Trauma isn’t just stored in memory, it lives in the body and nervous system.
Whether you’re working with children, teens, or adults, talk therapy often isn’t enough. That’s where mindful, experiential approaches ike play therapy can quietly shift the work from coping into healing.
This workshop explores trauma through the lifespan, helping you better understand how early experiences shape development and how that understanding empowers clients of all ages to move forward. You’ll gain insight into what’s happening neurologically and emotionally at different stages and how to tailor your approach to meet those needs with warmth, clinical skill, and creativity.
We’ll also explore how directive play therapy techniques can help older children and teens express what's beneath the surface, and how playful, right-brained tools like drawing, sand tray, and therapeutic card decks can support adult clients without ever feeling childish or out of place.
These techniques are grounded in neuroscience and offered with intention, so you can use them confidently in real-life sessions.
☀️ Finally understand the “why.” You will connect the dots between what you see in sessions and what is happening in the nervous system and developmental process beneath the surface.
☀️ Learn what to do next. When clients shut down, get stuck, or cannot find the words, you will have clear, trauma-informed steps to help them safely re-engage.
☀️ Experience tools that make theory come alive. Even though this is primarily lecture style, you will also try a few short creative and mindful exercises to feel what your clients might feel, so you can use them with confidence.
☀️ Discover how to make play therapy fit any age. Explore how directive play-based tools can help teens and adults access the deeper layers of their story without ever feeling childish.
☀️. Leave inspired and equipped. Walk away with insight, tangible techniques, and a renewed sense of curiosity for the work you already do so well.
Friday, January 9, 2026 | 9:30–2:00 PM EST
(Hybrid event) $125
👩🏻💻 Virtual: 3 Non-Contact CE (NBCC & APT)
🏫 In Person: Loudoun Co: 3 Contact CE (NBCC & APT)
Family Therapy Center of NOVA
19420 Golf Vista Plaza #330
Lansdowne, VA 20176
Learning Objectives:
After attending this training, participants will be able to:
🍎 Explain core trauma concepts through the lens of child, teen, and adult development, using a whole-brain and nervous system framework.
🍎 Describe how trauma disrupts regulation and attachment, and how play therapy supports repair at every age.
🍎 Recognize signs of dysregulation across the lifespan, and implement attuned, grounded interventions in the moment.
🍎 Implement mindful presence and experiential tools to strengthen safety and connection in therapy with teens and adults.
🍎 Introduce directive play therapy techniques for older children and adolescents with clinical clarity.
🍎 Confidently implement creative methods like drawing, therapeutic cards, and sand tray, knowing how and when to integrate them in trauma work with clients of any age.
This training is designed for therapists working with older children, teens, or adults in outpatient, school-based, or private practice settings. It’s a good fit if you:
☀️ Want to use play therapy beyond early childhood
☀️ Are curious about creative, non-verbal tools for trauma that respect clients' maturity and intelligence (even if you're not a play therapist).
☀️ Work with clients who shut down, intellectualize, or struggle to stay regulated.
☀️ Want to apply brain-based and body-informed techniques with confidence.
Whether you're a play therapist looking to expand your reach, or an adult-focused clinician wanting to understand the impact of childhood trauma on your teen and adult population, this creative tools training is for you.
Agenda (Eastern Time)
9:30 Attachment Overview
10:00 Brain Hemisphere and Function Overview
11:00 Where the Nervous System Fits Into it all
12:30 Experiential Practice & Collaboration
2:00 See You Next Time!
(two fifteen minute breaks)