Workshops for Mental Health Professionals

Upcoming Live Workshops and Webinars

Recorded webinars:

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Workshop Descriptions

Introduction to Play Therapy (6 hours or multi-day course)

This course will introduce participants to the theory and practice of play therapy. The training will cover the history and major models of play therapy, therapeutic powers of play, therapeutic relationship, phases of therapy, themes in children’s play, and limit setting. Participants will also learn how to set up a playroom and how to select appropriate toys and materials. Play therapy techniques, including games, art, puppetry, and sand tray will be presented. Selected research studies supporting the effectiveness of play therapy will also be covered. Experiential exercises and activity demonstrations will be incorporated into this workshop. The content can be geared to a one-day introductory course or a multi-day training that goes into more depth.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the value and therapeutic powers of play therapy.
2. Summarize the history and major theoretical models of play therapy, including the pioneers, major components, role of the therapist, and empirical support.
3. Identify how to set up a playroom and how to select materials to facilitate therapeutic growth.
4. Describe the use of therapeutic games, art, puppets, and stories in play therapy sessions.

Creative Interventions to Engage, Assess, and Treat Children and Families (6 hours or multi-day course)

This very practical training will be divided into three components: (1) Engagement: A number of creative interventions will be illustrated to facilitate rapport-building with children, teens, and families; (2) Assessment: The instructor’s innovative assessment model will be presented, and participants will receive a packet of assessment activities that they can use immediately in their clinical practice; (3) Treatment: A variety of creative techniques will be presented including games, stories, puppets, and art. Participants will come away with many new and creative techniques to add to their existing repertoire.

Learning Objectives:

1. Use at least 3 interventions to engage clients in therapy.
2. Implement an innovative model for assessing children and families.
3. Use many creative techniques with children, teens, and families.

I Don’t Wanna Talk About it: Working with Hard-to-Engage Children and Teens (3 or 6 hours)

Working with difficult-to-engage clients can be frustrating and challenging, even for seasoned clinicians. The challenge of working with children in therapy can be further compounded by their fear of entering therapy, their lack of control over the decision to attend therapy, and their developmental capacity which can make it difficult for them to respond to traditional talk-therapy. This workshop will explore factors underlying resistance and will present creative interventions for working with hard-to-engage children and teens.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the factors underlying therapeutic resistance.
2. Implement creative interventions to facilitate rapport-building with children of all ages.
3. Implement expressive arts techniques with clients who are reluctant to verbally articulate their thoughts and feelings.

Creative Family Therapy Techniques (3 or 6 hours)

Children are often excluded from family therapy because many practitioners are at a loss of how to effectively engage them. The use of creative activities in family therapy such as games, art, and storytelling, facilitates the participation of all family members. Expressive arts techniques, in particular, offer an advantage over traditional “talk therapy” because children are provided with a more developmentally appropriate means to communicate. In this training, participants will learn a number of innovative techniques to engage, assess, and treat families. The advantages of using creative techniques with families will be outlined, and tips for overcoming challenges will be discussed. Videos and activity demonstrations will illustrate techniques.

Learning Objectives:

1. List three benefits to using play, art, and other expressive techniques in family therapy.
2. Describe three common challenges in family therapy and identify strategies to overcome these challenges.
3. Utilize creative techniques in therapy sessions with families.

From Chaos to Resilience: Helping Children of Divorce Survive and Thrive (3 hours)

Many children are referred to therapy to assist in their adjustment to divorce. They may feel vulnerable, overwhelmed and confused by their emotions as well as the family dynamics. Providing a safe space and engaging activities may assist the child’s process and help them express their thoughts and feelings. This training will highlight current theory and research on children of divorce, and present assessment and treatment techniques to guide children through the complications of divorce. Interventions presented can be used in individual therapy sessions, as well as children’s support groups.

Learning Objectives:

1. Verbally articulate at least three risk factors that make it more difficult for a child to adjust to parental divorce.
2. Apply at least two techniques to assess children of divorce.
3. Implement at least three new interventions in therapy sessions with children of divorce.

Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children (3 or 6 hours)

When children enter therapy because they have experienced the death of a loved one, they are at a very vulnerable time in their lives. They are often anxious about the therapeutic process and reluctant to talk directly about painful feelings. Activities that are creative and play-based can engage children and help them to express their grief. This workshop will present creative interventions for use with bereaved children ages 4-12. Participants will come away with a solid understanding of how to treat childhood grief, including suicide and homicide death.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify the key differences between normative and traumatic grief in children.
2. Assess bereaved children using an innovative model.
3. Utilize a variety of creative treatment techniques with bereaved children.

