Discussing the Subject of Violence with Children
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S Talking to kids about violence is an unfortunate necessity of parenthood. School violence, in particular, is extraordinarily frightening: not every child loves school, but they […]
How a Parent’s Value of Play Therapy Can Influence Their Child’s Value of Play Therapy
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S Working with parents in the playroom is an important topic. Parents, after all, are the ones who usually initiate play therapy – they schedule the […]
Setting Goals Inside the Playroom
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S With New Years, many people resolve to do something different. You might vow to hit the gym and get in shape or hit the books […]
Embracing Knowledge and Finding Gratitude in Growth
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S In this season of gratefulness, many of us find ourselves being thankful for our jobs: we love what we do and who we help. The […]
Finding Gratitude in Challenges
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S For many of us, it’s easy to find gratitude for the good things in our life: we’re happy for the blessed, but not so much […]
What Parents Can Learn From Play
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S From Barbies to GI Joe to toys that make lots of noise, playtime may seem like, well, play. And, of course, it is. Even so, […]
From Kids to Animals: The Power of Play
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S In many ways, it’s easy to see why children play. It’s fun, it makes them happy, and it allows them to imagine possibilities real life […]
Want to Reconnect? You Must Disconnect First
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S Technology has transformed our lives, allowing us to carry the world’s information inside of our pockets. The questions, the wonder, the how to do something […]
The Brain on Gratitude
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S Gratefulness: tis’ the season! While being thankful is something we often strive to be, the holidays usher it into the spotlight: quiet please, gratitude is […]
Trauma Impacts Abnormalities in the Brain and Play Therapy Heals Them
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S The brain, for all its greatness, is also highly susceptible to experiences that register as traumatic – after all, one of its main jobs is […]
Are Guilt, Shame, and Worry Rewarding? You Might Be Surprised
If neuroscience came with a slogan, it’d probably be: The Brain – We’re Just Getting Started. There’s so much yet to learn about this organ. There’s so much to uncover […]
Man’s Best Friend: The Neuroscience Behind the Animal/Person Connection
For many humans, connection with animals has been a huge part of their lives. From the deep sense of companionship to the ability to attune to our emotional states, animals […]
The Brain on Shame
Most of us, at some point in our practice, will encounter a parent not yet sold on play therapy – we come across dads full of doubts or moms musing […]
Keeping the Connection When a Child Wants to Leave
From frogs inside of pockets to the darndest things they say, children are full of surprises. In many ways, this is wonderful: they make us laugh and smile and see […]
Games in the Playroom: Tools of Intervention and Assessment
Some theories of thought suggest that games should be kept out of the playroom and certain therapists abide: they don’t remember Memory, they’re sour on Candyland, they check Checkers at […]