Tye Dye History
Tye Dye is an annual retreat event with the intent of delving into important topics related to Play Therapy. The main goal of this group is to forward the practice of Play Therapy in day-to-day practice and to contribute to the play therapy literature. Those trained in any number of theoretical approaches to play therapy are welcome as the program is based on an integrative play therapy approach, and the Play Therapy Dimensions Model, to conceptualizing play therapy practice and decision-making. The Tye Dye study-group is limited to RMPTI alumni.
Group Structure
The Tye Dye study group follows a special format. It is not a series of workshops that people wander in and out of. It is peers presenting to peers and focuses on sharing of interventions, special issues, case examples and theory. It is a time to get together and to discuss topics and create new ideas. It is a time to stay together and to engage in games and fun.
We welcome all alumni for a global study group reunion.
Review of Tye Dye: 1st International Play Therapy Study Group in Canada - November 2016
This was the 1st Annual Tye Dye International Play Therapy Study Group held at the George Town Inn in Canmore Alberta. This annual event is meant to bring play therapists together from around the world to study and play together. The purpose is so that we can deepen our understanding of the many types of play therapy and the substantive issues that overlay on the ways in which we work with children and youth. It is our hope at Rocky Mountain Play Therapy Institute that we could encourage people to contribute back to the literature so there may be publishing opportunities that come from attending the Study Group.
Tye Dye… why the name?
This unique name was suggested by a former Green and Red Stream participant, Bruce Beaudet. The logical connection of the name Tye Dye to RMPTI is to do with the fact that once you finish Green, Red, Yellow and Blue Stream programs… what do you have? Tye Dye! Having a study group in Canada was always a dream for Ken and I, but when we had a group of very dedicated students after Red Stream a year ago who said “What next? We don’t want to leave or stop growing”, we thought, ok, it is time for the Study Group and then … Tye Dye was born!
The Tye Dye study group follows a special format. It is not a series of workshops that people wander in and out of. It is peers presenting to peers and focusses on sharing of interventions, special issues, case examples and theory. It is a time to get together and to discuss topics and create new ideas. It is a time to stay together and to engage in games and fun in the evening.
A Look At Past Tye Dye Study Groups
2025 Featured Topic: Bringing Nature to the Play Therapy Room and the Play Room to Nature
Special Pre-Tye Dye Workshop: An Exploration of Belonging: Nature, Connection & Culture in Play Therapy with Maggie Fearn, Play Therapist from Wales occurred on Friday October 24th. During this one-day open to all play therapists workshop, we were immersed in nature and ways to bring nature into the indoor play space. The weather was amazing and our time with Maggie was priceless. What better place to be but in the mountains in Canmore!
Overview: 10TH ANNUAL TYE DYE INTERNATIONAL PLAY THERAPY STUDY GROUP Celebration Year!
Tye Dye 2025 – October 25 to 27
Three Day Tye Dye International Play Therapy Study Group – Presentations included: A Retrospective 10 years at study group, Nature and the Metaphor of Time, The Magic of Bees in Play Therapy, Spiritual Stones: Honoring the Therapist’s Cultural Use of Self in the Playroom, Babies! Brining Nature to the Playroom, Bringing it Back to the Land: Bridging Indigenous Oriented Focused Therapy and Expressive Arts when Processing Intergenerational Trauma, African Play Therapy: Expressions of Play Through the Natural World, The Nature of Trauma and Yoga in Nature. Many thanks to the nine play therapists who contributed their thoughts and ideas to Tye Dye 2025.
Tye Dye 2025
This was a very big group this year – 28 people attended! We welcomed all our old friends and new ones and met in the new training room. Maggie Fearn joined us and enhanced our experience. We celebrated a history of 10 years of play therapy study group by entering into a visual and musical review and revisited more than 18 songs written by Bruce Beaudet. Bruce was awarded a miniature guitar for being the longest standing Tye Dye member and important contributor to the group. Shari Roth was the runner up – receiving hand-painted pictures for her playroom wall. Shari has faithfully led us through Yoga breaks every year whether she could be in person or joined in on-line.
As this was a significant celebration year, Tye Dye anniversary hoodies were created. We continued our tradition of creating Tye Dye objects and this year it was a T-shirt creation. For those who come regularly to this event, the Tye Dye designs and creations are often related to the topic we study. This year taking home a 10 year Anniversary t-shirt seemed like a good idea.
