Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence
Join me on Next Level Play Therapy, a podcast for child and adolescent therapists seeking to elevate your play therapy services. Hosted by Cathi Spooner, LCSW, RPT-S, at Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training.
Each episode delves into the nuances of play therapy, exploring innovative techniques, evidence-based practices, and practical strategies for providing exceptional therapeutic experiences. These engaging discussions cover a wide range of topics, including building rapport with children, how to make sure you get great outcomes for clients, therapeutic toys and tools and strategies to use in sessions, addressing trauma and attachment issues, engaging parents, promoting emotional regulation, and nurturing resilience for children and their families.
Whether you're an experienced therapist looking to refine your skills or a novice clinician venturing into the world of play therapy, the Next Level Play Therapy podcast equips you with the knowledge and insights to enhance your play therapy practice. With interviews featuring experts in play therapy, exploration of best practices, discussion of game-changing principles and strategies, this podcast equips you with the tools to unlock the amazing power of play therapy to transform the lives of children, adolescents, and families.
Tune in to Next Level Play Therapy and take a journey towards becoming an exceptional play therapist as we navigate the next level strategies that lead to profound healing and growth for children and their families.
Episodes
128 episodes
Why Play Therapists Shouldn't Work Alone: Overcoming Clinical Isolation
Are you the only play therapist in your agency? Or perhaps you're in private practice and feel like you're navigating complex cases entirely on your own?Many play therapists accept isolation as "just the reality" of the field. <...
The Isolated Play Therapist Syndrome: Why You’re Feeling Burned Out
If you're a play therapist — especially in your first few years — and you're the only one in your agency or you're in private practice figuring this out by yourself, this is for you.You went into this work because you genuinely believe i...
Jungian Play Therapy 101: Symbols, Archetypes & Clinical Ideas
What is Jungian Analytic Play Therapy, and how does it actually work in the playroom? In this podcast, we dive deep into the symbolic world of Jungian theory with guest Jared Andes, LCSW, RPT-S. We ...
The Trauma Roadmap: Using Neuroscience & Attachment in Play Therapy
Are you tired of leaving your play therapy sessions wondering if you’re actually helping or just "playing"?You’ve invested in the play therapy training, you’ve gathered the strategies, and you have a playroom full of tools.&nb...
Is Trauma Really Stored in the Body? New Science for Play Therapists
Is trauma actually "stored" in our organs, or have we been looking at it all wrong?For years, play therapists have repeated the mantra that "trauma is stored in the body," but a groundbreaking 2026 peer-reviewed article is cha...
Beyond Labeling: Why Emotional Granularity is the Key to Resilience in Play Therapy
Helping children and teens identify and label their emotions is a core therapeutic goal in play therapy, but simply naming a feeling isn't enough. In fact, an overfocus on "feeling good" can sometimes hinder the healing p...
The Missing Piece: How to Include Parents in Play Therapy for Children with Trauma
Using play therapy with traumatized children and teens is complex, and many play therapists find themselves asking: "Where do the parents fit in?"“What do I do if my client is in foster care? How do I inclu...
Play Therapy Case Conceptualization: Trauma, Attachment & Behavior
If you’ve ever left a play therapy session thinking… “I see the behaviors—but what’s actually driving them?”You’re not alone. And more importantly—you’re not supposed to stay stuck there.In this podc...
Polyvagal Theory Is Being Challenged… What Play Therapists Need to Know
Is Polyvagal Theory still valid? And what does the latest scientific debate mean for your play therapy practice?Polyvagal Theory (PVT), developed by Stephen Porges, has become one of the most widely used frameworks in trauma-informed the...
Sand Tray Therapy: Should You Interpret a Child’s Play? (3 Things to Consider)
You just know what your client’s sand tray means… but should you say it?In this episode, we dive into one of the biggest clinical dilemmas in play therapy: 👉 Do you share your interpretation of ...
Virtual Play Therapy Explained: Tools, Tips & Platforms for Play Therapists
Virtual play therapy isn’t the future anymore… it’s already here.But let’s be real for a second—Most platforms weren’t built for play therapists.They weren’t designed to engage children using play therapeutically.
Sand Tray Therapy: How to Identify Themes in a Play Therapy Session
How do you identify themes in sand tray therapy sessions?One of the most important skills for play therapists is learning how to recognize themes in play therapy, especially when working with sand tray therapy.
Play Therapy Assessment Explained: How to Know If Your Play Therapy Sessions Are Working
You can have the most beautiful playroom… the best toys… even strong rapport…But if you’re not assessing what’s actually happening beneath the play, you might be missing the very thing your client needs most.In this episode of
Case Conceptualization in Play Therapy: Why You Feel Stuck (and How to Fix It)
Are you feeling stuck in your play therapy sessions… unsure what to do next or why your play therapy interventions aren’t working?You might be missing the most important step in the entire play therapy treatment process: case conceptual...
How to Use Attachment-Based Sand Tray Therapy with Teens
What do you do after you’ve identified the symptoms in a struggling teen?Failing grades. Emotional withdrawal. “I don’t care.”High-conflict divorce. Estrangement from a parent. Identity confusion.It’s one thing to re...
Play Therapy with Adolescents: Why Teen Symptoms Are Easy to Misread
What do you do when a 16-year-old walks into your office, shrugs, and says, “I don’t care”?Low motivation. Failing grades. Emotional shutdown. Estrangement from a parent after divorce. On the surface, it can look like depression, defianc...
Sand Tray Therapy with Teens: How to Use It Effectively in Play Therapy
Can you really use sand tray therapy with adolescents?Absolutely—and when you understand how to adapt it developmentally, sand tray becomes one of the most powerful expressive arts tools to use with teens.In ...
How to Use Poetry with Teens in Play Therapy for Self-Expression
This week I’m sharing one of my favorite ways to help teens access the therapeutic powers of play using poetry.Yes - poetry!If you’re rolling your eyes and remembering your high school English class feeling tortured by reading poe...
Best Strategies to Use Play Therapy with Teens
Play therapy isn’t for adolescents. It’s just for little kids.There’s a misbelief in the mental health community that play therapy is only for little kids.Maybe you’ve wondered that yourself....
Can Play Therapy Work with Teens?
Ever sit across from a teen in session, clock ticking, silence screaming… and your nervous system quietly panicking?Yeah. This episode is for that moment.In this week’s podcast, we’re naming the thi...
What’s the Difference Between Play Therapy and Using Play in Therapy?
Happy International Play Therapy Week! 🎉What is play therapy—and how is it different from simply using games and activities in therapy sessions?This is a common and critical question for mental health professionals working ...
How to Increase Play Therapy Impact & Reduce Burnout
More Impact. Less Burnout. isn’t a cute slogan. It’s a line in the sand.Because here’s the truth most play therapists won’t say out loud:Burnout doesn’t come from caring too much.It comes from doing this work
How to Get Better Results in Play Therapy Without Doing More
What if better results in play therapy didn’t come from more play therapy activities, more games, or more play therapy training — but from clearer thinking?In this week’s free livestream episode, I’m pulling back the...
How Does Consultation Improve Play Therapist Growth?
If you’re a mental health professional, including play therapy, we’ve all heard this said and probably even said it ourselves:consultation is a clinical and ethical part of providing effective play therapy (and therapy in gene...
