Understanding Traumatized Children And Applying PT Tools (Two Day)

$440.00

Training Dates: June 11 * June 12, 2026

Overview:

Many children and adolescents are referred for therapy because they have experienced a traumatic event or a series of events. This workshop will define the various types of trauma including complex trauma and other disorders that may be trauma-based. It will provide an overview of trauma symptoms across the lifespan emphasizing the types of post-traumatic play seen in the playroom, a framework for assessing the symptoms of trauma as experienced by young, school
aged including and adolescent clients and their families using a variety of play based, standardized and non-standardized measures will be explored.

The instructor will identify a theoretical perspective that determines the current stage of treatment so that the therapist can make informed decisions about what to address with a traumatized child and his/her family, when it should be addressed, and why.

This course incorporates a culturally sensitive perspective given the culturally diverse populations seen in clinical practice with an emphasis on working with Canada’s Indigenous children, youth and families.

This workshop provides an overview of treatment for traumatized children and adolescents. It includes an in depth exploration of at the various types of play that traumatized children engage in, trans-theoretical stages of trauma therapy and at exposure; one of the essential elements of trauma therapy. It will highlight evidence based models such trauma-focused cognitive behaviour therapy (Cohen, Mannarino & Deblinger) for type one traumas, the Attachment, Self Regulation and Competency model (Blaustein & Kinnibergh) for complex trauma and how they can be adapted to play therapy.

There are other emerging models that have a developing evidence base will also be explored.

  • Day One: Physical & Emotional Abuse
  • Day Two: Sexual Abuse

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  1. Describe
    • Characteristics of trauma reactions and symptoms across the developmental life span and trauma related presentations such as reactive attachment, disinhibited social engagement, acute stress and post traumatic stress and trauma related anxiety, depression attention difficulties and oppositional behaviours and so-called borderline traits.
    • Types of complex trauma including multiple exposures to one type, exposures to different types of traumas, paediatric medical traumatic stress, childhood traumatic grief , concurrent substance and trauma as well developmental trauma disorder.
  2. Incorporate play-based, standardized and non-standardized trauma assessment approaches.
  3. Determine the stage of treatment (stabilization, reprocessing, reprocessing) in order to apply the most effective interventions.
  4. Distinguish the many roles of play and different types of play associated with trauma such as stagnant post-traumatic play and dynamic post-traumatic play in children and adolescents.

Course Instructor: Stephanie Rubenstein