• Eating Challenges in Play Therapy

    Eating challenges in children can show up in many ways. From the refusal to eat to eating too much, underneath often lies the need for perfectionism and control. Helping kids take these challenges off their plates involves offering choices and uncovering co-existing issues, as well as providing parental support.  This course takes a look at this important struggle.
  • Eating challenges in children can show up in many ways. From the refusal to eat to eating too much, underneath often lies the need for perfectionism and control. Helping kids take these challenges off their plates involves offering choices and uncovering co-existing issues, as well as providing parental support. This course takes a look at this important struggle.
  • Every therapist has been there - in a session with a child who doesn't want to come in the room, a child who doesn't want to do the task, a child who only wants to avoid the issue.  This webinar explores what to do when a child client's language and behavior say "no."  Join us as we explore resistance, with a focus on differentiating resistance from avoidance and differentiating resistance from the dorsal collapse in the nervous system. Emotional flooding is explored as well.
  • Every therapist has been there – in a session with a child who doesn’t want to come in the room, a child who doesn’t want to do the task, a child who only wants to avoid the issue. This course explores what to do when a child client’s language and behavior say “no.” Join us as we explore resistance, with a focus on differentiating resistance from avoidance and differentiating resistance from the dorsal collapse in the nervous system. Emotional flooding is explored as well.
  • Out of stock

    Course Will BE Rescheduled Due to Unforeseen Circumstances!

    Please contact the Institute if you have any questions in the meantime!

