Staying Child-Centered in School
Using Play Therapy Skills Across Every Tier of Support
Friday, September 25th, 2026
Clinician session: 9am-12pm PDT
Public session: 1pm-4pm PDT
Non-Contact (Online)
School counselors and school-based mental health professionals work in environments filled with competing demands. Teachers need help with behavior, administrators want solutions and caregivers have concerns.
Meanwhile, students are waiting at your door.
The child is in the middle of this whirlwind. How do we stay grounded in a child-centered way of being when the systems around us continually pull us toward directing, fixing, managing, and solving?
Schedule
9am-12pm PDT | Clinician Session
This session is reserved for licensed clinicians and students in mental health programs.
What's different about the clinician session?
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Opportunities for anonymized case discussion
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Registrants will receive access to raw recording to include all Q&A
1pm-4pm PDT | Public Session
What's different about the public session?
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Open to all professions, parents, caregivers, and anyone else who cares about kids.
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Registrants will receive access to an edited version of the recording that will be used for our on-demand program.
The same material will be presented for both sessions.
Both sessions will include options for APT and NBCC CE eligibility.
If the Clinician Session fills up, we encourage you to come to the afternoon Public Session.
Course Description
This three-hour experiential training explores how school-based clinicians can bring the principles and skills of Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) into the realities of the school environment. Participants will examine how the child-centered therapeutic stance can inform not only individual play therapy, but brief student contacts, small groups, classroom support, consultation, and prevention and intervention efforts across a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS).
Participants will learn practical ways to use foundational play therapy skills—including tracking, reflection of feeling and content, facilitating choice and responsibility, encouragement, and therapeutic limit setting—within the time, space, and role constraints of school settings. Particular attention will be given to identifying when a child-centered response is appropriate, when greater structure is necessary, and how to maintain the distinction between using play therapy-informed skills and providing play therapy.
Through case examples, demonstrations, discussion, and experiential practice, participants will explore how to protect the child's voice and autonomy while also responding ethically and effectively to the expectations of the larger school system.
Ultimately, staying child-centered in a school is not about creating a perfect playroom or having an uninterrupted 45-minute session. It is about learning to carry the child-centered way of being with you when the environment around you is anything but calm.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this three-hour training, participants will be able to:
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Analyze at least three systemic pressures within school environments that can interfere with maintaining a Child-Centered Play Therapy stance.
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Differentiate between the full provision of Child-Centered Play Therapy and the developmentally responsive use of play therapy-informed skills within broader school counseling and MTSS services.
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Describe how at least three foundational play therapy principles or skills can be adapted for use within Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 school-based supports.
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Demonstrate at least three play therapy responses—including tracking, reflection of feeling/content, facilitation of choice or responsibility, and therapeutic limit setting—in common school-based scenarios.
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Apply a play therapy framework to determine when to follow a student's lead, when to provide additional structure, and when safety, ethical, developmental, or systemic considerations require a more directive response.
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Identify at least two strategies to communicate the developmental and clinical rationale for play therapy interventions to teachers, administrators, caregivers, or other school professionals.
Primary Areas:
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Play Therapy Theories
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Play Therapy Skills & Methods
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Play Therapy Special Topics
3 APT and NBCC CE credits available to mental health professionals & graduate students in a mental health program. Choose the CE track of your preference when registering.
Presented by Jennifer Sims, MA, LPCC, RPT
The Redwood Center for Children and Families, APT Approved Provider 26-820
And in partnership with Cascadia Training, NBCC ACEP No. 6475
All payments are final and non-refundable. If an unexpected emergency prevents you from participating, you may email us at trainings@theredwoodcenter.org to request an exception. If a program is canceled by The Redwood Center, participants will receive a full refund. For our complete cancellation and refund policy, click the link below.
Meet Your Trainer
About Jen
Jennifer Sims is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Registered Play Therapist™ with nearly 20 years of experience supporting children and families. Known for her engaging, experiential teaching style, she helps parents and professionals turn challenging skills into approachable, hands-on learning.
Jen has advanced training in Child-Centered Play Therapy, Filial Therapy, Gestalt Play Therapy, EMDR for children, and AutPlay. She regularly develops and presents trainings
on non-directive play therapy and related topics, and was featured at the Sixth Annual Innovative Child Therapy Symposium in 2025.