, and offered a clear framework to better connect with myself, client, and world! I know this was only the tip of the iceberg into integrating these powerful concepts, and I’m so hooked, I’ve already signed up for certification to continue my journey!”

    Jessie Brockmeier

  • “It’s been over 2 years since I took the Synergetic Play Therapy [program]. One of the best choices I’ve ever made. The magnitude of deeply attuning with our clients…and ourselves…is immeasurable!”

    Jackie Flynn
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Cost

See website for cost details

Participants interested in registering can use the Early Bird Coupon Code “EarlyBird50” for $50 USD off until December 15th, 2026.

This program is offered and purchased through the Synergetic Education Institute. Please visit the Synergetic Education Institute for program details, dates, and registration.

About

Prerequisite:
Completion of the Level 1 Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy program is required.

Don’t have Level 1? Mental health professionals who work in schools or collaborate with educators can complete the Fundamentals Course through the Synergetic Education Institute to meet this prerequisite.

This 23-hour program is designed for school-based and clinical mental health professionals who work in school environments or collaborate with educators or schools, and who have completed a Level 1 Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy program*. The program includes twelve (12) 1.5 hour LIVE webinars and five (5) 1-hour consultation groups. 

*If you are a mental health professional who works in school environments or collaborates with educators or schools, but have NOT taken a Level 1 Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® program, you may now enroll in the Fundamentals Course through the Synergetic Education Institute to meet this requirement!

When: Visit the Synergetic Education Institute here to find out when this program is offered next! 

Visit the Synergetic Education Institute here to find out when this program is offered next! 

You’ll explore how to:

  • Understand what happens in the brain and body when students are ready—or not ready—to learn, and help educators recognize what may be underneath challenging classroom behaviors.
  • Support the development of self-regulation skills that go beyond traditional social-emotional learning approaches.
  • Understand the dynamics within challenging student-adult relationships and identify opportunities to shift those interactions.
  • Create greater experiences of safety, connection, and belonging for both students and adults.
  • Use both “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches to intentionally build regulation skills into everyday classroom routines.
  • Reframe “resistance” by meeting educators where they are in their own readiness for change.
  • Collaborate with teachers in ways that honor their expertise, empower their role, and shift perceptions of students and behavior.
  • Bring Synergetic Play Therapy principles into educational settings while adapting them to the realities and needs of schools.

Rather than asking, “How do we get this student to behave differently?” a Synergetic approach invites us to look at the larger system and become curious about what is happening beneath the behavior. What is the student’s nervous system experiencing? What does the educator need? What conditions support connection and learning? And what small shifts might create a different experience for everyone involved?

This program offers a way to bring neuroscience and nervous system awareness out of the therapy room and into the places where children learn, develop relationships, and spend much of their lives.

Class 1 – Who Are You in the Lives of Educators?

  • Explore your role in supporting educators and schools
  • Begin to build a foundational knowledge base to share with educators that supports your role as counselors and therapists working with and in schools

Class 2 – The Neurobiology of Behavior from an Educational Lens

  • Gain insights into deepening educators’ understanding of the neuroscience of learning and behavior
  • Learn strategies for supporting educators using a regulatory lens to look beneath students’ behaviors

Class 3 – The Process of Developing Self-Regulation: Adding the Missing Elements

  • Help educators understand how missing programming elements may prevent students from using skills independently
  • Learn ways to shift daily routines to include critical components of developing self-regulation and reflection

Class 4 – Brain-Aligned Strategies and Practical Neuroscience

  • Discover brain-aligned strategies and how to use the “right strategy at the right time.” 
  • Explore the neuroscience behind why specific strategies are more effective and when to use top-down or bottom-up approaches, as both are vital

Class 5 – Developmental Mindsets Paradigm

  • Learn about the game-changing Developmental Mindset Paradigm and its implications for supporting educators as we reframe “resistance” to meeting educators at their level of readiness

Class 6 – Creating Regulatory Environments from a Multi-Tiered Lens

  • Discover ways to support educators in explicitly teaching students how to access doses of regulation throughout the day
  • Support the implementation of universal approaches in classrooms while offering higher levels of support when necessary

Class 7 – Obstacles and Perceived Adult Challenges

  • Learn ways of empowering adults to recognize their own dysregulation
  • Introduce the concept of the Set-Up, or Offering, to educators and how to use this as a tool in the classroom

Class 8 – Obstacles and Perceived Student Challenges

  • Explore individual differences such as sensitized stress reactions and working with perceptions
  • Examine challenging dynamics that often inadvertently reinforce negative beliefs and behaviors

Class 9 – Moving Through Perceived Challenges

  • Help educators understand the main causes of escalation and how being an external regulator supports moving through challenging moments
  • Examine a support continuum that includes setting boundaries without leading to feelings of shame

Class 10 – Shifting Paradigms: Utilizing a Regulatory-Focused Approach

  • Examine differentiation and the discrepancies in how we approach academic vs social-emotional and behavioral support
  • Develop layered social-emotional behavior support plans that match the neurophysiological states of students

Class 11 – Our Role in Shifting Perception

  • Identify and address common barriers when working with educators and schools and facilitate new layers of understanding
  • Model balancing challenge and support to create new neural templates for educators to help them adopt this approach

Class 12 – Tying it All Together

  • Examine ways to integrate the material in authentic and meaningful ways to you and your setting
  • Develop empowering relationships by applying Synergetic Play Therapy® tenets in our work with educators and schools

Registration deadline is January 19th, 2027

This course is sold by the Synergic Education Institute®

Judith Norman, MA, MS, LPC, RPT-S

Judith is licensed as both a Professional and School Counselor. Judith is a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor and is also Certified as a Synergetic Play Therapy® Teacher and Supervisor, and in EMDR therapy, along with being trained in Mindfulness in Education. She has been utilizing the tenets of Synergetic Play Therapy® in educational settings for the past 10 years, leading to the development of social-emotional, trauma-informed programming to support students and educators.

SPT Credential Renewal/Recertification Credit: This program meets FULL SPT CE Credit requirements for Recertification of the Certified Synergetic Play Therapist/Certified Synergetic Play Provider credential!

Continuing Education Credit: Participants receive a Certificate of Completion at the end of the program and can also earn up to 3 Graduate credits from Colorado State University.

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