Conference Details
Play Therapy in Critical Moments: Skills for Tough Topics
Empowering therapists to navigate high-risk and sensitive situations with confidence.
Join us in Minnesota for our annual PLAY THERAPY conference. This year, our presenter is Dana Wyss, PhD, LMFT, ATR-BC, RPT who will be speaking on the topic of Play Therapy in Critical Moments: Skills for Tough Topics in this two day conference!
Play therapists often encounter life’s hardest moments both inside and outside the playroom. This includes cases involving suicidal ideation, self-injury, and traumatic loss. While it is a high honor to walk alongside someone in some of the worst moments of their lives, it is also a challenging endeavor. These high-risk situations require more than foundational skills; they demand creativity, confidence, and ethical clarity. There is a delicate balance of stepping into the deep dark hole with someone and not becoming consumed by it. This advanced training integrates play therapy and expressive arts approaches to help clinicians navigate these challenges while fostering safety and resilience. Participants will learn practical interventions such as sand tray, metaphor-based art activities, and structured play techniques that support emotional regulation and meaning-making (Homeyer & Sweeney, 2021; Malchiodi, 2020). Additionally, play therapist who employ a more Child centered framework will learn how to manage their own emotional responses to best support and rely on their foundational skills to support treatment.
The workshop emphasizes trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, offering strategies for risk assessment, crisis communication, and treatment of complex cases (American Counseling Association, 2014; Association for Play Therapy, 2022). Through interactive demonstrations, case discussions, experiential play and art exercises, attendees will gain tools to hold space for supervisees and clients during their most vulnerable moments. Clinicians will leave with actionable resources to enhance therapeutic effectiveness and maintain professional standards when addressing sensitive, high-stakes issues with individuals and groups in child, teens, adult, and family play therapy.
Time: 8:30 am - 4 pm Thursday and Friday
Date: Thursday April 16th and Friday April 17th
Cost: Members: $300 | Non Members: $350
CEs: This two day training is approved by the Minnesota Association for Play Therapy (APT Approved Provider 06-177) for 12 APT Contact CEs. Play therapy credit may not be given to non-mental health professionals. This training is pending approval by the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy, Social Work, and Marriage and Family Therapy.
**Partial CE credit will not be issued - this is a two day event and participants cannot sign up for partial attendance****
Location:
Eagan Community Center
The Oaks Banquet Room
1501 Central Pkwy
Eagan, MN 55121
Play therapists often encounter life’s hardest moments both inside and outside the playroom. This includes cases involving suicidal ideation, self-injury, and traumatic loss. While it is a high honor to walk alongside someone in some of the worst moments of their lives, it is also a challenging endeavor. These high-risk situations require more than foundational skills; they demand creativity, confidence, and ethical clarity. There is a delicate balance of stepping into the deep dark hole with someone and not becoming consumed by it. This advanced training integrates play therapy and expressive arts approaches to help clinicians navigate these challenges while fostering safety and resilience. Participants will learn practical interventions such as sand tray, metaphor-based art activities, and structured play techniques that support emotional regulation and meaning-making (Homeyer & Sweeney, 2021; Malchiodi, 2020). Additionally, play therapist who employ a more Child centered framework will learn how to manage their own emotional responses to best support and rely on their foundational skills to support treatment.
The workshop emphasizes trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, offering strategies for risk assessment, crisis communication, and treatment of complex cases (American Counseling Association, 2014; Association for Play Therapy, 2022). Through interactive demonstrations, case discussions, experiential play and art exercises, attendees will gain tools to hold space for supervisees and clients during their most vulnerable moments. Clinicians will leave with actionable resources to enhance therapeutic effectiveness and maintain professional standards when addressing sensitive, high-stakes issues with individuals and groups in child, teens, adult, and family play therapy.
- Balancing empathy and boundaries is critical—clinicians must support clients without becoming overwhelmed themselves.
- Clinicians gain actionable tools and resources to support self and clients during vulnerable moments while maintaining professional standards.
- Applicable across child, teen, adult, and family play therapy contexts.
Time: 8:30 am - 4 pm Thursday and Friday
Date: Thursday April 16th and Friday April 17th
Cost: Members: $300 | Non Members: $350
CEs: This two day training is approved by the Minnesota Association for Play Therapy (APT Approved Provider 06-177) for 12 APT Contact CEs. Play therapy credit may not be given to non-mental health professionals. This training is pending approval by the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy, Social Work, and Marriage and Family Therapy.
**Partial CE credit will not be issued - this is a two day event and participants cannot sign up for partial attendance****
Location:
Eagan Community Center
The Oaks Banquet Room
1501 Central Pkwy
Eagan, MN 55121
Training Objectives
- Identify and articulate at least three high-risk clinical issues (e.g., suicidal ideation, self-injury, traumatic loss) and their impact on play therapy practice
- Develop a personalized action plan outlining steps to apply trauma-informed and culturally responsive strategies in complex cases
- Apply ethical decision-making frameworks to maintain professional boundaries and resilience when addressing sensitive, high-stakes issues
- Identify at least three types of self-injury and discuss how warning signs and risk factors vary across clients.
- Develop a strong art and play based plan to support your own wellness in response to work with high-risk situations.
- Identify three or more replacement behaviors to support someone who engages in self-injurious behaviors
- Define grief, mourning, and suicide loss, and name events that qualify; identify three types of traumatic loss.
- Examine and understand three different grief models to explore for self and clients.
- Practice and utilize three different bibliotherapy resources in your play therapy work.
- Develop a plan that includes at least three play therapy-based tools for use with clients experiencing a suicide-related loss.
- Create a wellness plan that integrates three art and play therapy-based tools, to support clinician resilience when working with high-risk situations and traumatic loss.
