Charissa D Pizarro, PsyD Psychological Services LLC

“Healing Trauma Through Play Therapy: Restoring Safety, Connection, and Regulation Through Play” is an advanced-level workshop designed for clinicians seeking a deeper understanding of how trauma impacts the developing brain and how play becomes a corrective emotional experience. Through neuroscience-informed frameworks, developmental case analysis, directive interventions, and release play methods, clinicians will learn how to facilitate safety, organization, and emotional repair. Participants will also explore how to extend play-based techniques to adolescents and adults while honoring cultural, developmental, and relational context.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

1. Differentiate trauma, complex trauma/ developmental trauma reactions and describe how these experiences shape children’s emotional, cognitive, and relational functioning.
2. Explain the neurological impact of trauma and identify how play-based, sensory, and relational interventions support regulation and neurobiological healing.
3. Identify and apply the Therapeutic Powers of Play most relevant to trauma treatment, including emotional regulation, self-expression, and adaptive coping.
4. Demonstrate the use of directive play therapy interventions through case examples illustrating assessment, treatment planning, and therapeutic pacing for trauma-exposed children.
5. Describe the principles of Release Play Therapy and appropriately integrate release-based methods within trauma-responsive practice.
6. Adapt core play therapy strategies for use with adolescents and adults, emphasizing developmental sensitivity, consent, and the role of symbolic expression across the lifespan.