A new baby member arrived as Shari brought her baby Maya to meet everyone this year! Maya was given her very own baby-sized 10th anniversary Tye Dye hoodie and sweatpants! Maya is a very sweet addition to our group.
And it would not be Tye Dye without a couple of new songs from Bruce Beaudet and this year was no exception! Bruce followed through on his promise of “Just one song” played for us on his new electric guitar. Bruce decided that learning to play the guitar was a goal at the end of last year.
Shari Roth led us in a nature visualization. As usual Shari was amazing and helped us all come to a deep state of relaxation. We are forever grateful she is back with us live!
We went back to the George Town Inn for a wonderful group dinner evening! Colin MacDonald, an East Coaster musician was hired to bring our night to life. The music woke up the energy of our East Coast study group members and the rest of us! It was a blast.
Katharine organized a Spa night out in Kananaskis. Many participants joined in and had a relaxing time. The rest of us went on a short hike and ended up at the Malcolm for beer and dinner!
The food during Tye Dye weekend once again offered a nurturing overall experience of being “cared for”. Katharine Chapman took this task off my hands again this year (year 3) and single handedly provided home-made food for the whole group. Katharine cooks, roasts and bakes. For a third time I can’t believe what she accomplished! There was, homemade soups, curries, salads, yogurt, fresh veggies from the garden, fruit bowls, homemade sourdough breads, different specialty eggs (including Eggs Benny!). She says it’s “easy” but it looks hard to me!
Program Coordinator (Eushabella Lovence) assisted in helping with food and set up for our Tye Dye Activity, which was greatly appreciated by all in attendance. Eushabella is a core part of RMPTI and is an amazing support to students.
The wonderful outcome from 2024 Tye Dye was announced in 2025 as Michelle Smith, Irene Barrett and Lorri Yasenik published an article entitled: Beyond Verbal Disclosure: A Myriad of Ways to Self-Disclose in Play Therapy in the September APT Magazine! Forwarding thoughts to the literature is part of the Tye Dye goal.
We are looking forward to 2026!
Featured Topic: Enacting Therapeutic Stories
Special Workshop: Enacting Therapeutic Stories in Child and Play Therapy: The Role of Drama, Puppetry and Art in Bringing Stories to Life- Presented by Dr. Wendy Froberg (Play Therapist, Actor and Playwright)
Overview: 9TH ANNUAL TYE DYE INTERNATIONAL PLAY THERAPY STUDY GROUP
TYE DYE TOPIC: ENACTING THERAPEUTIC STORIES
Tye Dye 2024 – October 17, 18, & 19, 20, 2024
One Day Workshop – Thursday, October 17, 2024: Enacting Therapeutic Stories in Child and Play Therapy: The Role of Drama, Puppetry and Art in Bringing Stories to Life- Presented by Dr. Wendy Froberg (Play Therapist, Actor and Playwright)
Three Day Tye Dye International Play Therapy Study Group – Presentations included: Miniature Theatres: Inspiration from Shakespearian Quotes, Enacting your Culture of Celebration, Tye Dye Mask-making, Silent Stories in the Sand, Her Story, Our Story, and Stories Supporting Change in the Play Therapy Setting.
Tye Dye 2024
We began a new chapter at the 9th Annual Tye Dye Study Group as we all gathered at RMPTI’s new training institute in Canmore Alberta! It was the inaugural meeting! During the weekend there was a wonderful Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, Prosecco and the Good- wishes Jar to honor our new home and new place to gather as a community. This was all organized by core RMPTI trainers Adriana Sorbo and Michelle Smith. Thanks to both of you for your undying commitment to training and support of others!
We tipped the weekend studies off with a presentation named Enacting Therapeutic Stories in Child and Play Therapy: The Role of Drama, Puppetry and Art in Bringing Stories to Life presented by Playwright, Actor and Play Therapist Dr. Wendy Froberg. Wendy invited participants to partake in numerous experiential activities including: Simple storytelling, creating therapeutic stories, collaborative drawing exercises using story-stems, introduction to “enacting” movement, sounds and miming and brief improv, drama, and enacting drama with shields, superheroes and villains. She introduced the family puppet interview and ended with a guided group enactment “The Journey”. Wendy provided a detailed handout for participants to use in their practices in the future. It was a great experience! Many thanks to Wendy!
