Trauma in the Playroom

Thrive Behavioral Health

Presents

Trauma in the Playroom: Integrating Safety, Story, & Healing in Play Therapy

Trauma leaves a profound and lasting imprint on a child’s emotional, psychological, and relational development, particularly when rooted in experiences such as acute events, chronic stress, high-conflict divorce, attachment disruptions, or systemic adversity. Because trauma cannot be addressed through standardized, diagnosis-based interventions alone, this training emphasizes a holistic, experiential, culturally humble, and relationship-centered play therapy framework. Participants will examine core trauma themes—including fear, worry, hurt, anger, safety, and empowerment—while learning how children use play to process both internal distress and external relational ruptures. The training highlights the importance of cultural humility in understanding how family systems, generational trauma, and culture shape a child’s meaning-making and expression in the playroom. Through experiential activities, and case discussion, therapists will learn to create safe, attuned, culturally responsive environments that support emotional regulation, narrative integration, and healing for children navigating a wide range of traumatic experiences, including those related to trauma and divorce.

Target audience: Counselors, Social Workers, Play Therapists

Content level: Beginner

About the instructor

Nikole R. Jiggetts, LCSW is a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, Certified Trauma Practitioner and author. She is the CEO and owner of Replay Counseling Center, LLC. Also known as Replay Counseling and Consulting. She is a graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work, with an MSW in 2000. Nikole has been working with children, adolescents and their families for over 20 years. She is passionate about providing individuals with the opportunity to work through their difficulties and begin to start feeling better about their lives utilizing expressive therapies, including play, art, and yoga in sessions.

In addition to serving as an adjunct professor for the VCU School of Social Work, she is also a life coach, parenting consultant and registered yoga teacher. Nikole also provides training for mental health clinicians in the states of Virginia and Maryland as well as the District of Columbia, for the past 10 years.

Learning Objectives

Attendees will be able to:

1. Explain the difference between Grief and Trauma, including how these experiences manifest uniquely in a child’s play and behavior during divorce and other relational disruptions.
2. Describe the major differences between resilience and posttraumatic growth, and apply these concepts to culturally responsive treatment planning and therapeutic interventions.
3. Explain at least six play therapy techniques that support emotional regulation, narrative processing, empowerment, and connection for children who have experienced trauma.
4. Apply trauma-informed and culturally humble principles within the playroom to enhance safety, attunement, trust, and responsiveness to diverse cultural identities and family structures.
5. Define the role of the therapist’s self-regulation, presence, and cultural awareness in facilitating healing through play.
6. Describe strategies for caregiver involvement that reinforce safety, attachment, cultural values, and recovery both during and after family transitions, including divorce.

Agenda:

Agenda will be updated in the near future.

Registration

Registration will be managed by Eventbrite.

Full registration fee is $100 per indivual. If you have any questions about your registration or require accomodations please contact Jesse Callan, LCSW-C at JCallan@ThriveBH.com

Refund Policy

Refund requests can be made through the EventBrite website or via email to jcallan@thrivebh.com up to 48 hours before the start of a program. We are happy to provide the fullest possible refund to either the credit card used for purchase or in the form of credit for a future course.

Course & CE information

In order to receive full credit for this course, participants must attend for the entire duration of the course and complete a course evaluation form. Partial credit CE certificates will not be distributed. CE certificates will be distributed immediately after the end of the course and upon submission of course evaluation form.

Thrive Behavioral Health, Provider #1729, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Thrive Behavioral Health maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 10/11/2023 - 10/11/2026. Social workers completing this course receive 6 continuing education credits.

Thrive Behavioral Health, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7008. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Thrive Behavioral Health, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Thrive Behavioral Health, LLC approves this continuing education program for 6 NBCC clock hours.

Thrive Behavioral Health, LLC has been approved by APT as an APT Approved Provider, provider number 23-712. Thrive Behavioral Health, LLC approves this continuing education program for 6 contact CE credits.