Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence

Send us a textWhat’s the Backbone of Great Play & Expressive Arts Therapy?Any really great therapist will tell you that one the foundational elements of providing excellent psychotherapy to clients is …… Clinical Case Conceptualization.  Are you having flashbacks to graduate school and rolling your eyes at me as you read this?  Hang in there a minute.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE , LOVE clinical case conceptualization.  It's like being a psychotherapy detective (yes, that's my guilty pleasure - watching detective shows).  I love a good "who dunnit."  As a psychotherapy super sleuth, you go on an investigation to figure out what is going on underneath those symptoms and how to help your clients get better.Here’s why it’s the backbone… (full disclosure – I’m passionate about this because I see it go wrong so often) it’s the way in which you conceptualize what’s going on with your clients and then formulate a plan to help your clients overcome the problem they were seeking you to help them resolve.The same is true for play therapy and expressive arts.  How you conceptualize the presenting problem determines how you plan to help your client overcome it. So you need to be a good psychotherapy super sleuth!Join me for this week's podcast episode, I’ll be discussing what is clinical case conceptualization, tips for getting it right, and what happens if you get it wrong so that you can provide excellent play therapy and expressive arts treatment for your clients.  Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textWhat are the clinical tools in your play therapy and expressive arts toolbox and how do you use those tools effectively with your young clients?Engaging strong clinical decision-making skills when using an integrated approach in play therapy and expressive arts treatment is just as important as if you are applying one specific play therapy theoretical model.  Why?  Theory drives application so you need to understand the theoretical underpinnings of the intervention to effectively and accurately use the intervention to help your young clients.  Clinical decision-making helps you answer these questions:o Is the model a good fit for my clients? o How is this model applied in the treatment process and does it vary based on my client’s age and developmental stage?o How does therapeutic rapport impact the treatment process and how is therapeutic rapport used in this play therapy/expressive arts model?What happens if you don’t apply strong clinical decision-making skills?  Tune in to this podcast episode, I'll discuss the role of clinical decision-making using the “tools” in your “toolbox.”  Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textDoes sand tray therapy in play therapy work?  What’s the difference between sandplay therapy and sand tray therapy?  Aren’t they the same thing?Words matter when thinking about what you do in play therapy and communicating to others what you’re doing.After all, can you clearly communicate to others if you don’t really understand the difference and feel confident that what you’re doing works?When I’m pondering these things and trying to get answers for myself so I can confidently communicate about play therapy, including use of the sand tray in play therapy, I like to go to the research to get answers.So, that’s what I did and I found this great study that discusses whether or not sand play therapy is effective to address mental health issues.Interested to learn more about the differences between sand tray therapy and sandplay therapy and whether sandplay therapy works?Join me for this free weekly podcast, I’ll discuss the differences between sand tray therapy and sandplay therapy for play therapists and why it’s important to know the difference.I’ll also discuss a recent study to examine whether or not sandplay therapy is effective and how this information can be useful to play therapists.Here’s the citation for the article if you want more information:Wiersma, J. K., Freedle, L. R., McRoberts, R., and Solberg, K. B.  (2022). A meta-analysis of sandplay therapy treatment outcomes. International Journal of Play Therapy, 31(4), 197-215. doi.10.1037/pla0000180Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textChildren feel grief deeply and their grieving process looks different depending on a variety of factors, including their age and developmental level.How can play therapists help children navigate their grief in a way that is unique to their developmental needs in treatment?Play therapy has become the “go-to” approach to help children heal.This includes using play therapy to help children cope with their grief.What are things play therapists can do to help bereaved children heal?That’s what my guest, Liana Lowenstein, and I will be discussing in this episode.Liana is an accomplished author of several play therapy books, including her two books focused on helping play therapists work with bereaved children: Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children, 2nd Ed, and Cory Helps Kids Cope with Grief.Join me for this free weekly Podcast, Liana and I will be discussing how to recognize grief and children and play therapy strategies to help them cope with grief.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textWhat’s the best way to make the biggest and most long-lasting impact using play therapy?After all, that’s the goal of play therapy - to make a lasting difference in the lives of children.The question we need to consider is - who is the therapeutic agent of change for the child?Play therapist or parents?You can make the case that both are therapeutic agents of change in their own way.Play therapists create a strong relationship with children to help them overcome the challenges they’re experiencing currently.If you want to make the biggest and most long-lasting impact using play therapy then you’ll want to consider how you can engage parents as the therapeutic agents of change for their children.After all, parents are in the lives of your clients much longer than you are in their lives.  