And it would not be Tye Dye without a song from Bruce Beaudet and this year was no exception! Bruce wrote The Tye Dye Bunch “sung to the tune of the historical hit TV series The Brady Bunch”! “And that’s the way we all became the Tye Dye Bunch!” ? During Tye Dye this year Bruce announced he was going through many transitional changes. He shared that he bought an electric guitar prior to coming to Tye Dye. Claiming not to be musical, this is a new challenge for Bruce. For 2025 our group offered one challenge to Bruce: Bring your guitar next year and we want “JUST ONE SONG”. He has reluctantly agreed. We didn’t know it, but there are a number of guitar players in the group!
Shari Roth came back in-person to the group this year (Shari has been a constant Tye Dye partipant either in-room or on-line) and led us in a nature visualization. As usual Shari was amazing and helped us all come to a deep state of relaxation. We are forever grateful she is back with us live!
Another participant Irene Barrett returned this year! We are very happy to have Irene back with us. New-comers included Kelly McConnan Wiltshire and Kristen Klassen
We deeply missed a few of our regular participants this year including, Dana Diamond, Mercy Yeboah- Ampadu, Morgan Bissegger, Dionne Sackiw and Heather Forsey (Heather you almost made it back)! A few others were obviously missing – Joni Stride, Leona Corniere, Charlene Bradshaw, Bonny Peng (and many more).
The food was amazing yet again and there was more variation and soul food than we could ever imagine. Katharine Chapman took this task off my hands again this year (year 2) and single handedly provided home-made food for the whole group. In her onesie, late at night, Katharine cooks, roasts and bakes. For a second time I can’t believe what she accomplished! There was, homemade soups, curries, salads, yogurt, fresh veggies from the garden, fruit bowls, homemade sourdough breads, different specialty eggs (including Eggs benny!!!) each morning and more and more and more … deserts (pies) and sweets …ohhh sooo amazingly good!
To add to the fun – everyone was invited to a wine and cheese reception at Lorri’s. A few people asked the Tarot cards a “question” and the cards provided some interesting prompts for consideration. After wine and readings (a good combo) we all went to Bridgette Bar again (year 2) for dinner on Saturday as a group and we were able to find a way to gather together and learn more about each other! Family members and partners were welcomed! We all meet the sweet Sophia (Katharine’s daughter who brought me sweetgrass she braided and sage), Kerry (Katharine’s partner), Aisha and her father, and Irene’s lovely partner Brian. We missed Karen and Bruce for dinner but there is always next year.
As part of Tye Dye there is at least one discussion question posed to the group. This year the question was “What do you consider when self-disclosing to (or sharing a part of your story) with clients and /or supervisees?” Two groups came up with some a number of things to think about. Three people agreed to join in on writing an article for the purposes of publication (Michelle Smith, Nana Aisha Isu and Irene Barrett) Lorri will join to help out. Each year the members of the group will have the opportunity to join in on a writing activity. To create a bit of order, all interested people’s names will be put into a hat and we will draw a maximum of 4 people.
For the 10 Anniversary next year, participants have agreed to provide a summary of what happened over the past 9 years. Lorri will forward a template to use to write the summary and most of the information is on the website.
We went away full and rejuvenated for another year! Until we meet again for the 10th Year Anniversary. Come and join us for a very special year!
Thank you all for your contributions!
Lorri
Featured topic: Play Therapists Working with External and Internal Family Systems
Special Workshop: Arts, Parts and Hearts: Blending Internal Family Systems (IFS) with Expressive Arts in Play Therapy – Presented by Carmen Richardson MSW, RSW, RCAT, REAT
Featured topic: The Sounds of Safety and Applications of Polyvagal Theory in the Playroom
Special Workshop: The Sounds of Safety with Jennifer Buchanan, MBA MTA
Program:
- Polyvagal Theory, let’s play – presented by Ann Reilly, MSW, RSW, RPT-S, CPT-S
- Animal Assisted Play Therapy and Application of Polyvagal Theory and Principles in working with Children with Developmental Trauma presented by Lisa Evens, MEd, R. Psychologist, RPT-S, Certified Animal Assisted Play Therapist
- Do you see me? Do you hear me? Do you give a hoot? Presented by Nana Aisha, MSW TPP
The featured topic: Exploring Diversity in Play Therapy
Special Workshop: Exploring Diversity in Play Therapy with three topics:
- Play Therapy and the Indigenous Child
- Africa in Wonderland; Play Therapy with ‘Black’ Children in Canada
- Beyond the Rainbow: Increasing Gender Sensitivity in Play Therapy
Tye Dye 2021 – A Glimpse at the Events
Exploring Diversity in Play Therapy
Creating Together!
