Pink Stream: Master Classes

Intensive Specialized Continuing Education for Advancing Play Therapy Practice

Master classes are short training opportunities focussed on increasing play therapy practice, theory, and skills. The Master Classes are intended to increase the efficacy of play therapy and promote a sense of community and collaboration between play therapy practitioners.

The classes range between 1- 3 hours in length per session and are offered as a short series of related topics or individual classes that can be chosen based on practitioner interest and need. The classes are intended for both play therapy clinicians and play therapy supervisors. These interactive classes are all on-line live and participants are sent material in advance of the class for review and reflection.

To access program dates see the 2024 training calendar

Deepen your Understanding of Adlerian Play Therapy Theory and Practice
with Dr. Terry Kottman

Adlerian Play Therapy
In Adlerian play therapy, therapists use the concepts of Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology to conceptualize children and their parents and teachers, while using toys, art, and metacommunication to connect with them. The process of co-creating a relationship with the child allows therapists to communicate (mostly through metaphor, but sometimes through direct verbal interaction) in a way that facilitates exploration of the child's patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

Learn Adlerian Principles through Experiential Play
In this fun, experiential workshop, you will learn skills and techniques for establishing relationships with clients, exploring clients; life-styles, helping clients gain insight into their lifestyles, and reorienting and reeducating clients. Terry Kottman, the "inventor" of Adlerian play therapy, will help you deepen your understanding of Adlerian conceptualization of children and the significant adults in their lives and support you learning how to develop treatment plans based on that conceptualization. Through lecture, demonstration, and group discussion we will look at goals of misbehavior, Crucial Cs, personality priorities, temperament, attachment, culture, life tasks, lifestyle convictions, mistaken beliefs, and private logic-both as tools for understanding play therapy clients and as foundations for play therapy treatment planning and intervention. We will explore structured play therapy activities; art techniques; adventure therapy experiences; metaphor design and storytelling, and dance, movement, and music activities for working with child clients and the important adults in their lives.

Dates: November 14-16, 2024
Location: Canmore, AB
Cost: $1350. CAD + GST

Register Here 

Master Class: Advanced Supervision for Play Therapy Supervisors: The Reflective Practitioner

This 6-hour Master Class is for Play Therapy Supervisors seeking to grow, take risks, and foster a passionate supervisory experience. This class focuses on the Supervisor “self” and identifies a series of “points of reflection”. Play therapy Supervisors are asked to bring “a notable incident” to the course. A notable incident is any experience a Supervisor regards as noteworthy: an unexpected reaction or a surprising occurrence. Supervisors will have the opportunity to work with one another via experiential activities. Come and explore ways to challenge yourself as a Supervisor.

~ 6 hours offered in one day or over two sessions – check the training calendar for dates

View the 2024 training calendar

Enter the Metaphorical Journey: Inquiry Skills for Play Therapists

This training program will:

  • Help you to “stay out of the way” of interpretation
  • Show you ways to examine scenes or product with your clients while remaining in the metaphor
  • Explore working with various metaphors represented in art, clay, sand and other materials

This 6-hour master class is for Play Therapy practitioners who use expressive arts, projective activities and sandplay with their clients and introduces play therapists to an array of questions that may be utilized when engaging with children, youth and adults during an exploration phase of an expressive-based activity. Through the inquiry skills training, therapists will be encouraged to “stay out of the way” of interpretation and instead assist the client to explore their scene or product while remaining in the metaphor.  Cost: $325 +GST

The details (pdf)

Research into Practice

Would you love to keep up with Play Therapy Research but have no time?
Do you have hundreds of Play Therapy Books on your shelves, but no time to read?
Do you want to integrate play therapy theory into parent feedback and report writing?
Would you like to remain on the cutting edge in your Play Therapy Practice?
No problem… this series is for you!

Research into Practice is a 6 -session drop-in live on-line group you can join from anywhere! It occurs on a Wednesday evening approximately once a month. One week prior to the meeting you will be sent a play therapy research paper or a book chapter to read. Dr. Lorri Yasenik will facilitate a group discussion where everyone can weigh in and discuss the applications to daily practice. One hour Continuing Education sessions, join one or join them all!  Sessions run from March 2024 to December 2024. Check the training calendar for dates.

Objectives

  • List ways in which research and practice collide
  • Compare ways of conceptualizing culture
  • Describe ethical considerations when applying research about Transgender children into practice
  • Discuss and analyze themes in play
  • Describe 4 core considerations when working with gender diverse children and youth

Cost: $90 CAD+GST/ session, or join all 6 sessions for the cost of 5 ($450 CAD + GST)

APT, CAPT, and BCPTA Continuing Education Credits will only be awarded to Mental Health Professionals. All Credits must be approved by the appropriate governing body, and can not be guaranteed by RMPTI.

Program Information (pdf)
2024 Training Calendar

Advanced Sandplay Course
Sandscenes Through the Looking Glass: A Sandplay Journey Using Case Studies for Play Therapists

During the “Through the Looking Glass” series, participants will study emerging imagery in the sandtray, and how to track, respond to and record metaphors and themes.

The course will review 4 cases:  1) Three and a half-year-old David, 2) Five-year-old Nicholas, 3) Eleven- year-old (almost 12) Qwill and 4) Thirty-Two -year-old Laura. The cases identify different ways of working in sand along an age and stage of development continuum as well as the presentation of different presenting issues.

Program Information