Exploring and Explaining Themes
in Child-Centered Play Therapy
Friday August 21st 2026
9am-12pm PST
Non-Contact (Online)
What in the Play Therapy is Happening?!
In this training, participants will learn how to identify and track play therapy themes across sessions, distinguish themes from moment-to-moment play behaviors, and use themes to better understand a child’s therapeutic process while remaining consistent with the principles of child-centered practice.
This training is intended for mental health clinicians, graduate students, and anyone interested in learning more about child-centered play therapy. APT and NBCC credit available to mental health professionals & graduate students in a mental health program. Choose the CE track of your preference at registration.
Course Description
In Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT), children rarely explain their experiences through spoken words; instead, their internal worlds emerge symbolically through repeated play patterns, characters, conflicts, and storylines. These recurring patterns, known as play therapy themes, reflect how children process experiences related to safety, power, control, nurturing, connection, fear, mastery, and healing.
This 3-hour training is designed for mental health professionals seeking to deepen their understanding of play therapy concepts and application. Participants will learn how to identify and track play therapy themes across sessions, distinguish recurring play therapy themes from moment-to-moment play behaviors, and utilize these themes to enhance play therapy case conceptualization while remaining consistent with child-centered play therapy principles.
Through clinical case examples, structured discussion, and practical application, participants will strengthen their ability to observe symbolic meaning within play therapy, track client progress, and communicate the child’s play therapy process clearly to caregivers and multidisciplinary team members.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
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Identify at least three common play therapy themes utilized in Child-Centered Play Therapy to understand symbolic client communication.
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Distinguish between moment-to-moment play behaviors and recurring play therapy themes within a play therapy session.
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Apply play therapy theme tracking techniques to strengthen play therapy case conceptualization and communicate therapeutic progress to caregivers.
Primary Areas:
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Play Therapy Skills & Methods
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Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
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.
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, view our Training Policies here.