Children very quickly teach the child therapist they can best engage in therapy when it’s developmentally appropriate! And the child therapist very quickly orients to the natural language of children – the use of play-based therapy.

Adults don’t always get it.

And there’s actually an enormous amount of knowledge and skills for the therapist to learn when using play-based therapy!

This 2-day experiential workshop will expand your knowledge and skills in this area – actually, we’re aiming for it to supercharge your expertise and push the boundaries of what you thought possible in your clinical work with children!

This workshop offers an integrative play-based therapy approach when working with clinical presentations of anxiety and dysregulation, abuse-related trauma, and fragile self-concept (e.g. negative self-concept, poorly developed sense of self, low self-confidence or self-esteem).

It gets to the heart of helping children heal and grow – coming into contact with themselves and developing a healthy relationship with self.  We’ll hold ‘self-concept’ central while we explore non-directive and directive play therapy techniques that supports meaning-making at the level of the nervous system as well as addressing the maladaptive self-narratives that are a frequent perpetuating factor in maintaining dysregulated, anxious and trauma-related presentations.

And of course, we’ll weave in the latest neuroscience research!

This training is grounded in robust theoretical frameworks so you are not only effective in your work with children – you also have the capacity and confidence to communicate play-based therapy and progress with parents/caregivers and systems around them.

Join our Founding Director, Katherine Olejniczak (Psychologist, Registered Play Therapist–Supervisor™), as she returns home to Wodonga to launch this signature training event so close to her heart.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Describe the intersection between a child’s healthy development of self-concept, in the context of clinical presentations of dysregulation, anxiety, trauma and fragile self-concept.
• Integrate the use of play and a range of play therapy techniques into existing evidence-based practice approaches in children’s counselling (including Medicare FPS).
•  Apply principles from neuroscience and the Play Therapy Dimensions Model–Revised to the therapeutic process when working with children and using play-based approaches.
• Personally experience the use of a range of play therapy mediums and gain self-awareness of one’s own capacities when using play-based approaches.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This workshop is essential for all mental health clinicians working with children – e.g. psychologists, play therapists, counsellors, social workers, OTs.  It is also relevant for those working more broadly with children across NDIS and family and community services.

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.

______________________________________________________________________________________