The 7th Annual Innovative Child Therapy Symposium
From June 1 - June 5
JOIN US FOR THE 7TH ANNUAL INNOVATIVE CHILD THERAPY SYMPOSIUM!
Join thousands of child therapists, play therapists, school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and mental health professionals for a week of learning, connection, and inspiration.
Over five days, you'll learn practical strategies, creative interventions, and innovative approaches from leading experts in play therapy, EMDR, sandtray therapy, attachment, grief, nervous system regulation, and child mental health.
Whether you're looking for fresh ideas, deeper understanding, or renewed inspiration, you'll find sessions designed to support your work with children, adolescents, and families.
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
Dr. Karen Fried
Honoring Resistance: An Oaklander Approach to Safety, Contact, and Sense of Self
Grief and Loss: Recognizing and Supporting the Many Ways Children Experience Loss
❤️ MONDAY
Children experience grief in countless ways. On Monday, we'll explore developmental grief, adoption and foster care loss, family grief, and creative ways to help children process difficult experiences.
• Liliana Baylon
The Hidden Grief of Children Living Between Two Worlds
• Andrea Greer
Garden of Grief: A Playful Metaphor to Support Children Through Traumatic Grief
• Jackie Flynn
Developmental Grief in Practice: Recognizing How Children Revisit Loss Across Time
• Niesia Garza
Navigating Family Grief with Parents and Siblings
• Theresa Fraser
Adoption Grief, Loss, Loyalty, and Identity
• Jeanette Yoffe
Healing Grief in Foster Care Adoption
Upgrade to the Therapist Extraordinaire Pass for lifetime access to every Monday presentation, the Grief and Loss Companion Notebook, bonus integration resources, and the ability to revisit the material whenever you need it.
Continue Learning Beyond the Event
Attachment and Connection: Helping Children Feel Safe Enough to Relate
💙 TUESDAY
Connection is at the heart of healing. Tuesday focuses on attachment, relationships, belonging, and helping children feel safe enough to engage, connect, and thrive.
• Jackie Flynn
Held or Alone: Helping Children Feel Safe Enough to Connect
• Joanna Piekarski
Using Puppetry to Foster Connection, Safety, and Therapeutic Engagement
• Waldo Winborn
From Disconnection to Connection: Supporting Parents in Understanding Attachment Patterns
• Dee Schattenreich HandLordz
Using Magic Cards in Child Therapy to Build Connection and Curiosity
• Alisha Denham and Catherine Denham
A Place at the Table: Creating Pride, Connection, and Shared Meaning
• Erica Curtis
Using Art with Families to Build Connection
• Dr. Janet Courtney and Merab Akinyi
Nurturing Safety for Infants and Toddlers with FirstPlay® Therapy
• Sabra Starnes
Supporting Adoptive and Transracial Families
• Dr. Stephen Vinson
Sports Based Play Therapy: Engaging Kids Through Movement, Play, and Connection
• Mandy Jones-Fischer
Fathers at Play: Building Attachment Through Movement, Rhythm, and Presence
Upgrade to the Therapist Extraordinaire Pass for lifetime access to every Tuesday presentation, the Play Heals Attachment Companion Notebook, bonus integration resources, and the ability to revisit the material whenever you need it.
Continue Learning Beyond the Event
Beyond Words: Expression Through Symbol, Sensation, Sound, and Movement
💛 WEDNESDAY
Some experiences are difficult to put into words. Wednesday explores sandtray therapy, expressive arts, stories, symbols, movement, and creative ways children communicate their inner worlds.
• Maria Diego
3 Ways to Use Superheroes to Build Inner Resources in Child Therapy
• Jessica Crunkleton
Cultural Humility in Sandtray: Trauma Work with Children and Families
• Claudia Ocampo
The Language of the Soul: SoulCollage® for Insight, Integration and Inner Wisdom
• Marshall Lyles
Playing with Meaning: Symbols and Story in Therapy
• Dr. Julia Knach
Staying with Sensation in Sandtray When Trauma Lives in the Body
• Jared Andes
When Silence Feels Safer Than Words: Helping Children with Selective Mutism Through Play
• Dr. Robert Jason Grant
What Child Therapists Need to Know About Alexithymia
• Jocelyn Fitzgerald
Bilateral Drawing: Supporting Integration Without Overwhelm
• Clara Magallanes
Bibliotherapy with Children: How Stories Help Kids Make Sense of Their World
• Alisha Denham and Catherine Denham
One Miniature, Many Meanings: How Each Person Brings Their Own Story
• Danyale Weems
3 Ways Trauma Appears in the Sandtray
• Dr. KatySue Tillman
Introducing the Telehealth Sand Therapy Kit
• Kim Harrington-Delgado
Voices in the Sand: Using Assigned Identities Cards and Sandtray to Help Children and Adolescents Write Their Stories
Upgrade to the Therapist Extraordinaire Pass for lifetime access to every Wednesday presentation, the Beyond Words Companion Notebook, bonus integration resources, and the ability to revisit the material whenever you need it.