To help parents become the therapeutic agents of change for their children using play therapy, you need to figure out what is the role of parents in play therapy and why does it matter? I’ll discuss the role of parents and how to maximize their role using play therapy to get the best results for your young clients.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textUsually when I suggest play therapists use family play therapy sessions, their facial expression says it all.Anxious, surprised, overwhelmed, and sometimes amused or curious.It makes sense when you think about it because most play therapy training is focused on individual counseling sessions and very little training is focused on how to integrate parents and family members into the play therapy process for their clients.I think this is true for mental health treatment in general.The thing is that children don’t exist in a vacuum and they can’t be their own therapeutic agents of change for healing.Children and adolescents thrive best when they have secure attachment relationships and strong, healthy family support.So, why then, do we usually spend most of our learning time ignoring this area of children’s lives in the treatment process?Family play therapy can be a value “tool” in the “toolbox” of play therapists to facilitate lasting change within the whole family that will support the changes your clients are making.Join me for this free weekly Podcast, I’ll discuss strategies for using family play therapy with your clients and how your clients can benefit from family play therapy as part of their treatment experience.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textIf you’re a play therapist or work with children and adolescents in the mental health field, then you know children do not exist in their own little vacuum.When you think about what’s going on with your clients from a systems and attachment lens, then you know parents and family have a big influence on children and their ability to thrive in life.We know from decades of attachment research that children with secure attachments are more resilient.But what do you do if you’re having trouble engaging parents (or primary caregivers) in the change process?Have you ever felt frustrated and not sure what to do because your young client seems to be “stuck” and not making any progress?Maybe you know you need to work with parents to help make some changes in your clients’ lives, but you just can’t seem to figure out how or what’s going on in the family?Join me for this free weekly podcast, I’ll share some tips about what I’ve learned over the past 30+ years in child/adolescent mental health that helps you engage even the most challenging parents and facilitate change.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textWhile I believe that learning a play therapy model so you can effectively apply the model with a variety of children through all the stages of the play therapy change process is critical, 👇Facilitating deep healing in play therapy is not possible without a strong therapeutic relationship with clients.We know from neuroscience research that children engage their play circuitry when, and only when, they feel safe.So, what does that look like in play therapy for practical application?The Association for Play Therapy has identified rapport building as a core competency for play therapists.This requires the ability to use empathy, safety, and unconditional positive regard through your therapeutic use of self in sessions not only with children, but also with their caregivers.Does this sound complicated and a little daunting, especially when you’re also trying to apply your play therapy model?Join me for this free weekly livestream podcast, I’ll share strategies to make sure you build a strong therapeutic relationship with your clients to create a “free and protected space for healing."Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textEmotion regulation problems, such as anger outbursts, are a big reason parents seek counseling for their children.Parents aren’t sure what to do so they seek help from you.Anger outbursts/tantrums can be frightening for parents as well as the child.What’s a play therapist to do?How can play therapy help children rein in those big, overwhelming feelings?That’s what my guest and I will be talking about during this episode.Dr. Fiona Zandt is a clinical psychologist in Australia specializing in the use of play to help children manage their strong emotions of anger.In fact, she’s written an AWESOME new book - Creative Ways to Help Children Manage Anger.If you’re looking for strategies to help children regulate their anger, then you don’t want to miss this episode!Please note the Day and Time change this week.Join me for this free weekly podcast, My guest, Dr. Fiona Zandt, and I will be discussing strategies to help children struggling with anger outbursts and their parents in play therapy.  We’ll discuss ideas for play therapy activities to use in sessions.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textIf you’re a child and adolescent therapist, it’s probably because you want to make a difference in the lives of children.That’s what drives most of you to pursue your master’s degree in counseling and spend endless hours trying to learn how to help your clients heal.Pretty much all of the child and adolescent therapists I’ve spoken with over the last 15 years when I’m providing play therapy consultation will tell you they do what they do because it’s a calling, a mission.  