Clay spirit animals, Tye Dye, Reverse Tye Dye,
African Beading, and Art Making.
Everyone together again!
Sharing and growing in our experiences
with Diversity.
Exploring Diversity in Play Therapy
A Day of Intercultural Learning at the Canmore Nordic Centre or join online
Play Therapy and the Indigenous Child
Georgina Henderson, Registered Provisional Psychologist
Play therapy is a psychotherapeutic approach primarily used to help the Indigenous child explore his/her life and freely express repressed thoughts and emotions through play in a culturally safe, respectful, and welcoming setting that honors the uniqueness of the child. Come and learn of the history of Indigenous people in Canada and the present-day impact and how to mindfully navigate counselling from a holistic perspective while honoring the scared grandfather teachings and building an understanding of concepts, terms and knowledge to support the advancement of Truth and Reconciliation in a play therapy setting. The Medicine Wheel teachings will be explored, and participants will have the opportunity to craft a piece that speaks to their heart and resonates with their being.
Africa in Wonderland; Play Therapy with ‘Black’ Children in Canada
Mercy Yeboah-Ampadu, PhD, RSW
In in this session you will learn about working with communities of colour through playful connection to African traditions, culture, language and art. This playful session will explore cultural considerations when practicing play therapy with children within Canada’s ‘Black’ communities. Learn how to connect not just with children through play but with their families too.
Beyond the Rainbow: Increasing Gender Sensitivity in Play Therapy
Abigail Ellazar, MS Psych.
Beyond the Rainbow is a presentation aiming to increase therapist’s gender sensitivity in Play Therapy. In this presentation we identify the most common gender identities as of 2021 and how therapists could be more sensitive to these identities. Creating a safe space for clients is highlighted in this talk as we highlight gender identity in the playroom including what symbols to look for, toys one should have present, activities that can be done, and verbiage to be used. Beyond the Rainbow aims to arm therapists with the tools needed to face diversity in Play Therapy. We explore, acknowledge, and break through our own biases as therapists to fully immerse ourselves in the therapeutic relationship.
The featured topic for 2020 was Expressive Activities in Play Therapy: What are Children Showing and Telling Us?
Special Workshop: Integrating Expressive Arts into Play Therapy: Applications from Self to Client with Carmen Richardson MSW, RSW, RCAT, REAT
The featured topic for 2019 was The Use of Therapeutic Stories in Play Therapy: Timing, Delivery and Therapeutic Potency.
Special Workshop: Fundamentals and Applications of Adlerian Play Therapy with Dr. Terry Kottman
The featured topic for 2018 was – Exploring Creativity in the Play Therapy Process.
Prior to the Study Group RMPTI hosted a 3-day Supervision Training and a special half-day workshop on Expanding your creative skills – psychodrama and play therapy.
Special workshop presentation: Partnering with Families
Special Workshop: Adlerian Play Therapy – Strengthening partnerships & vitalizing relationships with Dr. Terry Kottman
Terry presented a 2-day (pre-study Tye Dye Group) workshop, “Adlerian Play Therapy: Partners in Play,” on November 2nd-to-3rd (in Calgary). Tye Dye study group participants received a 15% discount for attending the 2-day workshop. Terry also presented a special topic workshop presentation at Tye Dye on “partnering with families.”
For our first year, there were 4 presentations provided by Ken and Lorri, Irene Barrett, Cassandra White, Adrianna Sorbo and a special presentation by Shari Roth on Children and Yoga Practice. There were 13 of us in all for the first year and this smaller group was a wonderful experience. People came from Whitehorse, St. John NB, New Jersey, Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton to name a few. We hope to continue to draw people from around the globe.
We ended the first Annual Tye Dye with an invitation to the group to join in our new book that will be related to Turning Points in Play Therapy and the Development of Self. The group will divide into 2 and write about “what gets in the way” of turning point during the process of play therapy.
