Building resilance in grieving children: nurturing strength and hope in play therapy

Children inherently encounter experiences of grief and loss, but when these emotions go unaddressed, they can profoundly impact a child's mental and physical well-being. Throughout this play therapy workshop, you will develop the skills needed to work with children who are grieving the loss of a loved one with the knowledge and tools in developing resilience and hope. This will involve understanding the loss from a developmental lens, interpersonal neurobiology perspective (emphasizing regulation, connection and felt safety) and incorporating creative play therapy interventions. The play therapy interventions include nature, sensory and somatic interventions.  The play therapy interventions that can be done individually or with a family working through their grief process.  This play therapy workshop will help you develop the ability to be with the child in their grief process, and find ways to help support the children who “don’t want to talk about it.” As we work with children in their grief process it is essential that the play therapist also consider their own experiences with grief in order to hold space for others.   We will also explore how to work with caregivers in the play therapy process and cultural considerations will be discussed.