In the current funding and services climate, now, more than ever, it’s critical for child and play therapists to be knowledgeable, skilled and confident in conceptualising their child and play therapy practice, evaluating progress and/or change for the child, and effectively communicating about this to the adults and systems around them.

Without this competence or confidence, therapists often feel like they’re floundering, missing a piece of the puzzle, or feeling lost in the forest – you know your work is helping the child… you can see it!

Case conceptualisation is what enables this.

Put very simply, case conceptualisation is how we make sense of what is happening for the child – in a concise manner.  It is a critical element of the therapeutic process which informs development of therapeutic goals and enables effective reporting of progress or change.

Reporting on progress means one must know:

• What the desired change is – i.e. therapeutic goal)
• What you are measuring that will indicate this change – e.g. play behaviour, pattern of relating, physiology, behaviour, skill, cognitions, affect, and
• How this change will be measured (e.g. a change in the frequency, intensity or duration) 

The therapist’s skills of conceptualisation are developed and refined over many, many years of clinical practice.  But this must start with a solid understanding of its purpose and how to do it.

This Case Conceptualisation and Reporting Progress PD Series aims to provide a robust learning experience to help strengthen your competence and confidence in this area of your work.

The Case Conceptualisation and Reporting Progress PD Series consists of 4 workshops designed to move you the through the foundations so you have a solid base for developing the therapeutic goals and selecting the most appropriate therapeutic approach for the child….to conceptualising the child’s therapy process and progress….and then reporting on progress and/or change. 

The 4 workshops are as follows (click on the workshop title to view each workshop in more detail): 

Workshop 1: Recorded workshop, Self-paced (2 hours)

Foundations of case conceptualisation and developing measurable therapeutic goals

For those where the concept of ‘case conceptualisation’ is very new, or you’ve never heard of the 5P’s, or you’d like to refresh your knowledge and skills about them. This workshop is also ideal if you’ve been told you don’t need to do case conceptualisation because the child is leading the therapy. Let’s bust this myth now!......case conceptualisation supports the therapist to understand the child and to be clinically selective about how you use your therapist self (e.g. tracking the child and their play, what reflections/interpretations you make).

Workshop 2: Recorded workshop, Self-paced (6.5 hours)

Revisiting case conceptualisation: The cornerstone of therapeutic practice

Now you have the foundations, this workshop extends your knowledge and skills to embed conceptualisation into your clinical practice. You will be introduced to the Dynamic Case Conceptualisation Framework that takes you more deeply into the process of information gathering that informs your conceptualisation, both at the begin AND during the therapy process to help identify Turning Points in therapy. There’s even a dash of neuroscience thrown in! 

Workshop 3: Recorded workshop, Self-paced (7 hours)

Themes in play therapy: Holding all the possibilities

If you’re using play therapy, this workshop aims to expand how you think about play themes to support therapists to identify all the richness and nuances of the changes happening within the child. You will explore how to identify play themes through multiple theoretical lenses, and case discussion will illustrate how to consider them in the context of conceptualisation.

Workshop 4: Recorded workshop, Self-paced (2 hours)

Report writing: Conceptualising and reporting progress

And to wrap this all up with a nice bow, this workshop focuses on conceptualising all the richness you know about the child and their therapeutic gains to effectively communicate this to the adults and systems around them. Additionally, we’ll consider the nature of requests for written reports about your child clients, and considerations for making clinically appropriate and ethical decisions as to whether you will provide the report or not. Because you can say no! 

All workshops in this series may be undertaken individually to suit your particular learning needs.

However, this series has been specifically curated to take you on a journey. Each workshop builds on the one prior to deepen and expand your knowledge, skill and confidence. It is recommended you complete the workshops in the order presented.

If you are early in your career or still growing your confidence in your case conceptualisation skills, we highly recommend you register for the whole series to truly enrich your child and/or play therapy practice.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Please click on the hyperlinks above to view the Learning Objectives for each workshop.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This training program is essential for play therapists and other child therapists from various professional backgrounds (e.g. psychologists, social workers, counsellors, OTs). Supervisors will also benefit as the workshop offers a helpful process for supporting supervisees in this area of their work.

POST-TRAINING SUPPORT

To provide a pathway for ongoing reflection, questions and discussion, we have established a closed Facebook Group which all workshop participants are invited to join. All the details will be provided on completion of the training.