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Using Games in Play Therapy

Games are a familiar part of many children’s worlds—and they often find their way into the playroom. Whether a child chooses a board game, a card game, or another structured activity, the game itself is only part of the story. The real therapeutic value lies in how the child plays.

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

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Using Games in Play Therapy

Using Games in Play Therapy

In this 1-hour home study course, you’ll discover how to look beyond the mechanics of a game to better understand what a child may be communicating through play. You’ll learn how games can reveal a child’s emotional age, regulation patterns, relational dynamics, and ways of navigating challenge, success, frustration, and connection. Rather than focusing on the outcome of the game, you’ll explore why observing how a child engages with it provides some of the richest clinical information.

Through the lens of Synergetic Play Therapy, games become more than just activities to fill a session—they become opportunities to deepen attunement, strengthen the therapeutic relationship, and better understand the child’s nervous system and internal experience. When we shift our attention from the game itself to the process unfolding within it, even the simplest game can become a powerful window into healing.

 

Presenter

Lisa Dion

Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S, is an international teacher, creator of Synergetic Play Therapy, founder and President of the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute.

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

$35 USD

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

About

A 1-hour home study course dedicated to checkers, chess, and Milton Bradley.

 

Home Study Course
  • Explore clues to assess the emotional age of the child playing a game in a play therapy session
  • Discuss how to understand what the child is trying to tell the therapist through the use of games in play therapy
  • Describe why looking at “how” a child uses a game is the most important part of games in play therapy

 

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.

Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S

 

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 program, please contact the Institute directly.

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.

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.

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