Full Course Description

Reactive, Aggressive, and Withdrawn Kids: A Complete Guide to Transforming Extreme Dysregulation and Challenging Behaviors

Decode extreme behaviors as nervous system distress – not defiance
Integrate polyvagal, sensory, and trauma-informed tools
Build Relational safety for even the most reactive kids

Walk away with practical, ready-to-use strategies for meltdowns, shutdowns, elopement, and aggression.

You’ve tried everything – but some kids still lash out, shut down, bolt, throw chairs, scream, or hit.

These aren’t just “challenging behaviors” – they’re survival responses from nervous systems stuck in distress.

What if the issue isn’t a lack of tools, but a fragmented approach that overlooks the deeper causes?

Today’s kids face complex dysregulation rooted in trauma, sensory challenges, executive functioning delays, anxiety, and neurodivergence.

And traditional methods often fall short, leaving these kids misunderstood, labeled and underserved.

This transformative training with Tere Brown-Irish, OTR/L – creator of the Drive Thru Menu Suite of Exercises – introduces a polyvagal- and sensory-informed framework to address behavior at its root: through connection, regulation, and a whole-child approach.

Designed for occupational therapists, mental health clinicians, educators, and other child-serving professionals, this course offers a practical, compassionate path forward for even the most reactive, aggressive, or withdrawn children.

You’ll discover:

How to decode extreme behaviors and design a path forward
Coregulation and sensorimotor-based strategies to restore connection
New tools for responding to elopement, shutdowns, aggression, and self-injury
Polyvagal-informed techniques that support nervous system resilience
Personalized “Go-To Menus” for prevention and recovery routines
Coaching methods to foster consistent, compassionate environments

This course won’t just expand your toolbox – it will help you organize it into a powerful, integrated system to support the kids who need it most.

Program Information

Objectives

Identify the neurological and sensory-based origins of extreme dysregulation in children and adolescents.
Identify behavioral outbursts as communication of unmet developmental, emotional, or safety needs.
Choose polyvagal- and sensory-informed strategies to support nervous system regulation and resilience.
Develop individualized prevention and intervention plans using structured tracking and observation tools.
Identify in-the-moment responses to acute behaviors such as elopement, aggression, shutdowns, and self-injury.
Utilize relational safety, co-regulation, and recovery rituals to rebuild trust and promote long-term emotional growth.

Outline

Getting the Root of Behavior

Communication, Not Defiance

Unmet developmental, sensory, cognitive, and social-emotional needs
Environmental contributors: schedule, demands, transitions, overstimulation
Emerging diagnoses (ASD, ADHD, PDA & more)
Gaps in functional skills
Behavioral patterns across settings: home, school, community
Relational dynamics: peers, adults, authority
Sensory processing challenges and common environmental triggers
Structured behavior tracking and data collection tools

The Role of the Brain & Nervous System

Trauma, Stress and the Developing Brain

The impact of chronic dysregulation on learning, participation, and relationships
Brain pruning in the early teen years: Behavioral implications
Nervous system states explained through Polyvagal Theory
Differentiating shutdown, fight/flight, and functional freeze responses
Recognize how your own nervous system impacts responses to dysregulation
Supporting executive functioning skills: inhibition, flexibility, planning, and self-monitoring
Limitations of the research and potential risks

Preventative Interventions

Setting the Stage for Success

Neurodiversity-affirming, sensory-safe environments
Daily mindfulness practice to build self-awareness
20+ movement strategies for use throughout the day:
- Heavy work to support emotional regulation
- Vestibular input to facilitate focus
- Bilateral coordination tasks to facilitate cognitive flexibility
Visuals, timers, and cues for transitions and predictability
Go-to menus of coping tools and regulation strategies
Point-of-performance coaching to build skills in real time
Choice, autonomy, and refusal as communication
Play, humor, and connection
Use-anywhere tools for emotional literacy
Consistency across home, school, and therapy settings