    As a Play Therapist Supervisor supporting supervisees (or as someone on their way to becoming a supervisor), you know that working with children and their families involves a complexity that is like no other, especially when thinking about legal and ethical considerations.  When navigating the ethical issues that arise during the play therapy process, we have found that many Play Therapy Supervisors often ask:
    • What exactly is my role and how do I stay in my role?
    • What should my paperwork and documentation look like?
    • What are my ethical responsibilities as a supervisor?
    • How do I increase my awareness on how cultural diversity impacts play therapy, and thus supervision?"
    To address these and other important questions, Liliana Baylon, LMFT-S, RPT-S* and the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute's Cultural Ambassador, will lead you through a 3-hour online course on the topic of "Ethical Issues in Play Therapy Supervision". This live webinar course will help you and other Play Therapist Supervisors manage both the administrative and clinical aspects of play therapy supervision while adhering to general ethical considerations and guidelines. And, if you are a Certified SPTer planning to enroll in the next offering of the Becoming a Certified Synergetic Play Therapy Supervisor program, completion of this course will count toward the program requirement of completing a course related to the topics of legal and/or ethics in play therapy supervision! This is an opportunity to get that requirement out of the way now!   For class details and objectives, see below.
  • In response to COVID-19, the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute began offering free webinars to address the challenges, stress and impact that therapists, teachers, parents, and those on the frontlines were facing. Since then, we've continued to offer free webinars to support you on your professional and personal life's journey. Please enjoy free access to these very special webinars. You may view and share it with as many people as you feel it would help.
  • In this free one-hour webinar, you’ll understand how to manage your stress, fear, anxiety and depression and why it’s important to do so … And that’s not even the best part - You’ll be shown mindfulness strategy after mindfulness strategy, offered understanding of the neuroscience behind each, and guided through how to use them - go from “not just a good idea” to why you would do it and when you would use it.
  • Lisa Dion and her dear friend, Peter Bliss join forces again to support you in staying connected during the Holidays ....with the message that staying calm is not the objective or solution for getting through not only the challenges and uncertainty of the world we live in right now, but also this holiday season (because as we know, it's not always about cheer and jubilee).
  • Chances are, you read the title of the webinar and thought, "What! You want me to do what with rejection?!" (We know ... it might not quite make sense yet.) Or perhaps you know that rejection has a purpose in your life, but you still find yourself having a "love/hate" relationship with it. Either way, rejection can be one of the toughest things to experience - it gets right down to your core self and brings up all of your "Am I ok?" feelings. And this is what we're going to talk about in this one-hour free webinar! ... and more specifically, how to embrace it! - like you're best-est of friends (Yes, you heard that right too.)
  • Therapists and clinicians are always experiencing a secondary impact when working with clients who have experienced or are experiencing trauma, crisis, or challenge. A big statement, we know, but it's true. We can't avoid being impacted and it has a lot to do with the brain's mirror neuron system. When we're in the midst of listening or playing through the trauma with the child, we're tracking our client's non-verbal cues. And as we're tracking our client's non-verbal cues, their non-verbal cues are giving us insight into what is happening within them. THIS puts us directly IN the experience with our clients. We'll experience the fear together, the anxiety together, the sadness together, the overwhelm together - Whatever is going on, we'll experience it together including the trauma. That's why we would love to have you join us for this FREE 1-hour webinar to help you navigate the secondary traumatization that can often come along with this profession that we love!
  • Oh yes! You likely know what we're talking about ... the feeling of never being "good enough" ... holding yourself back because of pervasive feelings of shame and self-doubt ... the constant worry/anxiety of not measuring up or fear of being outed as a fraud. It may trap you in a cycle of self-doubt, erode your courage and confidence, undermine your success, and lead to missed opportunities, unfulfilled goals, and a tendency to hide or hold yourself back. Sound familiar?... [Sigh ] ... Let's take a deep breath and acknowledge how challenging and debilitating "imposter syndrome" can be. Lisa wants to help you begin to overcome imposter syndrome in your life.
  • Have you found it difficult, confusing, tiring, or maybe even exhausting wearing your two hats day in and day out? One as a therapist and the other as a parent?... Lisa totally gets it!!...as both a therapist and a parent these past 15 years. This one-hour recorded webinar that will help you discover ways to be the most important toy in both the playroom and in your own home!  
  • Being a therapist is not an easy job as it requires an on-going commitment to show up day in and day out when your clients need you ... But what happens when the people we are serving aren't the only ones in crisis? What happens when we are in crisis too? (We are human after all). And what happens if it's the same crisis?! In this special one-hour webinar (Part 3 of Regulating Through the Coronavirus webinar series), you'll reconnect to yourself and gain greater internal resources to help you overcome many of the challenges of being a therapist right now.
  • Divorce. The “D” word. The end of the marital road. A happily ever after run amok. It’s something that often gets a bad rap, especially when we think of the children stuck in the middle. But divorce, while it can be devastating to some kids, can also be a relief for others. Children’s perceptions are not all the same. This course explores how to support children in play therapy when they are experiencing divorce and separation.
  • Divorce. The “D” word. The end of the marital road. A happily ever after run amok. It’s something that often gets a bad rap, especially when we think of the children stuck in the middle. But divorce, while it can be devastating to some kids, can also be a relief for others. Children’s perceptions are not all the same. This webinar explores how to support children in play therapy when they are experiencing divorce and separation.
  • "I could watch Lisa talk about play therapy all day. This workshop gives you really helpful, crystallized ideas and nuggets about the play therapy process and how it allows children to heal. Definitely worth a watch when you're maybe feeling stuck with a specific client, or running out of metaphors to communicate the efficacy of play therapy with colleagues or parents." -Malia Segal Lisa unlocks the therapeutic powers of play in this foundational neuroscience-rich training .... In a profession that is fighting for recognition and to be taken seriously, not fully understanding exactly how play therapy transformation takes place is a void. Without really understanding how attuned play works to bring about lasting change, therapists are left feeling uncertain and missing the language to effectively talk to parents, teachers and other influential people in children’s lives. The therapist's ability to influence other professions to see the value in play therapy is also impacted. This presentation is designed to fill in gaps in the play therapist’s understanding by addressing the answer to this very important question- how exactly does play therapy work? Through presentation and discussion, participants will be taken into the minds and biology of children for an inside look at what goes on that leads to their transformation and healing. With the help of neuroscience, brain development, and interpersonal neurobiology, the “how” will be answered allowing participants to truly understand the process and what exactly is going on in the playroom. This dynamic, eye-opening and thought provoking presentation will empower therapists to begin to move beyond their current framework. This course is for you if you want to ...
    • Integrate the neuroscience behind the therapeutic powers of play therapy
    • Better articulate to parents why play therapy works
    • How children use toys to understand themselves
    For course details and objectives, see below. For a list of all available products, please go here.
  • Embark on an enlightening journey with Lisa Dion as she delves into strategies for optimizing the intake process! In this course, you will gain insights into how the foundation of a therapeutic relationship is laid during the intake session and how this extends throughout the entire intake and into the clinical engagement. Lisa will impart valuable lessons on structuring the intake, commencing from the initial point of contact all the way to the conclusion of the session. Witness how Lisa skillfully incorporates key themes from Synergetic Play Therapy®, such as the regulation of the nervous system and a nuanced understanding of how the brain functions, into the intake process. We will also explore the pivotal and validating role of the therapist in the playroom, emphasizing how their presence can significantly influence the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship with the client, family, and beyond.
  • Every adoption experience is unique, with a wide variety of perceptions. Yet at the heart of many stories is the deep sense of grief and loss, not only for the children but for the parents too. This can show up in and out of the playroom as complex trauma and a struggle with relationships. Healing involves helping children and parents connect to themselves, simultaneously asking therapists to become aware of the impact of the complexity and emotions that also arise within themselves. This course explores this complex issue.
  • "This was the most significant sand tray training which help me better understand the ways sand can assist in helping regulate/co-regulate our nervous systems. I highly recommend this training to anyone who works with children and adults." -Helen Wilson "Although I consider myself a seasoned play and sand tray therapist I learned so much in just one hour of this course. Highly recommended!" - Marina Keukens Terrell Have you ever wondered how to help children facilitate their processing in your playroom through the use of sand in a nontraditional way?  If so, this workshop is for you! The sand tray is a common fixture in play therapy. But thinking outside the “sandbox” allows therapists to use sand in a nontraditional way, fostering regulation. In this engaging workshop the play therapist will learn the 5 toys needed to turn a sand tray into a regulation tool, gain an understanding of how a child can use the sand and the activation in their nervous system as well as be exposed to various ways to bring regulation into the sand tray to help deepen the child’s experience. Join us as we explore the link between sand and the nervous system and discover how the proper tools can deepen both the child’s experience and their healing. https://youtu.be/x4Z4xlOANwU Please see course details below. For a list of all available products, please go here.   By clicking "Buy Product" you will be redirected to a payment link provided by Kid Matters Counseling. All payment or course-related questions should be redirected to the affiliate organization, Kid Matters Counseling. Synergetic Play Therapy Institute does not process payment directly for this course.
  • Join us for an opportunity to go back to the basics (and meet full Recertification requirements for your Certified Synergetic Play Therapist or Certified Synergetic Play Provider credential!)

