Lessons from the Playroom

Original Air Date: October 12, 2021 In this episode, Lisa is joined by special therapist - a gem 💖 in the play therapy field (and he's also a poet 😉) … Marshall Lyles joins Lisa in a discussion that brings new thought, new life, and new excitement to processes and things you may have heard about for years. Join Lisa and Marshall in conversation about … The use of Sandtray therapy in healing atta...

This time Lisa has again invited two very important people in her life to join her. Two Certified Synergetic Play Therapists both residing in Canada – Helen Ritchie and Kristina Dixon. Join them in this conversation about working through the challenges and dilemmas that we sometimes have as therapists when working with the parents/caregivers. Find out: Why working with parents and caregivers can b...

Original Air Date: November 13, 2017 A child's refusal to speak inside the playroom can leave even the most seasoned therapist flustered. But connecting with clients involves much more than words. Silence can be golden when you know what it means and how to harness it. Join Lisa and find out how supporting a child in their healing process doesn't have to require words.  "It's the child really feel...

In this episode the tables are turned and the lovely Jackie Flynn, host of the Play Therapy Community Podcast / Facebook group and the Neuroscience of Play Therapy Summits , interviews Lisa about how play therapy and being a play therapist has become a spiritual practice for her over the years.  Join Lisa and Jackie as they talk about: What spiritual practice means and how doing our own "work" as...

Original Air Date: March 27, 2017 Therapists are so good at identifying and working with the problem, but are we as trained to also recognize empowerment? In this podcast, Lisa addresses why it can be challenging to recognize when a child is moving into empowerment, and she shares multiple strategies to help you identify when your child clients are overcoming their challenges. "Part of play therap...

The one-and-only Bonnie Badenoch * joins Lisa for this beautiful conversation about non-judgmental presence and how this is so critical in our role as therapists.  In this episode, you'll hear: How, as a profession, we've become concretized into the left hemisphere (e.g., in a movement toward protocols, interventions, and evidence-based therapies) and how this has pulled us more into the role of e...

Original Air Date: July 20, 2021 Lisa is joined by guest Lynn Louise Wonders. Lynn is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Professional Mentor and Supervisor, Career, Parenting and Relationship Coach at Wonders Counseling Services, LLC . She's an expert in navigating high conflict divorce and custody cases. Listen as Lisa and Lynn Louise discuss how to not get caught in the crossfire of high conflic...

Lisa's next guest has so many amazing contributions to the field of play therapy. Terry Kottman is the founder of Adlerian Play Therapy and the League of Extraordinary Adlerian Play Therapists. She is an unbelievably fun and engaging presenter and author who teaches around the world and writes about so many different aspects of play therapy. In 2014, she was granted a Lifetime Achievement Award fr...

Original Air Date: October 30, 2017 Play therapy is an evolving field with new ideas around every corner. And each theory - new and old - has something to offer. Seeking knowledge improves your practice and benefits your clients (and yourself). As play therapists, it is important to embrace the idea that growth really never ends. The moment we believe we have figured it out is precisely the moment...

Wondering what bibliotherapy is or how to incorporate it in your client sessions? Lisa has invited another special guest to talk about using bibliotherapy with kids. Althea T. Simpson is the founder of Brighter Day Therapeutic Solutions and Unicorn Life Training. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, Certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Facilitator, and host of t...

Original Air Date: May 31, 2018 As play therapists, we're often taught to check ourselves at the door. But, when the child's challenges reflect our own, this is difficult for even the most seasoned clinician. What happens when we embrace the mirror and tap into our humanness? You just might experience some of the most powerful sessions when you see yourself in your client's struggle. "The fear of...

If you've ever studied with Lisa, you know she loves talking about the nervous system. And in this episode, she's going to talk about the collective nervous systems within families and how to help support the regulation of the family system. If you're just as excited about this topic as Lisa, you'll definitely want to take notes for this one …  Here's what you'll hear … How nervous system expressi...

Original Air Date: June 3, 2020 "To overcome systems of oppression that want institutional racism to be invisible, we need to name it! ... And make it explicit!" - Nora Alwah What is social justice?  What is oppression?  What is intersectionality?  Join Lisa Dion and as she invites Nora Alwah, social justice educator and therapist, to explore these questions and offer guidance to therapists on how...