Acute Interventions

Responding in the Moment

Meltdown vs. shutdown vs. escalation
Crisis response team: Trusted adults, not just available staff
Cues and precursors to acute behavior
Verbal de-escalation scripts and visual cues
Structured exits, alternative escape routes, and break plans
Elopement, self-harm, or aggression: Safety and regulation as the goal
Connection during refusal or withdrawal
“Bounce-Back” systems post-incident to rebuild trust and resilience
Neuroaffirming incident documentation: No blame-based language

The Human Element in Intervention

Embedding relational safety as a core strategy
Co-regulation opportunities
Consideration of an embodied approach
Student voice and nervous system signals
Emotional recovery and re-engagement
Predictable rituals for repair and reconnection
Intentional relationship-building

Target Audience

Occupational Therapists
Social Workers
Counselors
Educators and School Administrators
School Nurses
Psychologists
Speech-Language Pathologists
Physical Therapists
Physicians

Copyright : 11/20/2025

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD): Flipping the Script on Labels and Finding Solutions When Nothing Seems to Work

You’ve tried it all –

Behavior charts
Token economies
Time-outs and time-ins
Positive reinforcement
Sensory supports
Ignoring the behavior
Even restructuring the entire environment –

And yet, the same struggles persist – aggression, shutdowns, mood swings, and more.

It can leave even the most dedicated therapists wondering – What am I missing?

For decades, diagnoses like Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and, more recently, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) were viewed as signs of willful defiance, manipulation, or poor parenting but emerging research tells a different story.

Dr. Amy Marschall, clinical psychologist and neurodiversity expert, offers a paradigm shift, reframing these labels and the resulting behaviors as survival strategies rooted in trauma, neurodivergence, and developmental delay – less about “bad behavior” and more about a neurological mismatch.

Learn the root causes of ODD, PDA, IED, and more – so you can address the underlying issues, not just the symptoms
Use trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming assessments to decode behavior and uncover unmet needs
Apply tools that build trust, co-regulation, and emotional resilience in autistic children, kids with ADHD, PTSD, and more
Replace meltdowns, shutdowns, and aggression with interventions that promote felt safety and emotional regulation
Empower parents and educators to support regulation and healing in any setting

You’ll also learn to challenge outdated myths and labels, and support clients through insight, not control.

Purchase today and become the therapist who truly sees – and supports – the children who need it most.

Program Information

Objectives

Examine how trauma, neurodivergence, and developmental differences contribute to behaviors labeled as PDA and ODD.
Differentiate between PDA, ODD, and other diagnoses such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intermittent Explosive Disorder using a trauma-informed lens.
Choose neurodiversity-affirming, strengths-based strategies to support emotional regulation and felt safety in children with challenging behaviors.
Evaluate the limitations of traditional behavior management models and the benefits of connection-focused, collaborative interventions.
Utilize practical tools to build trust, support co-regulation, and foster resilience in children experiencing meltdowns, shutdowns, or aggression.
Modify compliance-driven responses to approaches rooted in insight, empathy, and relationship-building by coaching parents and educators.

Outline

The Neurodiversity Paradigm: A Brief Overview

A way forward through affirming, trauma-informed care

Neurodivergence, neurodiversity, and the shift toward neurodiversity affirming practice
The medical model in mental health care: Help or harm?
PDA and ODD as controversial constructs: Diagnoses or mislabels?
Diagnostic critiques: Cultural bias, pathologizing autonomy, and misinterpreting trauma

Assessment & Diagnoses

A Trauma-Informed, Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach

Medical vs. educational diagnosis
Why labels like ODD and PDA remain debated in clinical practice
When ODD reflects trauma, unmet needs, or neurodivergence
PDA and the DSM™: Clinical relevance without formal recognition
Differentiate PDA and ODD from
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Conduct Disorder
- Intermittent Explosive Disorder
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
Determine the root cause of behavior:
- Tantrums vs. meltdowns
- Elopement, shutdowns, and aggression
- Self-harm behavior
- Environmental and relational context

“Behavior Problems” Through a Compassionate Lens

What lies beneath: the discomfort of changing established practices

Trauma’s impact on brain development and behavior
The neurology of neurodiversity
Core principles for clinicians and caregivers:
- Behavior as communication
- Curiosity over anger, support over punishment
- Shift from compliance-based to collaborative care
- Reframe “defiance” as autonomy, fear, or sensory distress
Case conceptualization examples

