Emotions From the Inside Out, Part 1
Recently I was meeting with a new client’s parents for the first time. We were discussing their desired outcome for their child’s engagement in play therapy. “We just want him […]
Be Yourself – Therapist Authenticity in the Playroom
We intuitively understand that it is important to be authentic with our clients, but do we understand why authenticity is actually crucial according to our client’s brains? Did you know […]
The Neurobiology Behind a Child’s Tantrums
According to neurobiology, a child’s behaviors aren’t necessarily “good” or “bad” but rather a wise attempt to communicate with the parent. It’s hard to understand what’s going on inside our […]
An Antidote to Anxiety? Predictability
One of the main sources of heightened anxiety in all of us is our unknown futures. Of course we can’t predict our futures, but most of the time we can predictably […]
Balancing the Left Brain & the Right Brain in Play Therapy
Play therapy is very much a right-brain experience. When a child is playing, their right brain is actively engaged, and the sensations and emotions stored in their implicit memory circuitry […]
How Therapists Deal with Aggression in the Playroom
In our culture, aggression tends to be viewed as a no-no. When a child starts to play aggressively in a session, we can get caught up in trying to decide […]
The Significance of Neuroscience in Play Therapy
It’s crucial to bring the brain and neuroscience into the play therapy process if we really want to understand what is happening in the mind and bodies of a child […]
Authenticity: The Playroom Is The Place To Be You
It happened again. I was wrapping up my two-day conference teaching play therapists all about Synergetic Play Therapy, and I cried. I cry almost every time. The tears seem to […]
The Most Important Toy in the Playroom
This is such an important question because the field has overemphasized the child’s process and has not emphasized the therapist’s process enough or the roll the therapist plays in the […]
In the Eye of the Tornado: Finding the Blessing in Chaos
“When I sink into the tornado and allow myself to just spin and swirl, somehow I find the eye and soon the sun comes out.” Have you ever felt like […]
Breaking Out of the “Shoulds”
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S I once worked with a nine-year-old client named Joey*. He really struggled in school. He had a very focused interest on one thing/task, and everything […]
Paradigm Shift: New Way of Thinking About A Child’s Moods
In this“ Aware on the Air” Podcast Erin Tanner Jospe interviews Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S, about Synergetic Play Therapy® and new ways of thinking about a child’s moods based on […]
Are You Missing Something in Your Sandbox?
While not for every client or therapist, sand can calls to us and draws us in. Something about it seems to grab us and touch the depths of us. Whether […]
Attunement: Two Hands as One
In Zen Shiatsu, a form of body work based on energy meridians in the body, the practitioner uses two hands on the client’s body: one hand, which holds the original […]
How To Use the Bop Bags in the Play Therapy Playroom
Some play therapists believe bop bags promote aggression in children, while others believe they’re an essential toy in the playroom that allows the child to express himself fully and thus encourages […]