Aggression in Play Therapy Series

APT Approved Provider (#25-761) This workshop offers 6 APT contact CEs. *The Oregon Board of Licensed Social Workers (OBLSW) has placed the Association for Play Therapy (APT) on its list of Accepted Credentialing Bodies. Social workers who take courses approved by an APT Approved Provider (such as ORAPT) can count the hours toward their continuing education requirement. This is for the state of Oregon ONLY. This is not an NASW-approved workshop.*

Join us for a 4-part series of case consultation and book discussion!

***3rd Monday of the month: April 21, May 19, June 16, July 21 from noon-1:30pm

This four-session workshop series explores the neurobiological foundations of aggression in play therapy based on insights from Lisa Dion’s work. Participants will deepen their understanding of how aggression manifests in play, develop skills to assess nervous system dysregulation and implement co-regulation techniques to support emotional integration. Through interactive learning and case analysis, attendees will practice interventions that facilitate therapeutic progress while maintaining safety. Additionally, the series will offer strategies for setting practical therapeutic limits and fostering self-awareness in managing responses to aggression in the playroom.

This is a book study/live webinar series. We will read and discuss the book Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurobiological Approach for Integrating Intensity By Lisa Dion (2018). You will be responsible for purchasing your own copy of the book.

Learning Objectives:

By the completion of this six-hour workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Summarize at least three key neurobiological mechanisms that influence aggressive play behaviors in children.

2. Accurately assess at least two indicators of nervous system dysregulation in children during aggressive play and describe two co-regulation techniques to support emotional integration.

3. Practice and implement at least three play therapy interventions designed to safely engage and process aggression in the therapy room.

4. Analyze three case examples to distinguish between aggression that supports therapeutic progress and aggression that signals therapeutic rupture or dysregulation. 

5. Role-play and apply at least two therapeutic limit-setting strategies that maintain safety while supporting the child’s self-expression. 

6. Assess their physiological and emotional responses to aggression in play therapy and describe at least two self-regulation techniques to enhance therapeutic presence.

Cancellation and grievance policy: Registration is required. Please let us know if you are unable to attend. There is a cost for participation, and so, therefore, no refund if canceled within 7 days of the event. A $25 cancellation and refund fee applies. If you have questions or concerns about this or any training provided by the presenters, please email info@jamiewatsonconsulting.com. There will be an evaluation and post-test to complete at the conclusion of the workshop to obtain CEs.

APT Approved Provider (#25-761) This workshop is pending 6 APT contact CEs. *The Oregon Board of Licensed Social Workers (OBLSW) has placed the Association for Play Therapy (APT) on its list of Accepted Credentialing Bodies. Social workers who take courses approved by an APT Approved Provider (such as ORAPT) can count the hours toward their continuing education requirement. This is for the state of Oregon ONLY.

Early Bird Fee: $350 until 3/31!

4/1-4/15: $375

Equity pricing for graduate students and QT-BIPOC clinicians: $325

About the Presenters:

Jamie Watson, LMFT, RPT-S™: Jamie is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in Oregon and Washington and the Mental Health Therapy Director at Neurotherapeutic Pediatric Therapies, Inc. in Portland and surrounding areas. At the University of Western States, Jamie teaches Play Therapy, Pre-Practicum, and Human Growth & Development in the Graduate Department of Counseling. Jamie is a Registered Play Therapist- Supervisor™ and is also recognized by the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists (OBLPCT), the Washington Department of Health, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists (AAMFT) as an Approved Clinical Supervisor. She also has additional training in Foster and Adoptive Family Therapy, Parent-Child Interactive Therapy (PCIT), and Trauma-Focused CBT, specializing in child attachment and trauma. Jamie currently serves as president of the Oregon Association for Play Therapy (ORAPT) and has been involved with the Board and ORAPT in some capacity for over a decade. Jamie lives in Clackamas, Oregon with her two young boys, husband, and goldendoodle (therapy dog). You can find more information about her on her website, www.jamiewatsonconsulting.com

MereAnn Reid, LPC, RPT™: MereAnn is an attachment-focused play therapist, parent coach, and founder of Raising Family Resilience, LLC, hosting a series of workshops and retreats for parents who want to feel more connected to their kids without losing themselves. She is a contributing author of The Embodied Brain and Sandtray Therapy: Stories of Healing and Transformation, on the power of play therapy in healing grief and attachment in adoption. She practices a brain-body approach to play therapy, drawing on an in-depth study of relational neuroscience, Theraplay (Level I), certified Synergetic Play Therapist, polyvagal theory, and certified Safe & Sound Protocol facilitator (music-based listening therapy for retuning the nervous system), brain-based parent coaching, and offers assessments using the Neurosequential Model of Assessment (Level I-trained). MereAnn lives in Portland, Oregon, where she runs a small private practice in a big yellow bungalow, with stuffed animals, puppets, art materials, and a coffee-table sandtray keeping her company. You can find her parent coaching work at https://www.familyzest.com/, and her child therapy practice at https://mereannreid.com/