Description

Non-directive Play Therapy and Introduction to Filial Therapy Overview

This is a two month workshop that is offered in January and February. . Please register for the February course using the February product.

Overview:

Non-Directive Play Therapy is the most referenced model of Play Therapy. Margaret Lowenfeld discussed Play Therapy in her writings of the early 1900’s. Child-centered Play Therapy was formally developed by Virginia Axline based on the principles of Client-Centered Therapy of Carl Rogers. Its premise is that if a therapist creates a safe therapeutic environment a child will initiate the therapeutic work they need to do to resolve presenting issues. It is an evidence-based therapeutic intervention for children ages 3-12 and older.

Play is a child’s natural medium of communication using the metaphors of symbolic language. Play serves important child developmental purposes including motor, social, emotional, intellectual and mastery. Play represents the child’s attempt to organize and integrate their experiences and internal world. It is by expressing, through play – the process of externalizing the images and metaphors and symbols from the inner world. Child-Centered Play Therapy is an empirically supported approach that helps children express feelings, heal trauma, develop emotional regulation and problem-solving skills, and enhance self- esteem.

Learning Outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

1. Analyze and interpret the ways in which children use language as symbolic imagery in their play, evaluating how these expressions reveal emotional, cognitive, and relational themes in Play Therapy.

2. Critically evaluate the role of play in child development, integrating theoretical and empirical perspectives to understand its developmental, emotional, and social significance.

3. Examine and apply Virginia Axline’s core principles of child-centered Play Therapy to inform therapeutic stance, environment, and intervention planning.

4. Synthesize and evaluate the goals, stages, and processes of intake, assessment, and treatment in child-centered Play Therapy to develop coherent treatment plans.

5. Formulate and justify explanations to parents that articulate the benefits of Non-Directive Play Therapy as the most appropriate therapeutic intervention for their child’s needs.

6. Demonstrate and refine child-centered Play Therapy skills, including reflective listening, tracking, limit-setting, and empathic engagement, within simulated or live clinical contexts.

7. Design and evaluate an inclusive and developmentally appropriate playroom environment, incorporating culturally diverse toys and materials that support therapeutic growth and cultural sensitivity.

8. Create and deliver a compelling elevator speech that synthesizes and communicates the value and significance of Non-Directive Play Therapy to parents, colleagues, and stakeholders.