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ATTACHMENT-BASED PLAY THERAPY ACROSS THE LIFESPAN:

Working with behavioral issues, sensory challenges, trauma, and more!

Jennifer Lefebre, PsyD, RPT-S, TCTSY-F  &  Tammi Van Hollander, LCSW, RPT-S

  

“In order to change, people need to become aware of their sensations and the way that their bodies interact with the world around them.” – Bessel van der Kolk

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Program Goals 

Healthy attachments are vital to emotional health and development. When there are breaks in attachment, children may experience emotional, behavioral, and sensory challenges. Many of our clients are referred to treatment due to rapidly shifting states of arousal, affect, thinking, and/or behavior. These challenges carry over throughout our lives, and our adult relationships and the way we parent our children. Having an understanding of neurobiology, attachment, and understanding how to read these cues is the foundation to appropriate interventions. 

Children speak the language of play and the toys are their words. Play therapy is developmentally the most effective tool to use with children. Attachment-based play therapy interventions are necessary across the lifespan, as our social-emotional functioning is grounded in the roots of early childhood.

Tammi will be sharing some of her favorite interventions to address trauma, anxiety, OCD and more. Her work as a certified Nurtured Heart Approach© trainer will also be integrated into the workshop to strengthen the power of connection with families, teachers and the entire treatment team. Dr. Jenn will be offering participants an experiential opportunity to discover how attachment and trauma affects the development of the brain and body, exploring practice interventions such as trauma-informed yoga movements, sensory activities, and embodied play therapy interventions to decrease symptoms, increase resiliency, adopt meaning-making, and build new competencies across the lifespan.

Attend this workshop and you will leave with a toolbox filled with ready to use attachment-based play therapy techniques that you can immediately implement in your work with clients of all ages. Experience the fun-filled power of play therapy as you learn how to communicate with children through play, strengthen relationships, help children regulate their minds and bodies, and to help them create a safe space to heal with Tammi and Dr. Jenn. 

Course Objectives

 

By the end of the course, participants will be able to…

1. Articulate the 6 key dysregulation symptoms in clients that demonstrate the fight-or-flight response

2. Demonstrate 3 or more play therapy techniques to teach children about the brain-body relationship

3. Outline the process of attachment and how it relates to trauma and play therapy

4. Incorporate 4 or more attachment-based play activities into your practice to improve client engagement in treatment

5. Practice 3 or more sensory-based play therapy techniques for working with trauma-related symptoms in children and adolescents

6. Discover 5 or more integrative play therapy strategies to improve affect regulation and foster resilience in children with complex trauma

 

 

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THE HEALING POWER OF SAND TRAY THERAPY

Program Goals and Schedule:  June 12th, 2020

Tammi Van Hollander, LCSW, RPT-S  &  Jennifer Lefebre, PsyD, RPT-S, TCTSY-F

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“Sand work is like a gentle hug for the soul where healing can flow in the sacred world of the tray. It is a privilege to witness and participate in the sandtray journey. Sand work is not always a gentle hug, but it allows for a safe and protective space for healing to happen.” ~ Tammi Van Hollander, LCSW, RPT-S

 

Program Goals 

After being introduced to sand tray therapy, I was fascinated with the immediate results my clients’ experienced in moving through their trauma, anxiety, depression and other life challenges. The sand tray creates a map where your clients can safely and effectively remove the roadblocks toward emotional wellness.
Sand tray therapy is a full sensory experience. It is a time where your client can shut off their “thinking” brain and just create. These creations facilitate the therapeutic process that you will not attain through traditional talk therapy. 

In this workshop, you will learn how clients communicate through play and how sand tray is the perfect nonverbal medium for expression. Through creation of a tray, clients will delve deeper into the issues of anxiety, depression, sexual/physical abuse, grief/loss, anxiety, and facilitate change in the process. The sand provides a playful, nonthreatening environment to bring about connections and introspection.

You will experience the deep healing power of sand tray work through case studies, role play and experiential exercises. I will provide you the tools and confidence you need to apply in your practice. Our work is about healing and sand tray’s healing capacity is limitless!

 

Course Objectives

 

1.     Identify safe and effective outlets to help clients heal trauma, reduce anxiety, improve relationships and gain resilience.

2.     Discover how to integrate sand tray play therapy with children, adolescents and adults into your practice.

3.     Apply at least 4 creative solution-focused interventions to incorporate sand tray play therapy into your practice.

4.     Describe how sand tray work can integrate the brain and improve brain functions to release emotions and feelings.

5.     Assess your professional and personal insight gained through your participation in sand tray experiences at this workshop

6.     Conduct and process a sand tray session and learn to optimize your sandtray environment.

 

For more details contact Edel Lawlor @ expressiveplay@gmail.com

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