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Reaching Children through Experiential Play Therapy (EPT)

Description:  

This workshop will provide the basic concepts and styles of therapeutic encounters with children in play therapy that will create a meaningful therapeutic relationship. This sensitivity with children generates in the child a permission to confront their traumatic experiences and release trauma reactions that has maintained their “survival” style of behavior. This workshop will provide a foundation for conceptualizing and performing effective Experiential Play Therapy®, however, perfecting these skills is not primarily a cognitive process. The therapist must become involved in the child’s process and remain genuine and authentic as the child experientially leads the therapist through the depth and meaning of their play expressions. Participants will learn that expressions by  children give deeper meanings than most adults can comprehend from a child’s play. This workshop will discuss the meanings of the traumatic play and how to response therapeutically to this play within the developmental stage it is being re- experienced. One will learn several skills; however, future training will help the therapist be more effective in all the variables that occur in this model.

Learning Objectives:​​

• Participants will become familiarized and able to discuss the premises and assumptions of EPT and why these beliefs are the basis of therapeutic interventions in EPT.

• Participants will be able to describe and explain the major dynamics in stage development in EPT and how the play expressions are significant in each stage of the therapeutic process.

• Participants will be able to identify and explain the meaning and underlying themes expressed by children in EPT.

• To observe and discuss the direct expressions of metaphors by children and the meaning of metaphors as the child expresses their issues as part of the therapeutic process.

• To expose and clarify the therapist to the symbolic meanings of toys, animals, and environments used by children and effective ways to response during play therapy.

• Therapists will recognize the roles assigned by children to promote their ability to confront the

• violator of the child’s abuse.

• Comments will be made during tape demonstrations that will reference the neurological processes that children need for resolution of conflict or trauma.

• Participants will be able to identify the characteristics of young children who have been traumatized as infants or through the birthing process.

• Participants will be given an overview of the “Therapeutic Mirroring Response Process® in EPT®”, that is a major component of preverbal trauma healing.

• Ethical considerations will be interjected and discussed intermittently throughout the content of the training.

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