Continue Learning Beyond the Event
The Therapist in the Work: Presence, Practice, and the Person Behind the Role
🤍 THURSDAY
Thursday is devoted to the therapist. Explore ethics, supervision, professional growth, business development, creativity, advocacy, and the realities of sustaining meaningful work over time.
• Lisa Dion
On the Way, Not in the Way: Navigating Business Struggles as a Child Therapist with Big Plans
• Dr. Rachel Altvater
3 Things That Matter Most in Child Therapy
• Nidhi Kirpalani and Beth Moore
The Creative Therapist: Reigniting Play, Imagination, and Connection
• Melissa Winterscheid and NanDee Walker
When Ethics Get Complicated: Burnout, Self Care, and Advocacy in Child Therapy
• Sydney Pimentel-Rushing
Setting Up a Therapeutic Playroom
• Tammi Van Hollander
Connection Through Play and Sandtray Therapy
• Dr. Rosalind Heiko
On Becoming a Registered Sand Therapist: Standards, Ethics, and Excellence
• Ann Meehan
Why Your Supervisees Are Getting Stuck in Play Therapy and How to Help Them Move Forward With Confidence
• Kailey Mahan
Three Things Therapists Need to Know About AI Right Now
• Dr. Kristin Wallace
What to Do When Your Records Are Subpoenaed
• Dr. Erica Tatum-Sheade
The GEMS Group: When What's Needed Doesn't Exist Yet
• Jen Sims
3 Ways to Help Parents Understand What Is Happening in the Playroom
• Sara Schreiber
3 Ways to Manage Safety Concerns in Teen Group Therapy
Upgrade to the Therapist Extraordinaire Pass for lifetime access to every Thursday presentation, the Play Documents Change Companion Notebook, bonus integration resources, and the ability to revisit the material whenever you need it.
Continue Learning Beyond the Event
From Survival to Safety: Working with Risk, Regulation, and Complex Presentations
💜 FRIDAY
Friday focuses on some of the most important and challenging aspects of clinical work, including nervous system regulation, safety, suicide prevention, trauma, identity, and supporting families through difficult circumstances.
• Dr. Paris Goodyear-Brown
When the Family is on Fire: How Do We Meet Big Behaviors Without Fanning the Flames?
• Dr. Jonathan Singer
Creative Approaches to Youth Suicide Prevention
• Dr. Kade Sharp
Creating Safety in Adolescent Identity, Sexuality, and Development
• Maria Arias
It's Not Just the Child: 3 Ways to Resource Parents for Deeper Regulation and Connection
• Dr. Laura Chackes
3 Things Every Therapist Needs to Know About Skin Picking, Hair Pulling, and Other BFRBs
• Katie Miller
Using Movement to Help Kids Work Through Hard Things
• Darlene Brace
Listening to the Body: 3 Playful Ways to Support Somatic Work with Kids and Teens
• Jackie Flynn
Using Play to Support Nervous System Regulation
• Elizabeth Ernest
Perform Under Pressure: CBT Tools for Athletes with Anxiety
• Joyce Wilkerson
Supporting Trauma Work Through Play and Compassionate Presence with Parents and Children
• Jodie Keeso
Navigating Sexualized Behavior in the Playroom: Understanding, Red Flags, and Compassionate Care
• Katie May
Beyond Safety Plans: Creating Real Safety with High Risk Teens
• Laurie Belanger
Inner Feels: Understanding Interoception in Trauma Work with Children
• Dr. Tanya Defferary
When Relational Wounds Show Up in Sandtray: Holding Generational Stories Safely
• Heather Denbrough
Supporting Parents in the Work of Breaking Cycles
Upgrade to the Therapist Extraordinaire Pass for lifetime access to every Friday presentation, the From Survival to Safety Companion Notebook, bonus integration resources, and the ability to revisit the material whenever you need it.
Continue Learning Beyond the Event
CLOSING PLENARY
Dr. David Crenshaw and Dr. Lisa Shadburn
What We Carry Forward
LIFETIME ACCESS TO THE ENTIRE SYMPOSIUM
The free symposium provides access during the event week. If you'd like to revisit the presentations, download the companion resources, and learn at your own pace, you can upgrade at any time.
The Therapist Extraordinaire Pass Includes:
• Lifetime access to every symposium presentation
• More than 50 expert-led sessions
• All companion notebooks
• 20 downloadable bonus resources
• Bonus integration materials
• Closing plenary access
• Live Symposium Community Collective
• The ability to revisit the material whenever you need it