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Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
Cathi Spooner, LCSW, RPT-S
102 episodes
1 week ago
Send us a text 🎁 Pulled from the Vault: An Oldie but Goodie I’m officially taking a break this holiday season — slowing down, soaking up family time, and sipping something warm by the tree. ✹ But I didn’t want to leave you hanging! So I dug into the vault and pulled out one of the most-loved livestream episodes I’ve ever done. And honestly? It’s still đŸ”„ relevant today. Over the last 15+ years of supervising and training play therapists, I’ve noticed one big mistake that keeps showing up ag...
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How To
Education,
Health & Fitness,
Mental Health
RSS
All content for Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence is the property of Cathi Spooner, LCSW, RPT-S and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Send us a text 🎁 Pulled from the Vault: An Oldie but Goodie I’m officially taking a break this holiday season — slowing down, soaking up family time, and sipping something warm by the tree. ✹ But I didn’t want to leave you hanging! So I dug into the vault and pulled out one of the most-loved livestream episodes I’ve ever done. And honestly? It’s still đŸ”„ relevant today. Over the last 15+ years of supervising and training play therapists, I’ve noticed one big mistake that keeps showing up ag...
Show more...
How To
Education,
Health & Fitness,
Mental Health
Episodes (20/102)
Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
What is Case Conceptualization in Play Therapy?
Send us a text 🎁 Pulled from the Vault: An Oldie but Goodie I’m officially taking a break this holiday season — slowing down, soaking up family time, and sipping something warm by the tree. ✹ But I didn’t want to leave you hanging! So I dug into the vault and pulled out one of the most-loved livestream episodes I’ve ever done. And honestly? It’s still đŸ”„ relevant today. Over the last 15+ years of supervising and training play therapists, I’ve noticed one big mistake that keeps showing up ag...
Show more...
1 week ago
35 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
What Are Best Practices in Play Therapy for Clinical Decision-Making?
Send us a text Happy holidays!! I’ve decided to take two weeks off to spend the holiday season focusing on my family. So – I went back into my livestream vault and found this oldie but goodie! Check out this podcast discussing some interesting information I gleaned from research and what it means for play therapists. How does being trained to use a specific play therapy model influence clinical decision-making vs clinical decision-making of child/adolescent therapists using play i...
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2 weeks ago
36 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
Music Therapy for Healing Trauma & Grief in Play Therapy
Send us a text đŸŽ¶ This Week’s Podcast: How Music Helps Kids Heal — A Heartfelt Conversation with Crystal Luk-Worrall If you’ve ever watched a child hum softly during play
 tap a rhythm while they’re telling a story
 or light up when you mirror the beat they’re creating
 
you already know music has its own kind of magic in the playroom. This week, we’re going deeper into that magic with a guest whose work is as grounded as it is breathtaking — Crystal Luk-Worrall, a London-based music...
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3 weeks ago
44 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
Basic Skills Using Sand Tray Effectively in Play Therapy
Send us a text If you’ve ever wondered how to set up a sand tray during play therapy sessions in a way that feels intentional, grounded, and supportive of your client’s nervous system, this episode is your new BFF. We’re diving into the essentials — starting with how to introduce the sand tray using child-centered, non-directive prompts and when to lean into thoughtful directive prompts that still honor the client’s process. Then we’ll get real about boundaries (aka the invisible safety net o...
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4 weeks ago
43 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
How to Write Meaningful Play Therapy Treatment Plans
Send us a text If I say play therapy treatment plans, what’s the first thing that pops into your brain? “Aaaaagh! I hate writing treatment plans! They’re just more paperwork to make insurance happy.” “Ugh, they’re so complicated and confusing.” “Treatment plans are pointless. I never use them and they take forever.” “I get why we need them
 but writing them for play therapy clients? Overwhelming.” If you’re in the mental health world — even in the play therapy realm — you’ve probabl...
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1 month ago
36 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
How Does the Sand Tray Help Clients in Play Therapy?
