Foundations of CCPT and Filial Therapy
Emily Prusator, LCSW, RPT
Course Description:
Mental health therapists often feel overwhelmed when they begin working with young children who aren’t able to engage in traditional talk therapy models. This course will prepare participants to engage children and their caregivers in two evidence-based models of play therapy. The first day of this training will focus on introducing participants to Child-Centered Play Therapy by reviewing the history, theoretical roots, and key skills. Participants will then have a chance to practice these skills on day two and learn how to integrate caregivers into the play therapy process using Filial Therapy. Throughout both days, the presenter will use clips from a beloved story -
“Where the Wild Things Are” to make the concepts and skills come alive. Participants will have ample opportunity to ask questions, receive feedback, and learn new skills in a supportive environment. This course is specifically designed for therapists beginning their play therapy journey and looking to learn more about the seminal work of Virginia Axline, Gary Landreth, and Bernard and Louise Guerney.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Describe the historical origins two seminal play therapy models - Child-Centered Play Therapy and Filial Therapy,
- Describe Axline’s eight principles of play therapy,
- Explain Landreth’s ten core tenets for relating to children,
- Identify at least ten themes in a child’s play,
- List the four stages of therapy in CCPT,
- Describe the four skills of Child-Centered Play Therapy,
- Identify at least five components of a play therapy room,
- Describe three key concepts about children’s play to caregivers,
- List at least two reasons for engaging a caregiver in sessions,
- Describe at least three reasons to set a limit in play therapy,
- Describe two examples of how to set a limit using the ACT method,
- Demonstrate the five key skills of Filial Therapy
Course Agenda:
| Day One | |
| 10 min | Introductions and agenda review |
| 1 hour | Historical origins of CCPT |
| 30 min | Theoretical roots of CCPT |
| 30 min | Empirical support for CCPT |
| 2 hours | Core tenets of CCPT |
| 2 hours | CCPT therapist skills |
| 5 min | Closing and questions |
| 45 minutes for lunch and 15 minutes for two breaks will be provided. | |
| Day Two | |
| 10 min | Day one review |
| 1 hour | Involving caregivers |
| 1 hour | Origins and overview of filial therapy |
| 1.5 hours | Structuring and limit-setting |
| 1.5 hours | Listening and following |
| 1 hour | Caregiver training and exploring themes |
| 5 min | Closing and questions |
| 45 minutes for lunch and 15 minutes for two breaks will be provided. | |
Instructor Information:
Emily Prusator, MSW, LCSW, RPT
Emily is a licensed clinical social worker in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Human and Organizational Development and Women’s and Gender Studies with a minor in Child Development from Vanderbilt University. Emily earned her Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University with a concentration in Gender Violence Intervention.
Emily has ten years of experience in fundraising, research, and advocacy for survivors of trauma. She has been providing direct, clinical grief and trauma services for children and their families for over seven years in school, community, and office settings. Emily’s earliest clinical work was in providing school-based Trauma-Focused
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to children ages 6-17 years with complex trauma. More recently, her work has centered on providing group and individual services to children and adults who are navigating trauma, loss, and the intersection of both.
Emily has received specialized training in play therapy, including integration of sand therapy, the expressive arts, sensory integration work, and particular assessment methods such as the Extended Play-Based Developmental Assessment. She has been a Registered Play Therapist since 2020. Emily is also certified in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (Level 1) and EMDR to support children, youth, and adults in processing traumatic experiences. She is currently pursuing training and consultation in the model of Sensory Motor Arousal and Regulation Treatment (SMART).
Works Cited:
Axline, V. (1947). Play therapy. New York, NY: Ballantine.
Gittins, D. (2004). The historical construction of childhood. An introduction to childhood studies, 25-38.
Guerney, L. (2001). Child-centered play therapy. International Journal of Play Therapy, 10, 13-31.
Landreth, G. (2002). Play therapy: The art of the relationship (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Landreth, G. L. (2012). Play therapy: The art of the relationship. Routledge.
Landreth, G., & Bratton, S. (2019). Child-parent relationship therapy (CPRT): An evidence-based 10-session filial therapy model (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Lin, Y. W., & Bratton, S. C. (2015). A meta-analytic review of child-centered play therapy approaches. Journal of Counseling and Development, 93, 45-58.
MacNaughton, G., & Smith, K. (2008). 10 Children’s rights in early childhood. An introduction to childhood studies, 161-176.
Moss, L., & Hamlet, H. S. (2020). An introduction to child-centered play therapy. Person Cent J, 25, 91-103.
Parker, M. M., Hunnicutt Hollenbaugh, K. M., & Kelly, C. T. (2021). Exploring the impact of child-centered play therapy for children exhibiting behavioral problems: A
meta-analysis. International Journal of Play Therapy, 30(4), 259.
Ray, D. (2011). Advanced play therapy: Essential conditions, knowledge, and skills for child practice. New York, NY: Routledge.
Ray, D., Armstrong, S., Balkin, R., & Jayne, K. (2015). Child centered play therapy in the schools: Review and meta-analysis. Psychology in the Schools, 52, 107-123.
Ray, D., & Landreth, G. (2015). Child centered play therapy. In D. Crenshaw & A. Stewart (Eds.), Play therapy: A comprehensive guide to theory and practice (pp. 3-16). New York, NY: Guilford.
Rogers, C. (1951). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.
Schaefer, C. E. (Ed.). (2011). Foundations of play therapy. John Wiley & Sons.
Schneider, K. J., Pierson, J. F., & Bugental, J. F. (Eds.). (2014). The handbook of humanistic psychology: Theory, research, and practice. Sage Publications.
VanFleet, R. (2000). A Parent's Handbook of Filial Therapy, 3rd Ed: Building Strong Families with Play. Play Therapy Press.