Play is Therapy (When Grounded in Theory)

Course Description:

What makes play therapy more than “just” play? This course will explore the theoretical roots of how play can be therapeutic for a wide range of child, adolescent, and even adult clients. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the earliest developers and historically significant theories of play therapy. Through video, discussions, and didactic presentation, the presenter will help participants begin their journey into play therapy from a foundational perspective. Finally, participants will have an opportunity to explore what theories best fits their clinical orientation.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Name at least two significant figures in the history of play
• Identify at least four therapeutic powers of play in order to evaluate play therapy models.
• Briefly describe the ten seminal and historically significant play therapy approaches recognized by the Association for Play
• Identify two play therapy theories to explore further for future integrative

Course Agenda:

10 minutes	Introductions and agenda review
1 hour	History and origins of play therapy
30 minutes	Foundational play therapy concepts
10 minutes	Break
1 hour	Play therapy theories and approaches
30 minutes	Grounding play therapy practice in theory
10 minutes	Ǫuestions and closing

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. M. (1969). Play therapy (Vol. 125). Ballantine Books.

Brody, V. A. (1997). Dialogue of touch: Developmental play therapy. Jason Aronson, Incorporated.

Byrd, R., Lorelle, S., & Donald, E. (2021). Transgender and gender-expansive affirming child-centered play therapy. International Journal of Play Therapy, 30(2), 146.

Chung, R. K., Ray, D. C., Aguilar, E. V., & Turner, K. K. (2023). The multicultural play therapy room: Intentional decision making in selecting play therapy toys and materials. International Journal of Play Therapy, 32(4), 197.

Coleman, D. (2007). Further factorial validity of a scale of therapist theoretical orientation. Research on Social Work Practice, 17(4), 474-481.

Drewes, A. A. (2011). Integrating play therapy theories into practice. Integrative play therapy, 21-35.

Gardner, K., & Yasenik, L. (2012). Play therapy dimensions model: A decision-making guide for integrative play therapists. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Gil, E. (2012). Trauma-focused integrated play therapy (TF-IPT). Handbook of child sexual abuse: Identification, assessment, and treatment, 251-278.

Grant, R. J. (2023). Play Interventions for Neurodivergent Children and Adolescents: Promoting Growth, Empowerment, and Affirming Practices. Taylor & Francis.

Green, E. J., & Drewes, A. A. (Eds.). (2013). Integrating expressive arts and play therapy with children and adolescents. John Wiley & Sons.

Hartwig, E. K. (2020). Solution-focused play therapy: A strengths-based clinical approach to play therapy. Routledge.

Homeyer, L. E., & DeFrance, E. M. I. L. Y. (2005). Play therapy. Expressive therapies, 141-161.

Klein, M. (1952). The origins of transference. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 33(4), 433-438.

Koukourikos, K., Tsaloglidou, A., Tzeha, L., Iliadis, C., Frantzana, A., Katsimbeli, A., & Kourkouta, L. (2021). An Overview of Play Therapy. Materia socio-medica, 33(4), 293–297. https://doi.org/10.5455/msm.2021.33.293-297

Landreth, G. L. (2012). Play therapy: The art of the relationship. Routledge. Malchiodi, C. A. (Ed.). (2013). Expressive therapies. Guilford Publications.

Mitchell, R. R., & Friedman, H. S. (1992). Sandplay: Overview of the first sixty years.

Journal of Sandplay Therapy, 1(2), 27-38.

Moss, L., & Hamlet, H. S. (2020). An introduction to child-centered play therapy. Person Cent J, 25, 91-103.

Munder Ross, J. (2007). Trauma and abuse in the case of Little Hans: A contemporary perspective. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 55(3), 779-797.

Nash, J. B. (2023). Nature-based Play Therapy: A Prescriptive Approach to Integrating the Therapeutic Powers of Nature and Play. Taylor & Francis.

Rudan, D. (2013). On play and playing. Collegium antropologicum, 37(4), 1385-1391.

Schaefer, C. E., & Drewes, A. A. (2009). The therapeutic powers of play and play therapy. Blending play therapy with cognitive behavioral therapy: Evidence-based and other effective treatments and techniques, 3-15.

Schaefer, C. E. (Ed.). (2011). Foundations of play therapy. John Wiley & Sons.

Schaefer, C. E., & Drewes, A. A. (2013). The therapeutic powers of play: 20 core agents of change. John Wiley & Sons.

Schaefer, C. E., & Drewes, A. A. (2015). Prescriptive play therapy. Handbook of play therapy, 227-240.

Stone, J. (2021). Digital play therapy: A clinician’s guide to comfort and competence.

Routledge.

VanFleet, R., & Faa-Thompson, T. (2010). The case for using animal assisted play therapy. British journal of play therapy, 6, 4-18.

Warner, E., Finn, H., Westcott, A., & Cook, A. (2020). Transforming trauma in children and adolescents: An embodied approach to somatic regulation, trauma processing, and attachment-building. North Atlantic Books.