Send us a text When kids can’t find the words, the sand tray speaks for them in play therapy sessions. In this week’s podcast episode, we’ll look at how sand tray therapy taps into the implicit memories stored beneath language — The attachment patterns, emotional imprints, and unspoken stories that surface symbolically before they ever become verbal. If you’ve ever felt goosebumps watching a client create a scene that “says everything without saying anything,” this one’s for you. ...
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1 month ago
41 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
How to Use Sand Tray in Play Therapy
Send us a text Sand Tray Therapy vs. Sandplay Therapy: What’s the Difference—And Why It Matters for Play Therapists Ever find yourself wondering, “Wait
 am I doing sandplay therapy or sand tray therapy?” 👀 You’re not alone — and it’s way more than a semantics thing. In this podcast episode, we’re unpacking the fascinating roots and modern applications of both approaches — from Dora Kalff’s Jungian foundations to the integrative, attachment-focused sand tray therapy so many of us use to...
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1 month ago
41 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
4 Sand Tray Activities for Family Play Therapy Sessions
Send us a text I love love love using sand tray therapy in family play therapy sessions! Watching how families approach and complete the activities provides a wealth of information about interaction patterns and how each family member sees the world and their family relationships. When I use sand tray activities in family play therapy sessions, I like to use activities that allow me to observe interaction patterns. As play therapists working with children in family systems, we recognize...
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1 month ago
46 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
How to Use Sand Tray in Family Play Therapy Sessions?
Send us a text đŸŒȘ Family Play Therapy + Sand Tray = Chaos or Connection? Ever had a family play therapy session turn into a sand-flinging circus? 🙃 One minute it feels like magic, the next like total mayhem. The truth is—the sand tray can be one of the most powerful tools for family healing
 but only if you know how to guide the process with purpose. 👉 In this week’s episode, I’ll show you how to move from chaos to clarity with 3 practical tips for using sand tray in family play therapy...
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2 months ago
40 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
3 Common Mistakes Using Family Play Therapy (And What to Do Instead)
Send us a text 3 Hidden Mistakes Sabotaging Your Family Play Therapy Sessions “Let’s invite the parents in
” Sounds simple, right? But if you’ve ever had a family play therapy session dissolve into chaos—or worse, sit in painful silence—you know it’s anything but simple. Here’s the secret nobody tells you: those messy moments aren’t proof you failed. They’re actually your biggest opportunities for healing. In this week’s podcast, you’ll discover: ✹ Why treating f...
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2 months ago
45 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
Why Parent Updates Alone Can’t Fix Stalled Play Therapy Progress
Send us a text 🚹 The Big Miss in Traditional Play Therapy (And Why It’s Holding Back Progress) We talk a lot about helping kids heal using play therapy
 But here’s the truth no one wants to say out loud: Most traditional play therapy approaches treat the child like they exist in a vacuum. 👀 Reality check: What kid do you know is paying their own rent, making their own dinner, and handling life without family dynamics shaping them every single day? Exactly. None. Families are ...
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2 months ago
44 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
Play Therapy with Parents | 5 Essential Tips for Family Play Therapy Sessions
Send us a text 🚹 5 Signs You Might Be Accidentally Sabotaging Your Play Therapy Progress (and What to Do Instead) If you’re a play therapist who’s tired of getting those frantic mid-week parent calls, texts, or emails saying “nothing is working”—even though you see real progress in the playroom—this week’s free livestream is for you. Here’s the hard truth: sometimes our best play therapy efforts fall flat outside our offices. Parents get frustrated. Kids feel misunderstood....
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2 months ago
41 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
Is Individual Play Therapy Better Than Family Play Therapy?
Send us a text The norm in play therapy, and the mental health profession in general, is to meet with a child or teen every week for individual counseling sessions and meet with parents as an adjunct to treatment. This format has been around for decades and is the approach taught in most universities. I’ve always been a believer that this isn’t the best way to help children heal. Don’t get me wrong – individual play therapy counseling is beneficial and I use it with my clients. &...