A Fresh Approach to Change the Narrative

Build insight, communication, and attachment

Communication & Regulation Tools:
- Educate kids and parents about the brain and neurodivergence
- Expressing feelings: code words, escape plans, visuals, apps
- Emotion regulation: butterfly hugs, stomp & roar, mindfulness
- Movement and sensory strategies: safe spaces, sensory play, body-based tools
- Routines and sleep: overcome barriers, hygiene plans, predictability across settings
Strengthen Relationships
- Regulation, choice, and responsibility; developmentally matched tools
- Parent-child: child-led play, check-ins, and intentional connection
- Educator-student: practical tools for authentic engagement
- Building inclusive, responsive classroom environments
Creative & Play-Based Interventions
- Games, non-directive play, and creative outlets for big emotions
- Research limitations and potential risks of misapplied strategies Risks and limitations of common interventions

Break Through Behavioral Roadblocks

In-the-moment responses to significant behaviors

Suicide/self-harm statements
Elopement
Verbal and physical aggression
Controlling behaviors
When systems push back:
- Navigate families and educators demanding strict discipline plans
- Reframe resistance from adults who struggle to change

Target Audience

Counselors
Social Workers
Psychologists
Marriage and Family Therapists
Speech-Language Pathologists
Teachers
School Administrators
Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Nurses
Other Helping Professionals Who Work with Children

Copyright : 10/24/2025

Disruptive Behavior Disorders

“Problem children.”

Sadly, that’s how kids with Disruptive Behavior Disorders—like ODD, Conduct Disorder, and PDA—are often labeled.

And instead of focusing on how to connect with these kids, most treatment models focus on controlling, suppressing, or eliminating the behavior.

But behavior is communication. And when children feel powerless, misunderstood, or unsafe, their “defiance” is really a call for relationship, regulation, and repair.

This training flips that script.

Led by Dr. Michael Whitehead—author of Treating Children with Disruptive Behavior Disorders—you’ll learn a play-therapy-centered, relationship-based model that empowers children and re-engages the systems around them.

Through child-centered, filial, and directive play therapy interventions, you’ll discover how play therapy unlocks safety, trust, and self-expression—while also helping caregivers and teachers shift from authority to attunement.

You’ll leave with a toolbox of experiential, neurobiologically informed play therapy strategies—from LEGO®, SORRY!®, origami, and juggling games to HeartMath® and somatic play therapy activities—that strengthen co-regulation, foster resilience, and transform family and classroom dynamics.

This isn’t about “fixing” children. It’s about reshaping the relational environment through play as the language of healing—so kids, families, and schools can grow together.

Whether you work in private practice, schools, or community mental health, you’ll walk away with a flexible, compassionate roadmap for creating real, lasting change.

Register now.

Program Information

Objectives

Identify three reasons why traditional behavior plans may escalate rather than reduce disruptive behaviors in neurodivergent children, and how play therapy interventions don't.
Identify key concepts from Coercion Theory, Family Systems Theory, and Temperament Theory that inform systemic play therapy treatment approaches for Disruptive Behavior Disorders to improve participation in daily activities.
Classify each component of the BISON play therapy model (Bio-emotion Regulation, Individual Play, Successful Communication, Organized Play, Nurturing Play) with its corresponding therapeutic goal or strategy to improve participation in play.
Select appropriate play therapy intervention tools for improving regulation and functional skill-building in children with disruptive behaviors.
Choose strategies that bridge clinical play therapy interventions with considerations for the educational environment, including methods for collaboration with teachers and support staff.
Differentiate between evidence-based and evidence-informed play therapy approaches for behavior to improve participation in play.

