The Drama of Trauma:

Using Play Therapy to  Support Healing

Date: Friday, October 9, 2026 

Time: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Location: In-Person: Vermont State University  

201 Lawrence Place, Williston, VT 05495

Presenter: Wendy Monahan, MS, RPT-S 

6.5 APT In-Person Contact CE | Intermediate| Play Therapy Skills and Methods- Based on Play Therapy Seminal or Historically Significant Theories, Play Therapy Special Topics

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Registration

Workshop Fee: $200 

Payable to: Play Therapy Associates of Vermont

Email Questions to: Trainingptavt@gmail.com

Click Here to Register Today!

Cancellation Policy: All cancellations must be made within 10 days of registration. Registered participants who provide proper notice (10 days or more) will be credited, minus a 25% workshop fee. Please email us if you have questions or need technical support.

                     ​​​The Drama of Trauma:

        Using Play Therapy to Support Healing
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This Play Therapy workshop focuses on the healing and recovery process following trauma. Participants will learn how play allows clinicians to bear witness to a client’s pain while exploring the neurological impacts of traumatic events, complex trauma, and the therapeutic power of play metaphors.

Together, we will examine the challenges and rewards of trauma-informed play therapy with children and families across various treatment modalities and developmental levels. Key topics include practical strategies for communicating play therapy session progress to families, schools, insurance companies, and other practitioners. Materials and actionable ideas will be provided for individual, group, school, and family play therapy interventions.

Learning Objectives: After successful completion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify the neurological impacts of trauma on children and explain how play therapy metaphors facilitate trauma recovery.

2. Apply play therapy modalities and techniques across individual, group, school, and family settings tailored to different developmental levels.

3. Demonstrate effective strategies for communicating play therapy outcomes and treatment progress to parents, school personnel, insurance providers, and other multidisciplinary professionals.

4. Evaluate the core therapeutic powers of play when bearing witness to client pain and guiding trauma-informed intervention.

5. Assess complex trauma symptoms using play-based diagnostic tools and observation techniques to establish tailored treatment targets.

6. Recognize the impact of conducting play therapy with clients experiencing trauma and design personal self-care and professional peer-supervision practices to prevent vicarious traumatization and burnout when bearing witness to client trauma.