Supervision is not just about oversight or documentation, it’s about nurturing the spirit of play, curiosity, and growth in those we mentor. Yet supervisors often find themselves burdened by administrative demands, clinical pressure, and burnout, losing touch with the very playfulness that makes supervision transformative.

This book club offers something different. Using Stuart Brown’s groundbreaking work Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, we will explore how play is essential not only for the clients we serve but for the clinicians we supervise, and for ourselves as supervisors.

This is not your average training.

Rather than a lecture, this space is a collaborative, supportive gathering of creative clinical supervisors (one need not be a play therapist) who want to deepen their understanding, share wisdom, and rekindle their own resilience through the lens of adult play.

After reading, we will gather together for rich discussion, reflection, and small-group connection (both in-person and virtually). Whether you attend onsite or online, you will experience real conversations and small group collaboratio, not just passive learning.

Supervisors carry the responsibility of shaping the next generation of therapists. This book club invites you to tend to that responsibility with wisdom, creativity, and joy.

About the Book & Author

Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Dr. Stuart Brown blends neuroscience, psychology, and storytelling to illustrate how play is not just a childhood activity, but a lifelong necessity for emotional well-being, creativity, and resilience.

Dr. Brown’s work spans beyond therapy offices: he has consulted with corporations, military leaders, and teams of engineers at places like NASA, helping high-performing adults reconnect with play to prevent burnout and spark innovation.

This book offers a powerful framework for understanding the essential role of play in human development, healing, and supervision. It’s a meaningful read not just for your supervisees, but for you.

Welcome to Book Club!

What a FUN and interactive way to learn. In this hybrid training experience, you will …. 

📕 Purchase the book Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, by Stuart Brown. It is now yours to keep and refer to for guidance.

🏡 Read the book in it's entirety) at home (10 non-contact APT & NBCC CEs)

🍎 Complete required reflective writing prompts to earn your reading CE certificate

(need accommodations? reach out!)

☕️ 1. Join a live group discussion (2 contact CEs) in person Loudoun County, VA (Fri. September 19, 2025 / 9:45-11:45 EST)

-OR-

👩🏻‍💻 2. Join a live group discussion (2 non-contact CEs) via Zoom (Fri. September 19, 2025 /9:45-11:45 EST)

🤓 After completion, receive 12 total NBCC & APT CES

🎓 Discussion certificates are awarded the same day; reading certs follow writing assignment completion

Certificate will Read: "Burnout, Identity & the Power of Adult Play: A Creative Supervision Training for Therapists"

– 10 CE for reading / 2 CE for discussion = 12 total NBCC & APT CE

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, participants will be able to:

Discuss insights with colleagues in real time to explore protective strategies for supervisor burn out.

Identify at least three ways that play supports emotional resilience and professional growth in supervisees.

Describe the impact of play deprivation on therapists’ clinical effectiveness and burnout risk, referencing Stuart Brown’s research.

Analyze their own supervision practices through the lens of play theory, identifying opportunities to strengthen curiosity, flexibility, and resilience.

Develop creative supervision strategies that incorporate play-based principles to promote supervisee well-being, clinical creativity, and post-traumatic growth.

Explore current research on play and it’s impact on resilience

📗 Book Discussion: (have book read before meeting)

Saturday, September 19 | 9:45–11:45 AM EST

Virtual Live Stream CEs (ZOOM)

2 non-contact APT & 2 NBCC CE

-OR-

In Person:

2 Contact APT & NBCC CE 

Loudoun Co, VA

Agenda (Eastern Time) 9:45 -11:45am

9:45-10:45 Discuss Begins! Talk about the assigned reading with one another in an organized fashion

10:45-11:45  Activities to enhance discussion

11:45  Book club is over! Feel free to stay at the coffee shop as long as you want.

Reading BEFORE Class CEs

10 NBCC CE (after writing assignment is submitted)

10 APT non-contact CE (after writing assignment is submitted)

$199 total for 12 possible CEs