Engaging Teens Creatively with Play Therapy v1.0

Therapy with teens involves adaptive techniques to address various presenting symptoms while considering an adolescent’s developmental level and establishing strong rapport. Engaging Teens Creatively with Play Therapy is an informational and experiential training that provides therapists the opportunity to gain skills for the therapy room when working with adolescent clients. The training provides therapists various considerations to assess a teen’s readiness for therapy and levels of parent involvement. Creative interventions, a focus on client’s strengths, and integrating the therapist’s modalities will be explored to generate new approaches for the therapy room when working with this population. Therapists will identify complications they have experienced in working with teens that may be impacting the therapeutic relationship. Participants will we be taught creative interventions for building rapport, addressing self- esteem, approaching social relationships, and exploring negative cognitions.

Learning Objectives:

1. Assess a teen’s readiness for therapy and levels of parent involvement.
2. Identify considerations for the therapeutic relationship.
3. Explain how to approach resistance with teens in therapy.
4. Apply 2 Sandtray Therapy interventions to a personal professional experience.
5. Select 3 play therapy creative interventions to adapt for teens.
6. Demonstrate 2 creative interventions and provide small group experiential practices.

Presenter:

Cristina Alvarez, LPC, EMDR Trained, Internationally Credentialed Sandtray Therapist

Cristina Alvarez joined the Center for Counseling and Family Relationships in 2018. She earned her Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Cristina became Licensed as a Professional Counselor in 2018. Cristina is EMDR Trained and is an Internationally Credentialed Sandtray Therapist. Her background includes counseling in a private university setting where she helped college students cope and adapt with life transitions and as a crisis counselor for children in schools.