Therapists live each day on the front line in their work putting in countless hours helping children heal, but let’s be honest- there are days when being fully present in the play room or online is not an easy task. Yes there are many moments in the play therapy process that are fun, but the truth is that helping children integrate their pains and working with their parents can be hard work and
taxing to therapists's nervous systems. As play therapists, we spend a lot of time learning about how to heal the children we work with, but what about us? What happens when we are too stressed to play?
This interactive workshop will help guide therapists back to themselves. With the help of neuroscience, therapists will learn how to identify their own states of dys-regulation beyond the common warning signs that many therapists are already familiar with. Therapists will not only learn what is happening in their own brains and nervous systems and how to regulate their bodies, but will also be able to apply the information directly to their child clients resulting in a deeper healing process.
The myth that therapist self care can only happen before and after work and on the weekends will be challenged as we look at eclectic and creative approaches to help therapists regulate during sessions (in person and online) and deal with stress in between sessions. Therapists will learn
that it is possible to leave each day with a deeper connection to themselves and more energy.

1. Explore ways to identify different states of dys-regulation in your own body and your child client’s body during play therapy sessions.
2. Identify and discuss at least 4 ideas from neurobiology, the creative arts, and mindfulness to help you stay present in the playroom and deal with stress in between play therapy sessions.
3. Examine the role that “shoulds” play in the development of symptoms in the play therapist and the child client.
4. Explore the Synergetic Play Therapy concept “one foot in and one foot out” and how it applies to self care in the playroom.
5. Examine what regulation is and what it is not and how play therapists can use this knowledge to deal with compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma
6. Identify your own patterns of dysregulation that arise in play therapy sessions and ways to regulate through the activation.