Treating Attachment Wounds: An Integrative Play Therapy Approach
Play therapists are often at loss when treating attachment wounds and managing dissociative symptoms. We will take a prescriptive approach to play therapy treatment of attachment wounds, using neurosequential thinking and dyadic play therapy techniques and attachment-focused modalities to support gradual change for the child with a fractured sense of self.
Involving the family/caregivers in these attachment focused play therapy activities will increase their ability to mentalize for the child and allow for improved relationships at home, school and in the community. We will also focus on developing an in-depth case formulation and treatment plan and apply Child-Centered, Gestalt and other play therapy approaches within a prescriptive framework based on the current literature on polyvagal theory, developmental trauma and attachment and discuss the complications therapists may encounter in incorporating trauma approaches such as trauma narratives, EMDR or TF-CBT to heal “attachment trauma.”
Learning Objectives: After successful completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Utilize animal archetypes to identify 8 adaptation strategies children use to cope with complex trauma and explore ways to employ these in the playroom.
- Analyze themes of play to amplify and suggest metaphors for gradually approaching traumatic material as a way of assessing the attachment and pre-verbal trauma targets/
- Describe a play-based storytelling method within a play therapy context to heal attachment wounds and preverbal traumas.
3 APT Non-Contact CE | Intermediate| Play Therapy Seminal or Historically Significant Theories, Play Therapy Skills and Methods, Play Therapy Special Topics
About our presenter: Ann Beckley-Forest, LCSW, RPT-S™ is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice in Buffalo, New York, USA. Her specialties include using play therapy and trauma therapy for attachment wounds and child and adolescent trauma. She is an APT Registered Play Therapy Supervisor and Approved Provider of continuing education. Her primary interest is in the intersection of play therapy and EMDR and has published on this topic including as co-editor of EMDR with Children in the Play Therapy Room: An Integrated Approach.
NEAPT Members $50; Guests $60
VIRTUAL: This will be a virtual meeting. NEAPT requests that video cameras be on and participants be visible throughout the presentation to facilitate engagement. Participants will be awarded APT Non-Contact CE upon successful completion of a post test.
NEAPT is approved by the Association for Play Therapy to offer continuing education specific to Play Therapy. APT Approved Provider 02-123. NEAPT maintains responsibility for the program.
Cancellation Policy: All cancellations must be requested in writing and received no later than March 6, 2026. Cancellations are subject to a $15 processing fee. Substitutions (someone else attending) or transfer of registration to another training date may be requested. No refunds or partial refunds after March 6, 2026.
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