    Registration deadline is January 22nd, 2024, 12pm Mountain Time, Denver

    Renewal of the Certified Synergetic Play Therapist or Certified Synergetic Play Provider credential is required every 3 years. In order to renew, students must earn at least 18 hours of CE credits specific to Synergetic Play Therapy®. Excess hours may not be rolled over into the next 3 year cycle. If CE credits are not submitted, students will no longer be able to use the title Certified Synergetic Play Therapist or Certified Synergetic Play Provider until renewal occurs. This course meets the full requirement of renewing your Certified Synergetic Play Therapist or Certified Synergetic Play Provider credential. During the Online Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® Recertification program, you will have the opportunity to go back to the foundational understandings and tenets of Synergetic Play Therapy®. Likely the first time you took your Level 1 Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® program (whether it was this course or an intensive), you spent the majority of your time trying to orient towards a new way of being in the playroom while grabbing ahold of some of the details of the Synergetic Play Therapy® philosophy. This is why it is so important to go back to the basics every few years (and the information gets updated too!) and now you have the opportunity to do so and fill in the missing details in your understanding and to also confirm what you have fully integrated! SPT is the missing piece in play therapy. I gained an understanding of who I am in the playroom – a humanness that wasn’t there before.” -Frances Donohue Renewal Program Requirements: 
    • Attend and take notes at all 3 live webinars (see dates below)
    • Complete each video module and take notes on the provided handouts, indicating the date you watched each module
    • Complete an Integration Assignment to help you reflect on your learning.
    • Upload all of your course notes and Integration Assignment to a shared Google Drive folder, provided by the Institute.
    *For program details and objectives, see below.
  • JOIN US FOR OUR SIGNATURE PROGRAM AND GROW AS A PROFESSIONAL!

