When You’re Feeling Stuck
The other thing I know with certainty is that the very thing I’m afraid of is precisely the direction I need to go. My brain likes to tell me otherwise or [...]
Exploring Neurobiological Links Between Synergetic Play Therapy & Art Psychotherapy
This post is something I am very passionate about. I’ve noticed that both art and play therapy leave people thinking what is that, how does that work? So, I thought I [...]
Making New Memories: Every Moment Is A New Encounter
It can be so easy to assume we’ve seen or experienced something simply because it’s familiar. And yet each encounter is never the same - you are not the same, [...]
How to Truly Practice Self Care
This is such a good reminder for all of us!… We know that self-care is really important. We tend to think of it as perhaps having a cup of tea, [...]
Resources and Links to Advance Your Practice
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S It may not come as surprise that the most requested topics people asked me to talk about last year was why regulation doesn’t mean “calm” and how [...]
An Examination of Child-Centered Play Therapy & Synergetic Play Therapy
By Bethany J. Townsend, Ph.D., Lindsay Ishman, Lisa Dion & Kara L. Carnes-Holt Original Manuscript: To read the author's original manuscript (pdf version) for free, please click here. Abstract: Child-Centered Play Therapy [...]
Spring Cleaning Your Playroom: Don’t Throw Away the Broken
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S Spring (or even Fall if you reside in a country in the Southern hemisphere 😉) comes with many things - longer days, warmer weather, blooming trees and [...]
When a Child’s Nervous System is in Collapse Response / SHUT DOWN
By Heather Fairlee Denbrough, LiCSW, RPT-S, Certified Synergetic Play Therapist Collapse (also called “hypo-arousal”) is a response like fight-or-flight, but we shut down instead of jump into action. It is a survival response [...]
Neuroception of Safety: Not Always What We Think
By Lisa Dion, LPC, RPT-S Creating a neuroception of safety inside the playroom is something that we, as therapists, strive to do. But what, exactly, does this mean? Does it mean knowing [...]
Let’s Not Forget “The Perfect Child”
Have you ever noticed that the children who tend to make their way to your office are the ones that are acting out, aggressive, non-compliant, and anxious? And then sprinkled in, [...]