Day 1 Monday July 13, 2020 – Dublin, Ireland – Family Play Therapy: A Family Systems Approach to Helping Children and Families Heal and Grow
This workshop will provide 3 hours of seminal theory instruction including ecosystemic play therapy, fillial play therapy, and an overview of family systems theory in the first half of the training day. There will then be 3 hours of experiential learning play therapy skills and methods to help children and families in the context of a systemic approach.
Learning Objectives Participants will Achieve:
- Name 4 of the seminal theoretical orientations within the field of play therapy that inform a family systems approach to using play therapy to help children and families grow and heal.
- List 5 key benefits of involving the entire family in the process of play therapy.
- Identify 5 reasons for utilizing play-based interventions when working with families.
- Describe the theory and history of family systems therapy.
- Enumerate 5 agents of change included within the therapeutic powers of play family play therapy provides.
- Demonstrate 5 directive play-based family session interventions.
Day 2 Tuesday July 13, 2020 – Dublin Ireland – Blending and Bridging Directive and Non-Directive Play Therapy with Families
In this day of training we will spend 3 hours examining several of the seminal play therapy theories and how to prescriptively blend and bridge theoretical orientations as most appropriate for the needs of each family. During the second half of the day we will focus on specific play therapy interventions, skills and methods that borrow from various theoretical models to promote healing and growth for families.
Learning Objectives Participants will Achieve:
- Recite 4 seminal play therapy theories that can be incorporated into providing therapy for children and families.
- Differentiate directive play therapy from non-directive play therapy naming 3 benefits for each approach.
- Describe how directive and non-directive play therapy approaches can be blended for the benefit of children and families.
- Define the term prescriptive play therapy and name 2 reasons it may be important to use this approach when treatment planning.
- List 5 directive play therapy interventions that can be used with children and families.
- Name 10 agents of change from the therapeutic powers of play addressed through the interventions presented.
- Create a treatment plan for a fictional family that utilizes both directive and non-directive play therapy approaches.
Day 3 Friday July 17, 2020 – Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork, Ireland – Supporting Children and Families Through Divorce with Play Therapy
When a family is facing the often painful process of divorce there are many variables to consider. This day of play therapy training will be focused on helping child and family therapists develop strategic treatment planning with consideration given to the intensity of conflict dynamics. There will be instruction on how to avoid becoming aligned with any one family member while supporting all members of the family through play-based interventions. The process of play therapy can be preserved for child clients with specific strategies for addressing the parenting needs for the best interest of the child(ren). This workshop will contain 6 hours of Special Topics training.
Learning Objectives Participants will Achieve:
- Name 5 reasons families going through divorce benefit from receiving play therapy services.
- Define and describe the terms loyalty conflict, polarization and parental alienation.
- Illustrate the conflict continuum and describe the importance of identifying where on that continuum a family is in order to create the appropriate treatment planning goals and interventions.
- Define triangulation and name 3 reasons to avoid being pulled into alignment with a family member from a family systems theoretical point of view.
- Enumerate 3 reasons to ensure documentation and record-keeping is timely and impeccable.
- List 5 play therapy interventions that can support children whose parents are going through divorce.
Day 4 Saturday July 18, 2020 – Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork, Ireland – Navigating Difficult and Challenging Family Dynamics Using Family Systems Approach to Play Therapy
This workshop will include 2 hours of training in the area of history and seminal theories within the context of a family systems approach to using play therapy with children and families with special consideration for difficult and challenging family dynamics. 2 hours will be dedicated to the special topic of challenging personalities and dynamics in families. 2 hours of training will focus on play therapy interventions (methods and skills) that can be utilized to support the healing and growth of those difficult dynamics.
Learning Objectives Participants will Achieve:
- Name 4 seminal theories of play therapy that can be used within the context of a family systems approach.
- Enumerate 1 benefit for using each of the above-mentioned 4 seminal theories when there are difficult and challenging dynamics within a family.
- Describe 4 typical challenging family dynamics that present within the context of providing play therapy services for families.
- List 7 difficult personality types parents may have and 10 strategies for interacting with each personality type.
- Name 5 play therapy interventions that can be used with families experiencing challenging and difficult dynamics.
- Enumerate 5 agents of change from the therapeutic powers of play that come about from using the play therapy interventions introduced in the training.