4-Week Child Centered Play Therapy
This is the first training in a 3-part series for therapists interested in diving more deeply into play therapy or refreshing their skills in community. Each training is a stand-alone or can be taken as a bundle. More information here: https://www.sfbayplaytherapy.com/play-therapy-trainings.html
Meeting dates: 4 Tuesdays Nov 24 - Dec 15
Child-centered play therapy is more than a set of skills — it is a way of being with children that communicates safety, acceptance, trust, and deep respect for the child’s inner world.
This 4-week training is designed to help clinicians understand and practice the core attitudes and skills of child-centered play therapy. Whether you are new to CCPT or returning for a refresher, this training will help you feel more grounded, intentional, and confident in the playroom.
Together, we will explore how to structure sessions, respond empathically, enter the child’s imaginative world, set therapeutic limits, and bring the skills together in a way that supports emotional expression, self-direction, self-regulation, and healing.
This training includes teaching, demonstration, discussion, and experiential practice so participants can begin integrating the skills into their clinical work right away.
Weekly Focus
Week 1 —: Theory and Core Skills 1 & 2
Structuring and Empathic Listening
Participants will be introduced to the foundational theory and attitudes of child-centered play therapy. We will focus on how to structure the play therapy relationship and how to use empathic listening to communicate understanding, acceptance, and emotional safety.
Week 2 —: Core Skill 3
Imaginative Role Play
Participants will explore how to respond when children invite the therapist into pretend play, fantasy, symbolic roles, and emotionally meaningful play themes. This week focuses on staying child-centered while participating in the child’s world with attunement and intention.
Week 3 —: Core Skill 4
Limit Setting
Participants will learn how to set limits in a way that protects the child, the therapist, and the therapeutic relationship while still honoring the child’s feelings and needs. We will focus on clear, calm, therapeutic limit-setting that supports self-regulation and emotional growth.
Week 4 —: Putting It All Together
Deepening Practice and Special Considerations
Participants will integrate the core CCPT skills and explore how to deepen clinical presence, track therapeutic themes, respond to challenging moments, and consider adaptations or special considerations that arise in real play therapy work.