    Registration deadline is January 22nd, 2024, 12pm Mountain Time, Denver

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE PROGRAM DETAILS!!

    Have you been searching for ways to create a deeper impact for your clients? Or perhaps you are:
    • Looking for game-changing concepts, ideas, and techniques to repattern a child's nervous system and become a more effective external regulator in the playroom?
    • Wanting to experience aggressive play, sand, and art from the perspectives of nervous system regulation, attunement, attachment, mindfulness and authenticity?
    • Feeling burned out and want to find ways to come back to yourself or feel "green" again, like a new therapist full of curiosity and liveliness?
    • Curious how to create a neuroception of safety for both the child and the caregiver to experience deeper integration?
    • Wanting to learn a solid play therapy theory that combines the powers of play with interpersonal neurobiology?
    • Or just wanting to feel a little more like YOU in the play therapy process?
    Online Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® is a 32-hour program that takes you on a journey to explore the neuroscience behind what is happening in the play therapy process, how to repattern a child's nervous system, and what it means to become an external regulator in the playroom.

    You will learn how to effectively work with caregivers and what it means to create a neuroception of safety allowing both the child and the caregiver to have a deeper integration.

    And if this wasn't enough, you will come to understand the magic of aggressive play, sand and art from the perspectives of nervous system regulation, attunement, attachment, mindfulness, and authenticity.

    You'll learn all this while also learning how to avoid burnout and compassion fatigue. Come discover what showing up in the playroom truly means and explore what is happening in the play therapy process, how change occurs, and ultimately what it takes to help children heal at profound levels. And the best part is, you get to be you on the journey! 

    Check out what past students had to say about their experiences in the course!

    "SPT is the missing piece in play therapy. I gained an understanding of who I am in the playroom - a humanness that wasn't there before." -Frances Donohue

    *For program details and objectives, see below.

  • Please use this product to begin your monthly payment plan for 6 Make-Up Individual Consultation sessions with Polly Douglass in order to meet this aspect of Synergetic Play Therapy Certification requirements. Each Make-Up Individual Consultation session costs $125 USD, for a total of $750 USD. To begin your payment plan, please make your first payment by no later than September 10, 2023. Your payment will be automatically withdrawn on the same day each month. For example, should you make your first payment on September 5th, your second payment will be due on October 5th, and so on. Failure to make all six monthly installments timely will result in interruption to your scheduled Make-Up Individual Consultation sessions and will result in incomplete program requirements. You will not be eligible for the title of Certified Synergetic Play Therapist or Certified Synergetic Play Provider without fully meeting all program requirements. Should you have any questions, please contact info@synergeticplaytherapy.com.
  • Join us for an opportunity to go back to the basics (and meet full Recertification requirements for your Certified Synergetic Play Therapist or Certified Synergetic Play Provider credential!)

