Description:

Angry children tend to be a difficult group of clients to treat for many therapists. Anger management programs that are about talking it out do not seem to work. Play therapy helps children work through their angry feeling and channel that anger appropriately. Children have to learn to direct the energy that mounts inside when they become angry. This workshop will lead participants in the acquisition of play therapy techniques to use with angry children to break through the resistance, engage them in therapy, and help them manage their anger in a constructive way. Videos, case studies, and skill practice will enhance the presentation.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe at least three specific anger modulation play therapy strategies.
• Demonstrate three specific ways to engage an angry child playfully using cognitive-behavioral play therapy as well as Release Play Therapy.
• Compare the difference between anger and aggression and how play therapy can differentiate between the two.
• Explain the therapeutic powers of play and how to use them with an aggressive child in play therapy sessions.
• Discuss how anger is processed and the levels of anger that children experience and utilize play therapy techniques to increase awareness.
• Explain how the angry child may perceive the world, and what a play therapist can do to help change their perceptions