Pre-Requisites
While this training is open to all clinicians, including those with no prior EMDR training, the course will also include discussion of integrating these approaches within the EMDR Therapy Standard Protocol. The theory and skills taught in this course are applicable to clinicians from a variety of therapeutic backgrounds.
Please note that only participants who have completed EMDRIA-Approved Basic EMDR Training will receive the EMDRIA credit.
Training Description
This play therapy training is offered Live In-Person for contact hours and Virtual via Zoom Platform for non-contact hours.
This training explores developmentally appropriate and engaging approaches for working with children experiencing OCD, anxiety, and phobias through the lens of play therapy.
Participants will learn how Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), the gold standard treatment for pediatric OCD, can be adapted through play, storytelling, expressive interventions, metaphor, and therapeutic games to help children face fears, tolerate distress, and reduce compulsive behaviors.
The training will focus on increasing child engagement, emotional regulation, and confidence while maintaining fidelity to evidence-based ERP treatment. Participants will learn practical, developmentally appropriate strategies for integrating play-based interventions into OCD and anxiety treatment.
Participants will also examine the value and limitations of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) when working with OCD and phobias, including how relationship-based interventions may support emotional expression, attachment security, and therapeutic rapport while recognizing when more directive interventions are clinically indicated. Current research regarding play therapy, ERP, and pediatric OCD treatment outcomes will be reviewed alongside practical interventions, case conceptualization strategies, and parent involvement considerations for treating children with OCD and anxiety disorders.