Play Therapy for Tweens and Teens: Strategies to Build Rapport, Invite Emotional Expression, and Navigate Unique Developmental Challenges

Ignite Transformation in Teens Through Play Therapy 

• Get hesitant and resistant clients on board
• Effectively use self-disclosure to build rapport
• Keys to relating to teens
• Confidentiality – the central ingredient to strong rapport
• Play therapy strategies to light up the brain at the first session
• Develop trust and attunement that doesn’t fade
• Put teens at ease with a self-affirming office space
• Discover “Greek Therapy” and how to use it
• Be intention with play therapy interventions 
• Have the right games, materials, and play items for teens

Must-Know Interventions for Suicidality & Teen Crises

• Know assessments and scales for suicidality 
• Sensitively assess for non-suicidal self-injury & active suicidality 
• Help teens transition back to school after crisis
• Dan Siegel’s “name it to tame it” to help teens overcome suicidal thoughts
• DBT tips for emotion regulation and coping with distress
• Play Therapy inspired poetry exercises for self-expression
• Know cultural suicide crises and population-specific concerns
• Ethical considerations and confidentiality 

Play Therapy Redefined: A Teen-Centric Approach

• Identifying “regressive play” and how it shows unmet needs
• Create collaborative rules for games 
• Master non-directive approaches and being patient
• Know when to bring in the family
• Must-have games and materials for the playroom
• Integrate the most important psychology theories into play – CBT, Gestalt, Psychodynamic, Narrative, Jungian & MORE
• Create memes for kids to be expressive

Unlock the Teenage Psyche

• How adolescent brain development works & why it matters
• Develop sensitivities to neurodivergence 
• Know the role peer influence on the teen brain
• Unique sensitivity of the teen brain and drives behavior
• The ins-and-outs of what teens need for sleep
• The truth about social media and the brain development

How to Support Parents & Caregivers

• Gives parents the skills to know “when to be concerned”
• Get teens talking with their parents
• Direct teens toward healthy distractions at home
• Help parents set limits with social media
• How to talk WITHOUT lecturing or advice giving
• Know how teens use technology for connection
• Identify drivers behind teens’ addictive impulses and behaviors

Create Breakthroughs with Teens 

• Sand Tray therapy to promote non-verbal self-expression
• Modify tabletop games to client specific needs and preferences
• Master roleplaying in therapy games to help teens build new skills
• How to make video games therapeutic & game recommendations
• Navigate when teens lean toward “dark themes” and violence in play
• Incorporate music, Legos®, “Oddly Satisfying Videos”, and pop culture
• Create individualized self-care recipes
• Specific play ideas for expression anger

Empowerment Approaches to Guide Tomorrow's Leaders

• Cultivate self-compassion in distressed teens through writing
• Increase personal strengths with positive psychology 
• How to emphasize strengths in any play therapy exercise 
• Create psychology flexibility with ACT
• Replace avoidance with resilience