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3 months ago
43 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
What to Do If Play Therapy Progress is Stalled
Send us a text If you’re a play therapist – either a newbie, got some experience under your belt, or full on seasoned play therapist – this is bound to happen more than once. To be honest I’ve had this happen so many times, I’ve lost count. You get frantic phone calls, emails, or texts between sessions telling you all the “bad” things your client is doing at home or school. You can hear the concern in their parents’ voices and you feel the pressure in your chest to fix it fast. ...
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3 months ago
36 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
Should Parents Participate in Play Therapy Sessions?
Send us a text How many of you have had this happen with play therapy clients (raise your virtual hand in the Comments) – You greet your client in the waiting room and your client looks at you with an eager face and asks, “Can my mom/dad come with us?” 🙄 Or 
 When you meet with parents for the first time and they ask you why you only meet with their child. Why don’t they get to join the sessions? They want to know what you’re doing with their child. 😬 Or 
 You kn...
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3 months ago
40 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
How Do Play Therapists Decide When to Include Parents in Play Therapy Sessions?
Send us a text Have you ever had this happen with a play therapy client? You greet your young client in the lobby and your client asks – “Can my mom/dad come with us today?” Or maybe you’re talking with a parent who asks you what you do in their child’s play therapy sessions and why do you only work with their child? Why aren’t they (parents) allowed in the play therapy session? What do you say as you feel the lump in your throat growing and your voice stammers a little bit to fin...
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3 months ago
41 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
What Are the Top Mistakes Play Therapists Make Working with Parents?
Send us a text Raise your virtual hand and shout YES! if you never make mistakes and you are the perfect play therapist who does everything right all the time. Do you hear those crickets? 🩗🩗🩗 The sound of silent voices, well, except for the crickets. 😂 That’s because no one is perfect. The good news is that we don’t need to be perfect. If you have been doubting yourself and thinking about all the ways you messed up and probably made things worse, Then you are not a...
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3 months ago
46 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
How to Conceptualize the Role of Parents in Play Therapy
Send us a text What’s one of the biggest struggles play therapists say causes them to feel anxious, incompetent, frustrated, and generally overwhelmed on a regular basis? If you guessed working with parents – winner, winner, chicken dinner! It’s one of the most common challenges I hear from play therapists. Do any of these sound familiar? “I can’t get parents to schedule a parent only session with me.” “I’m getting lots of phone calls, texts, and emails from a parent telling me all ...
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4 months ago
45 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
How To Talk to Parents About Difficult Issues in Play Therapy
Send us a text When I talk with play therapists about reasons they avoid having difficult conversations with parents/caregivers, here's the most common worry they tell me 👇 “What if I say something and they pull their kid from play therapy?” It can feel awful when parents terminate play therapy before real change can happen. We feel like giant failures and then start listing all the ways we failed the child (and ourselves). So, this fear is real. Sometimes parents do pull their...
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4 months ago
41 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
What is Best Practice in Play Therapy Clinical Decision-Making
Send us a text How does being trained to use a specific play therapy model influence clinical decision-making vs clinical decision-making of child/adolescent therapists using play in therapy? Hmmmmm. What the heck does that question even mean? Essentially clinical decision-making involves our expertise and training in a play therapy model and how play therapists engage in the decision-making process to get excellent treatment results for their clients. Is the clinic...
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4 months ago
36 minutes

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
Send us a text 🎁 Pulled from the Vault: An Oldie but Goodie I’m officially taking a break this holiday season — slowing down, soaking up family time, and sipping something warm by the tree. ✹ But I didn’t want to leave you hanging! So I dug into the vault and pulled out one of the most-loved livestream episodes I’ve ever done. And honestly? It’s still đŸ”„ relevant today. Over the last 15+ years of supervising and training play therapists, I’ve noticed one big mistake that keeps showing up ag...