- Demonstrate the ability to integrate play and art techniques (e.g., sand tray, metaphor-based art, expressive arts) into play therapy interventions for clients experiencing high-risk situations.
Registration Information:
This is an in person two-day event. Participants are not allowed to receive partial CE or register for partial attendance. ***Any accommodations are needed at least 30 days in advance. When registering you will be able to identify accommodations needed****
To register click the button below.
To register click the button below.
Supervision Training:
The Minnesota Association for Play Therapy will be holding their annual Supervision Training on Wednesday, April 15th virtually. Learn more about the training HERE!
Dana Wyss, PhD, LMFT, ATR-BC, RPT is a licensed marriage and family therapist, board-certified clinical art therapist, registered play therapist, and co-author of The Invisible String Workbook and Hope and The Winds of Grief Workbook. Her doctorate in expressive therapies has led her to create programs integrating art, play, poetry, sports, and animal-assisted therapy in clients' healing process and staff's self-care. For the last 30 years, Dr. Wyss has worked in psychiatric hospitals, group homes, community mental health, and nonpublic school settings to manage crises, conduct training, coach staff, and support children and families. Dr. Wyss is a Corporate Clinical Training Specialist and Clinical/Art therapy supervisor at Stars Behavioral Health Group, a company specializing in the treatment of complex developmental trauma. She also owns a small private practice. Dr. Wyss is an international speaker and consultant. She uses her creativity for her own healing as well as to support others.
Dr. Wyss is an artist specializing in photography, mixed media, and oil painting. Over the last twenty years she has learned to use her creativity to support her healing and progression through several difficult and wonderful life experiences. Originally working in photography and mixed media, Dr. Wyss spent the first part of her art career exploring multiple types of media and honing her photographic eye. Photographing what is all around to capture beautiful moments that often go unseen. In the last 10 years she has studied under the Master Artist Rino Gonzales refining her skills, building confidence in her artistic voice, blending her love of the unusual with the realistic style of her mentor, and creating art for personal healing.
Dr. Wyss is an artist specializing in photography, mixed media, and oil painting. Over the last twenty years she has learned to use her creativity to support her healing and progression through several difficult and wonderful life experiences. Originally working in photography and mixed media, Dr. Wyss spent the first part of her art career exploring multiple types of media and honing her photographic eye. Photographing what is all around to capture beautiful moments that often go unseen. In the last 10 years she has studied under the Master Artist Rino Gonzales refining her skills, building confidence in her artistic voice, blending her love of the unusual with the realistic style of her mentor, and creating art for personal healing.
Training Agenda:
Thursday April 16th
8:00-8:20 Check-in; Time to stop by vendor and raffle tables
8:25 Welcome from MNAPT
8:30 Day 1 Training Session I
10:30-10:45 BREAK
10:45-12:15 Day 1 Training Session II
12:15-1:15 MNAPT Social + Networking Hour in the Event Center Space
12:45 - 1:15 Board Intro + Member Meeting
1:15-2:45 Shining Star + Day 1 Training Session III
2:45-2:55 BREAK
2:55-4:00 Day 1 Training Session IV
4:00 Adjourn
Friday April 17th
8:00-8:20 Check-in; Time to stop by vendor and raffle tables
8:25 Welcome from MNAPT
8:30 Day 2 Training Session I
10:30-10:45 BREAK
10:45-12:15 Day 2 Training Session II
12:15-1:15 MNAPT Social + Networking Hour in the Event Center Space
1:15-2:45 Day 2 Training Session III
2:45-2:55 BREAK-Raffle winners announced!
2:55-4:00 Day 2 Training Session IV
4:00 Adjourn
8:00-8:20 Check-in; Time to stop by vendor and raffle tables
8:25 Welcome from MNAPT
8:30 Day 1 Training Session I
10:30-10:45 BREAK
10:45-12:15 Day 1 Training Session II
12:15-1:15 MNAPT Social + Networking Hour in the Event Center Space
12:45 - 1:15 Board Intro + Member Meeting
1:15-2:45 Shining Star + Day 1 Training Session III
2:45-2:55 BREAK
2:55-4:00 Day 1 Training Session IV
4:00 Adjourn
Friday April 17th
8:00-8:20 Check-in; Time to stop by vendor and raffle tables
8:25 Welcome from MNAPT
8:30 Day 2 Training Session I
10:30-10:45 BREAK
10:45-12:15 Day 2 Training Session II
12:15-1:15 MNAPT Social + Networking Hour in the Event Center Space
1:15-2:45 Day 2 Training Session III
2:45-2:55 BREAK-Raffle winners announced!
2:55-4:00 Day 2 Training Session IV
4:00 Adjourn
MNAPT Member Meeting
We will be hosting our annual member meeting during the second half the lunch break on DAY ONE, APRIL 17th. If you are member, please join us for the meeting. MNAPT will provide lunch from 12:15-12:45 and the meeting will run from 12:45-1:15.
MNAPT Networking Event:
Come and get social! MNAPT is hosting a networking and social hour during our 12:15 - 1:15 lunch break at the annual MNAPT Conference on DAY TWO APRIL 18th. Grab your lunch or have it delivered and get a chance to network and mingle with the MNAPT Board and other play therapists!
The training is held in the Eagan Community Center with many options for delivery (with services like Doordash and Uber Eats) or a quick drive away.
The training is held in the Eagan Community Center with many options for delivery (with services like Doordash and Uber Eats) or a quick drive away.
MNAPT Policies:
Refunds are not able to be given within two weeks of the conference date. All requests for accommodations require your request to be on file in our office 30 days prior to the training date. Minnesota Association for Play Therapy will make reasonable efforts to accommodate participants with disabilities access to trainings. Any grievances with trainings can be directed to the Minnesota Association for Play Therapy.
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