It’s not just a job.So, is there a BEST way to provide play therapy that will guarantee your clients get the maximum benefit from working with you?Is there one approach to play therapy that works better than the others?Join me for this free weekly Podcast, I’m going to discuss how you can figure out what’s the best way to help your clients heal using play therapy.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textWhat the heck does bibliotherapy mean?It’s a really fancy term for using stories to help clients heal.Most play therapists incorporate some version of bibliotherapy in the play therapy process.To be honest, I’ve used bibliotherapy with adolescents and adults to help them heal.I use it ALL the time in family play therapy sessions.Are there ways to use bibliotherapy to get the most benefit for your clients?That’s what my guest, Tammi Van Hollander, is going to share with us.She’s written a new book about strategies for using bibliotherapy in play therapy.My guest, Tammi Van Hollander, and I will discuss what bibliotherapy is and how you can use it in play therapy to help your clients heal.Check out Tammi’s new book on Amazon, PESI website, or Tammi’s website:  The Bibliotherapy Toolbox: 100+ Creative and Playful Story-Based Interventions to Help Kids Create Safety, Overcome Challenges, and Build ResiliencyJoin my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textI absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE using sand tray therapy with my clients of all ages.  I’m obsessed with it because I’ve witnessed the power of the sand tray therapy process to access deep healing for clients. I also know that getting started can be overwhelming because it can be expensive.  So what’s a play therapist to do?Join me for this free weekly Podcast, I’m sharing practical tips to build your sand tray miniature collection that will save you time and money.  Yep!  I’m sharing my best strategies to build your miniature collection so you can provide an amazing healing experience for your clients.  Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textWondering how to find great sand to use for sand tray therapy with NO DUST?One of the most challenging things about using sand tray therapy with children is sand that’s dusty.  Dusty? Can sand be dusty?  YES! It’s the worst when the sand is dusty because there's a cloud of dust lingering over the sand tray when kids sift and play in the sand. It's hard to be fully present with your young client when you can't breathe and you're coughing and sneezing because of the dust from the sand.Well, I've got the solution for you!Jurassic Sand will be joining me on this week’s podcast episode, to discuss their amazing sand, caring for the sand, the different types of sand and the experience of the sand.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textWhat kind of sand tray miniatures do you need?Are there miniatures that are better than others so your clients get what they need in your play therapy sessions?These are frequent questions I’m asked by play therapists who want to learn how to use sand tray therapy in play therapy. They’re really good questions when you think about it because play therapists are very intentional when setting up their playroom.  You want to make sure the toys in your playroom are therapeutic so your clients can access the therapeutic powers of play. Making sure you get the right sand tray miniatures can save you time and money by avoiding the wrong ones.  Join me for this free weekly podcast, In this week’s episode, I’ll discuss the purpose of sand tray miniatures and what kind of miniatures you need for your sand tray miniature collection. I’ll also share some practical tips for building your sand tray miniature collection to avoid feeling overwhelmed and discouraged. Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textHave you heard of sand tray therapy?How do you provide sand tray therapy?What do you need to provide sand tray therapy with clients?If you’re a play therapist then you’ve probably heard of sand tray therapy.In play therapy,  there are specific types of toys and supplies needed in the playroom to provide play therapy.The same is true when using sand tray therapy with clients. Sand tray therapy requires these three components when working with clients  - a sand tray, sand, and miniatures.These are vital when providing sand tray therapy, but are there specific types of sand trays, sand, and miniatures that you need?Join me for this free weekly Podcast,  I’ll discuss what you need to provide sand tray therapy and why you need them.  Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textOne of the biggest struggles for play therapists is understanding and recognizing themes in play therapy.Play therapists use themes in play therapy sessions to help them understand what’s going on with their clients and how they are progressing in play therapy.Join me for this free podcast, I’ll share highlights from the study and how play therapists can use the information to help them understand themes in play therapy.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textHow do you make sense of what’s going on in play therapy sessions and figure out if your clients are making progress?This is a question that comes up A LOT in my play therapy trainings and play therapy consultation groups.It’s a great question.Underlying this question is the understanding that play therapy sessions are not traditional talk therapy sessions because children use play therapy sessions differently than talk therapy sessions.What does that mean?It means the fundamental difference between play therapy sessions is how children access the therapeutic powers of play for healing.This requires the play therapist to recognize the play dynamics occurring in sessions and accurate assess what those play dynamics reveal about your clients.Play therapists need to recognize three essential elements of play dynamics in play therapy sessions and make sense of their relevance to what your clients are working through.Join me on this week's episode, I’ll discuss three aspects of play dynamics in play therapy and their importance for facilitating healing for children.