Outline

Why Behavior Plans Fail Children

Compliance-based systems that silence play and expression
Reward/consequence systems that backfire with neurodivergent kids
How adult reactions can escalate aggression and shutdowns

Foundations for Healing Through Play Therapy

Top strategies based in Coercion Theory to shift power struggles into connection
Family Systems approaches to reduce triangulation and chaos
Temperament Theory insights to personalize intervention

The BISON Model: A Framework for Intervention

Bio-Emotion Regulation
- Tools for heart rate variability tracking (HeartMath®, Mightier)
- Interoceptive and somatic play activities for nervous system awareness
Individual Play Therapy
- Child-centered play therapy activities to build safety and agency
- Play therapy based engagement for nonverbal, shutdown, or explosive kids
Successful Communication
- Filial play therapy coaching to strengthen parent-child dialogue
- Effective command techniques that reduce defiance
- Family meeting templates that create consistency without chaos
- In-session parent coaching framework
Organized Play Therapy
- 10+ classroom-ready tools using games like SORRY!®, LEGO®, and origami
- Directive play therapy plans to target frustration, rigidity, and problem-solving
- Juggling and movement-based regulation activities
Nurturing Play Therapy
- Filial play therapy structures to empower caregivers
- Attachment-building routines for home carryover
- Sensory-rich fine-motor play therapy to soothe and regulate

Clinic-to-Classroom Carryover

School scripting examples for classroom communication
Regulation visuals and shared behavior tools
Reframing “defiance” as distress through play therapy informed strategies

Real Families, Real Change

Case study: “Adam” from intake to transformation
Integration of systems therapy, play therapy, and school collaboration
Ready-to-use handouts, scripts, and session templates

Research, Risks, and Rethinking Behaviorism

Key limitations of behavior-first approaches
Evidence-informed vs. evidence-based debate—what matters most
Risk assessment checklists for providers, schools, and families

Target Audience

Play Therapists
Counselors
Psychologists
Social Workers
Psychotherapists
Therapists
Marriage & Family Therapists
Teachers
School Guidance Counselors
Case Managers
Speech-Language Pathologists
Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Educational Paraprofessionals
School Administrators
Other Helping Professionals who Work with Children

Copyright : 12/12/2025

Tips, Tricks, and Play Therapy Techniques to Help Kids Manage Anger

Angry, aggressive, dysregulated kids can be a challenge to work with—activated, unmotivated and tough to engage.

But play therapy techniques can help capture your client’s interest, engage them in learning anger management skills, and motivate them to use the skills they have learned.

Join best-selling author and international speaker Liana Lowenstein for tips on:

Decoding the message underlying the child’s anger outburst

Tools to communicate anger without resorting to tantrums or aggressive behavior
Innovative games and other play therapy interventions to help children identify anger triggers and self-regulate in appropriate ways

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn innovative play therapy interventions to equip children and parents with essential ways to reduce anger outbursts and to foster positive behavior change!

Program Information

Objectives

Utilize at least five therapeutic games and other playful techniques to help children express feelings and self-regulate.
Implement creative strategies to motivate children to practice and implement anger management skills learned in play therapy sessions.
Describe how parents can prevent and reduce children’s angry outbursts and aggressive behavior.

Outline

Understanding Anger in Children

Keys to understanding how children communicate anger
Regulation, external regulation, co-regulation, and self-regulation
The connection between emotional regulation and self-regulation

Creative Kid-Friendly Techniques

Innovative games and other play therapy interventions to help children identify anger triggers and self-regulate in appropriate ways
Tools to communicate anger without resorting to tantrums or aggressive behavior
Strategies to appropriately communicate feelings and needs without resorting to tantrums or aggressive behavior
Creative tactics to motivate children and their parents to implement skills

Easy-To-Use Parenting Strategies

Decoding the message underlying the child’s anger outburst
Steps to co-regulation

Target Audience

Counselors
Marriage and family therapists
Nurses
Physicians
Play therapists
Psychologists
Social workers

Anxious & Stressed-Out Kids

Stress, pressure, and the general busyness of growing up in the modern world can trigger negative thought patterns in kids.
And they continue to endure higher levels of stress and pressure across domains (school, extracurricular activities, sports)—it's a lot to process on any given day, and negative thinking can snowball quickly.
The good news is that kids can learn to tap into positive psychology to work through their intrusive thoughts and focus on their strengths, instead.
Join Katie Hurley DSW, LCSW and author of The Stress-Buster Workbook for Kids (PESI Publishing 2021) as she teaches you tools rooted in Cognitive Behavior Therapy.
You’ll be equipped to:

Spot the signs of cognitive, physical, and emotional stress and anxiety
Assess symptoms of stress and anxiety and how they present at different ages
Notice the warning signs of negative thinking in kids
Help young clients positively reframe intrusive thoughts
And more.