    Registration deadline is June 17th, 2024, 12pm Mountain Time, Denver

    Renewal of the Certified Synergetic Play Therapist or Certified Synergetic Play Provider credential is required every 3 years. In order to renew, students must earn at least 18 hours of CE credits specific to Synergetic Play Therapy. Excess hours may not be rolled over into the next 3 year cycle. If CE credits are not submitted, students will no longer be able to use the title Certified Synergetic Play Therapist or Certified Synergetic Play Provider until renewal occurs. This course meets the full requirement of renewing your Certified Synergetic Play Therapist or Certified Synergetic Play Provider credential. During the Online Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® Recertification program, you will have the opportunity to go back to the foundational understandings and tenets of Synergetic Play Therapy. Likely the first time you took your Level 1 Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy program (whether it was this course or an intensive), you spent the majority of your time trying to orient towards a new way of being in the playroom while grabbing ahold of some of the details of the Synergetic Play Therapy philosophy. This is why it is so important to go back to the basics every few years (and the information gets updated too!) and now you have the opportunity to do so and fill in the missing details in your understanding and to also confirm what you have fully integrated!  Plus this Intro program has undergone some amazing changes in 2023 with new/updated content and teachings. Learn more about the changes here! SPT is the missing piece in play therapy. I gained an understanding of who I am in the playroom – a humanness that wasn’t there before.” -Frances Donohue Renewal Program Requirements: 
    • Attend and take notes at all 3 live webinars (see dates below)
    • Complete each video module and take notes on the provided handouts, indicating the date you watched each module
    • Complete an Integration Assignment to help you reflect on your learning.
    • Upload all of your course notes and Integration Assignment to a shared Google Drive folder, provided by the Institute.
    *For program details and objectives, see below.
  • LEARN A SOLID PLAY THERAPY THEORY THAT COMBINES THE POWER OF PLAY WITH INTERPERSONAL NEUROBIOLOGY!

    Registration deadline is June 17th, 2024, 12pm Mountain Time, Denver

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE PROGRAM DETAILS!!

    Have you been searching for ways to create a deeper impact for your clients? Or perhaps you are wanting to improve or learn more about ...
    • Becoming an external regulator to support children with integration and repatterning the activation of their nervous system.
    • Supporting healing at deeper levels through right brain to right brain attuned communication.
    • Teaching children interoceptive (body) awareness (...the key ingredient for self-regulation and co-regulation). 
    • Creating a neuroception of safety for a child when emotional flooding happens.
    • Setting boundaries with the brain in mind to not minimize, shame or shut down the child's play, but keep them engaged in their therapy process.
    • Building collaborative relationships with caregivers to support their child's therapeutic process.
    • Developing goals, tracking a child's therapeutic process, and translating what's happening during the child's therapy session to their caregiver(s) and others in the world.
    • Helping children develop a secure attachment to themselves (...a foundation of resilience).
    • Applying SPT concepts from a cultural lens for a more inclusive and culturally sensitive clinical orientation where a client's unique experiences and needs are honored.
    • How to feel a little more like YOU in the therapy process (...because we know inauthenticity is the fastest way to burnout and compassion fatigue). 
    Learn all of this and so much more! Online Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy is a comprehensive 32-hour program that explores the foundational skills of SPT. This six-month online program is designed for both beginning and advanced practitioners and will take you on a journey to explore the neuroscience behind what is happening in the play therapy process, how to effectively work with caregivers and what it means to create a neuroception of safety allowing both the child and the caregiver to have a deeper integration, and (....if this wasn't enough), you'll come to understand the magic of aggressive play, sand and art from the perspectives of nervous system regulation, attunement, attachment, mindfulness, and authenticity.

    Come discover what showing up in the playroom truly means and explore what is happening in the play therapy process, how change occurs, and ultimately what it takes to help children heal at profound levels. And the best part is, you get to be you on the journey! 

    Check out what past students had to say about their experiences in the course!

    "SPT is the missing piece in play therapy. I gained an understanding of who I am in the playroom - a humanness that wasn't there before." -Frances Donohue

    Join the growing number of mental health professionals, those in related roles (Child Life Specialists, School Counselors, Occupational Therapists, Coaches, etc.) and parents/caregivers who are learning SPT!

    *For program details and objectives, see below.

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