Expired Expressive Play Therapy for Complex Trauma (12CEUs)

BC Play Therapy Association holds workshops throughout the year to help advance the education of Play Therapy Practitioners and related professions. These usually revolve around a specialized speaker teaching a subject of importance to the advancement of play therapy as a therapeutic practice.

Click here for a manual registration form.

PRESENTED BY MARIE-JOSÉ DHAESE,                              PhD, RCC, ATR, RPT-S, CPT-S

ABOUT OUR PRESENTER

Marie-José Dhaese is an adult, child and family therapist in private practice. She is a registered art therapist and a registered and certified play therapy supervisor with both the Canadian and American Play Therapy Associations. Marie-José now celebrates more than 40 years as a therapist. For over 30 years, she has pioneered the use of expressive therapy in the field of play therapy with clients who have experienced loss, trauma and abuse and neglect. She has been a frequent presenter and speaker at conferences, and institutions, both locally and internationally, and places of learning (such as the Centre for Play Therapy in North Texas). For the last 30 years she has taught her popular courses at the Justice Institute where a certificate in Holistic Expressive Play Therapy is now offered. In 2014, the JIBC offered a Special Event where Marie-José gave a presentation with Dr. Rick Gaskill, bringing together Holistic Expressive Therapy and Neurobiology as it relates to the treatment of complex trauma. This presentation was videotaped and has now been made available on line, in lieu of the book Marie-José has not had the time to write. Marie-José is the founder of the Centre for Expressive Therapy (an approved APT and CACPT continuing education provider) located on Vancouver Island, where, as well as having a full practice of clients of all ages, she mentors and offers learning retreats for helping professionals.

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

This 2-day presentation will focus on the use of Expressive Play Therapy to help children who have experienced multiple traumatic events within the context of pervasive and severe maltreatment —including different forms of abuse (emotional, physical, sexual), neglect and who have witnessed domestic violence.

The goal of this presentation is to provide a compassionate understanding of the many layered clinical issues of children suffering from complex trauma and, based on such an understanding, find practical ways of helping them build resilience and, time permitting, begin to heal their wounds and live more healthily in a reality that often cannot be changed.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Describe theoretical principles of Holistic Expressive Play Therapy as related to the subject of complex trauma (resiliency based, attachment based and trauma informed);
• Describe the principles underlying the use of expressive play therapies with abused and neglected children;
• Identify and address the therapeutic needs specific to abused and neglected children;
• Provide a reparative experience that addresses the most basic needs of abused and neglected children, taking into their account emotional, cognitive and behavioral stage of development;
• Use imagery and a variety of expressive play therapies to help the children internalize the sense of safety experienced in the play sessions and develop positive memories to draw upon when needed;
• Use expressive play therapy methods to help children safely deal with painful issues related to complex trauma.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Play therapists, family therapists, psychologists, social workers, school counsellors, and other mental health professionals working with children, adolescents and families will benefit from this training. The workshop is designed for mental health professionals who already have basic play therapy training.