Get tried-and-true strategies to help kids navigate the stressors of everyday life, overcome challenges and build self-confidence.

Program Information

Objectives

Identify symptoms of stress and anxiety in kids.
Utilize emotion regulation tools rooted in Cognitive Behavior Therapy to assist students or clients in coping with symptoms of stress and anxiety.
Apply cognitive reframing to intrusive thoughts to help students or clients shift their mindsets.

Outline

Assess for and Differentiate Between Stress and Anxiety in Kids

How symptoms present at different ages
Evaluate cognitive, physical, and emotional signs of stress and anxiety

Applying the Concept of Positive Thinking

Correct ratio of positive to negative thinking to reduce intrusive thoughts
Positive reframing to intrusive thinking

Emotion Regulation Tools to Use with Kids

Grounding techniques and when to apply them
Effective deep breathing techniques

Risks and Limitations

Mindfulness can trigger symptoms for trauma survivors
Age and developmental capability

Target Audience

Counselors
Marriage & Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Social Workers
Speech-Language Pathologists
School Administrators
Teachers/School-Based Personnel
Other Mental Health Professionals

Maximizing the Brain-Body Connection to Build Resilient and Regulated Young Clients

When the children you work with don’t show progress despite your best efforts, it’s time for a course correction that considers what our field too often misses—how humans learn to regulate their emotions and behaviors.

In this innovative session, Mona Delahooke, PhD, will deepen your understanding of a hot topic and powerful tool in helping parents build their child’s mental health: Co-regulation. She will teach you why it’s critical to treatment success, maximizes treatment outcomes, and fills in a missing aspect of what is learned in traditional child mental health treatment.

You’ll explore how:

The important skill of self-regulation grows out of a child’s experience of co-regulation
Co-regulation serves to regulate a child’s nervous system
Internal bodily sensations (interoception) leads the way for future emotional literacy and mental health
To measure a parent’s and child's detection and interpretation of cues of safety, threat, or dangers
A new treatment roadmap that you can integrate into your practice immediately
Why we need to shift away from individual child psychotherapy to dyadic work with caregivers

Dr. Delahooke will share techniques from her award-winning book Beyond Behaviors (PESI Publishing & Media, 2019) and from her latest book Brain-Body Parenting (Harper Wave, 2022). Register now!

Program Information

Objectives

Explain the “Developmental Iceberg” and how it helps us discover how to support each child and family’s individual needs.
Summarize four proposed pathways of the nervous system that inform us what to do in real time when managing children’s behavioral challenges.
Describe how an understanding of neuroception and interoception is changing the meaning of clinical practice in the treatment of emotional regulation issues.
Illustrate how co-regulation is a parallel process that impacts the therapist, parent, and client.

Outline

“Developmental Iceberg”

Discover how to support each child and family’s individual needs
Difference between categorical and dimensional clinical thinking

Four Proposed Pathways of the Nervous System

Know what to do in real time when managing children’s behavioral challenges
Polyvagal theory and a paradigm shift towards holistic thinking in mental health
Limitations of the model and the research and implications

Neuroception and Interoception

Changing the meaning of clinical practice in the treatment of emotional regulation issues
Subconscious and conscious processes that influence social and emotional development, psychological symptoms, and brain/body health
Examples in treatment of childhood anxiety, social anxiety and school refusal

Co-regulation Is a Parallel Process That Impacts the Therapist, Parent, and Client

What co-regulation is
How it influences the building of resilience and eventual self-regulation and executive functioning
The importance of an integrated approach in child psychotherapy

Target Audience

Counselors
Marriage & Family Therapists
Nurses
Psychologists
Social Workers
Speech-Language Pathologists
School Administrators
Teachers/School-Based Personnel
Other Mental Health Professionals