Creative Interventions for Children with ADHD (3 hours)

ADHD is one of the most prevalent disorders diagnosed in children. While there are many different approaches to treating children with ADHD, creative CBT interventions help to remediate the skills deficits such as short attention span, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. This training will highlight the diagnostic features of ADHD, and will present practical and effective interventions to help children aged 4-12 improve impulse control; Increase attention and focus; Identify constructive ways to use energy; Augment academic performance. Interventions will also be presented for use by parents and teachers to increase positive behavior at home and school. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn new and creative approaches to help get children motivated, focused, organized, and performing closer to their true potential.

Learning Objectives:

Creative CBT Interventions for Children with Anxiety (6 hours)

Children who suffer from anxiety can be difficult to treat because they’re more hesitant to trust, have a tendency toward avoidance and negative thinking, and are typically reluctant to face their fears. Anxious children are even more resistant to participate in therapy when it is talk-oriented and workbook-based. This training will present an innovative CBT approach that is playful and engaging so that clients will be more at ease and motivated in therapy, and better able to learn and apply core CBT skills. This innovative CBT approach will create a more positive therapeutic experience for clients and will augment treatment effectiveness.

Learning Objectives:

1. Apply an innovative model to assess anxiety in children.
2. Describe methods for fostering treatment readiness in anxious children.
3. Implement creative interventions to treat children suffering from phobias, separation anxiety, perfectionism, and selective mutism.
4. Develop exposure plans that fit the unique needs of each client.

TF-CBT: Blending Theory with Innovative Techniques (12 hours)

Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is an empirically-supported psychotherapy model for treating traumatized children and adolescents. The effectiveness of this approach is enhanced by integrating creative, developmentally appropriate interventions so that children will engage in treatment. This two-day course will provide an overview of TF-CBT and will present creative interventions for the 8 components of TF-CBT: Psychoeducation, Relaxation, affective modulation, cognitive processing, trauma narrative, in vivo mastery, conjoint child-parent sessions, and enhancing safety. Therapeutic games, art, stories, and other innovative activities will be presented for use with traumatized children aged 4-16.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify and apply the basic principles of TF-CBT.
2. Implement a trauma assessment.
3. Describe strategies for engaging resistant children in the completion of a trauma narrative.
4. Utilize creative interventions for each of the eight treatment components of TF-CBT.

Creative Evidence-Based Interventions for Traumatized Children (6 hours)

(Note: This training is geared to therapists who have been properly trained in TF-CBT and are seeking creative interventions to integrate into the model.) There have been a number of treatments developed and tested in recent years specifically geared to treating traumatized children. These approaches share many of the same core components: Engaging clients; conducting a systemic assessment; providing psychoeducation; addressing traumatic stress reactions; enhancing emotional regulation; facilitating adaptive coping; completing a trauma narrative; enhancing safety skills; and strengthening parenting skills. The effectiveness of trauma-treatment with children is enhanced by integrating playful, developmentally appropriate interventions so clients will engage in treatment. This training will present innovative techniques for each of the core components of evidence-based trauma treatment. Participants will come away with many new and creative interventions they can use with traumatized clients from preschoolers to teens.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the core components of evidence-based trauma treatment.
2. Discuss the benefits of integrating playful approaches in trauma treatment.
3. Implement creative interventions with traumatized children and teens, aged 4-18.

***Multi-day custom trainings can be designed to fit your learning needs

• Xinlicheng Psychological Services, Shanghai, China
• Westmead Children’s Hospital, Sydney, Australia
• Affordable Professional Development Training (APDT), Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia
• Neapolis University Pafos, Cyprus
• Zavod Spoznaj, Slovenia
• Family Services, Auckland, New Zealand
• Israeli Play Therapy Association
• South Africa Play Therapy Association
• Canadian Association of Social Workers
• Indiana School Social Workers Conference
• Wisconsin School Social Workers Conference
• Wisconsin Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
• International Youth Counselor Conference
• Sick Kids Centre for Community Mental Health, Toronto
• Emily’s House Children’s Hospice, Toronto
• Chadwick Center Conference on Child Sexual Abuse
• Midwest Conference on Child Sexual Abuse
• Association for Death Education and Counseling Annual Conference (ADEC)
• Association for Play Therapy (APT)
• Canadian Association for Play Therapy (CAPT)
• Association for Play Therapy State Conference (Including: Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Memphis, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin)

Liana Lowenstein is a Registered Clinical Social Worker, Certified Play Therapist-Supervisor, and Certified TF-CBT Therapist who has been working with children and their families in Toronto since 1988. She is internationally known as a dynamic speaker and presents trainings across North America and abroad. She provides clinical supervision to mental health practitioners and consults to several mental health agencies. Liana’s 13 books on child and family therapy are known internationally for their innovative and practical techniques. She is winner of the Monica Herbert award for outstanding contribution to play therapy in Canada.

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