Lisa is joined by an incredibly important person in her life - an individual that she is excited to introduce you to (... someone outside the field of play therapy that you may not have heard of ) - Jayson Gaddis is an author, podcaster, speaker, "personal trainer for relationships", and is a global leader on interpersonal conflict and connection. In this podcast episode, they explore conflict and...

Original Air Date: February 19, 2020 "Whatever the lie a child tells, it's all part of a protective pattern. And protective patterns are never right or wrong." - Lisa Dion While lying often gets a bad rap, everybody lies (yep, even you!). In fact, it has less to do with manipulation and more to do with protection of self. In other words, lying has a purpose. As therapists, it's up to us to recogni...

Lisa is joined by Cary Hamilton , another amazing guest, for a conversation that will transform your work with parents/ caregivers who have children with neurodiverse or sensory processing challenges.  Cary is the Director of Play Therapy at Antioch University in Seattle, Owner of a group practice clinic - Olympia Therapy and current President of the Washington Association for Play Therapy. She is...

Original Air Date: September 23, 2020 "It's about the therapist's ability to attune in order to facilitate a process of attunement and playful touch between caregiver and infant." - Janet Courtney Traditional play therapy targets children ages 3 and older, but what about the children who aren't yet three? How do we help these children? Join Lisa as she talks about infant mental health with special...

Join Lisa in exploring a topic that is relevant to every single person on the planet and particularly inspired by a conversation Lisa had with her daughter who is now almost 17 years old.  In this Lessons from the Playroom episode, you are invited to think about self-esteem in a new or different way so you can support your clients at a deeper level when self-esteem is the thing they are struggling...

Original Air Date: July 25, 2018 All of us have moments when we doubt ourselves. Moments when we shake our heads in frustration. Moments when we have no idea what we're doing. But challenges in the playroom are a necessity - they allow us to master new techniques and broaden our skills. Find out why getting it wrong, might just be right "Challenges and discomforts are necessities of growth." - Lis...

In this Lessons from the Playroom episode, Lisa again is joined by Andrea Davidson, Johanna Simmons, and Rachel Freeburg - three Certified Synergetic Play Therapists … but this time for a discussion on messes in the playroom and messy play - ooh, so much fun!  Tune in as they explore: How to explain and normalize to parents/caregivers that messes are ok; How to turn messes in the playroom into opp...

Original Air Date: September 14, 2021 Lisa Dion is joined by special guest Dr. David Crenshaw for a touching and heartfelt conversation about Finding the Hidden Gifts Within Children, especially those who have been deeply mistreated and hurt.  In this episode, David reminds you that children who have been wounded so often present with many protective patterns that often hide their inner treasures,...

Join Lisa and Carmen Jimenez-Pride in a conversation about a topic that has never been talked about so far in this entire podcast series -  Internal Family Systems (IFS) and how to incorporate it in the playroom. In this episode, Carmen, a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor and an Internal Family Systems therapist herself, shares how the Internal Family Systems framework  offers a really cool wa...

Original Air Date: February 14, 2017 Go back to the beginning in this very first Lessons from the Playroom podcast episode 💜 ✨ ....Because without learning about ourselves as the most important toy, we miss part of the magic in the playroom and we miss understanding how play therapy actually works. In this podcast, Lisa Dion will explore why not recognizing our own internal states cuts off acces...

In this episode, Lisa talks about a most tender subject- the "shoulds" and "should nots" that we all have as clinicians – you probably know what we're talking about … they show up in the playroom, when working with parents and caregivers, and in our personal lives. It's our own judgments of ourselves, and the sometimes constant brain noise that we have. Once again, Lisa has invited two very import...

Original Air Date: October 16, 2017 Dustin Baker joins Lisa to talk about sexual identity and sexual orientation in the playroom - a topic not discussed often enough in the field of play therapy. Learn how embracing these topics benefits our clients. After all, children are colorful (and so are we). Here's what you'll hear in this episode: 1:45 Lisa introduces Dustin Copenhefer 2:49 The need for m...