LEVELING UP PLAY THERAPY: MAPPING THE INNER LANDSCAPE THROUGH GAMING

About this training

Nov 13 Leveling Up Play Therapy: Mapping the Inner Landscape Through Gaming Play therapists assess and support psychological challenges through the healing power of play. As children increasingly inhabit digital worlds, video games and virtual platforms have become core spaces where identity, creativity, and relationships take shape. This training invites play therapists to bridge foundational play therapy concepts, including symbolism, metaphor, and the Therapeutic Powers of Play, into the digital environments where today’s clients naturally play, express themselves, and connect with others. Play therapists will explore how avatars can function as extensions of self and others, offering rich insight into identity development, social connection, and the projective processes that emerge in digital play. The training will examine the significance of video game genres, player styles, and digital choices in play therapy treatment. Through didactic exploration, experiential activities, and discussion, play therapists will obtain practical strategies for incorporating video games into play therapy when clients bring them into the therapeutic space and deepen their understanding of how the same game can be played in profoundly different ways by different children, revealing individualized themes, needs, and internal experiences. Play therapists will deepen their understanding of digital play as a meaningful play therapy space and enhance skills in interpreting digital play, integrating video games therapeutically within play therapy, and meeting children where they are within the dynamic and culturally relevant worlds they inhabit. WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES Analyze therapeutic themes, symbolic expressions, and projective elements that arise in children’s video game play to inform play therapy case conceptualization and clinical decision-making. Demonstrate developmentally sensitive and ethically sound methods for incorporating video game content into play therapy sessions when introduced by clients. Evaluate variations in children’s digital play behaviors, including avatar creation, genre engagement, and in-game choices, to enhance accuracy in assessment and play therapy treatment planning.