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textHow good are you at identifying the role of culture in the problems your clients are experiencing?Have you considered the resiliency factors of your clients’ culture and how that can influence better play therapy outcomes?Play therapists work with children and their families from diverse cultural backgrounds.Using cultural competence with case conceptualization is essential to make a difference for children in play therapy.What is case conceptualization and why does it matter?Case conceptualization is a fancy term that means you’ve identified the likely factors contributing to your clients’ problems.Using cultural intelligence when formulating your case conceptualization significantly increases the likelihood of an accurate diagnosis and then creating an effective plan of action.When you’re figuring out what’s going on with your clients, some critical questions to explore are …🎯  How does culture affect therapeutic communication between you, your clients, and their parents?🎯  How can cultural barriers affect play therapy effectiveness?🎯  How can you build strong therapeutic alliances with parents that respect their culture?Join me for this week's podcast episode, I’ll discuss some key considerations to ensure cultural intelligence when identifying what’s causing your clients’ problems and why it’s happening so you can facilitate healing in play therapy.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textI discovered neuroscience and attachment theory as a play therapist about 15 years ago and was immediately a fan because I recognized how attachment theory and neuroscience relate to play therapy.Understanding behaviors, and especially trauma, from this lens was a game-changer for me.It made so much sense, especially for someone with foundational training in family systems theory.  (You don’t even want to know how much I nerded out when I learned about family systems theory in graduate school!  😂)More importantly, understanding neuroscience & attachment theory provided a way to use evidence-based practice for trauma with play therapy for trauma.Over the last couple of decades, using a neuroscience and attachment lens to address trauma has become a time-tested strategy to ensure clients overcome the devastating impact of trauma.How can you use a neuroscience and attachment lens in play therapy while also grounding your play therapy approach in a theoretical model?How does play therapy help with trauma?How do you determine which approach to play therapy is best for your clients who have experienced trauma?In this podcast episode, I’ll share some things to consider when deciding what play therapy model to use with traumatized clients.I’ll show you how Prescriptive Play Therapy can ensure your neuroscience and attachment-informed approach to trauma can ground your play therapy treatment in a theoretical model.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills

Send us a textHave you ever wondered which approach works best with children who are traumatized?Or maybe you’ve wondered what techniques are used in trauma therapy?Working with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma requires child and adolescent mental health professionals to understand a variety of factors impacting treatment decision making, especially if you’re wondering 👇How can play therapy help children with trauma?To answer this question, you need to consider a variety of factors that influence your ability to identify the extent of the problems your clients are experiencing.  Here are just a few things you can consider for your case conceptualization process:💥 impact of the traumatic experience on your young client💥age of the child and age when the traumatic experience occurred💥ability for the child’s environment to support their healingAll of these factors will be influenced by how you conceptualize the problem based on your theoretical model and how your theoretical model facilitates access to the therapeutic powers of play.Play therapy is grounded in a theoretical model and your theoretical model dictates how to apply that model within the context of a therapeutic relationship to facilitate healing for your traumatized clients.But - it’s not just about learning a play therapy theory model and applying it.It’s also important to ensure you walk through the case conceptualization process so you’re clear how your play therapy treatment approach can help your young clients heal and how to integrate parents in the healing process.In this week’s  episode, I’ll discuss three questions you need to answer when you’re figuring out how to strategically help your traumatized clients using play therapy.Join my free Facebook Community Play and Expressive Arts Therapy Playground.Check out my free resources for mental health professionals working with children, adolescents, and families who want to integrate play therapy and expressive arts into their clinical work. I work with individuals and agencies to develop successful strategies and meet the treatment needs of your child and adolescent clients and their families using play therapy & expressive arts.Contact me to schedule a free 30-minute video call if you're ready to level up your skills