UNT play therapy conference trains clinicians in ways to strengthen parent-child relationships

Monday, March 2, 2015 - 20:30

What: Hosted by the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy, a two-day workshop will train play therapists who provide mental health services to children and families. The workshop will fulfill partial prerequisite requirements toward certification as child-parent relationship therapy facilitators, as well as continuing education credits.

When/Where: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 5 and 6 (Thursday and Friday) in the forum of UNT's Willis Library, located at 1506 W. Highland St. in Denton.

Registration/More Details: Regular and on-site registration is $300 for professionals and $125 for UNT faculty, staff and students.

Contact: 940-565-3864 or http://cpt.unt.edu/training/cpt-annual-conferences/cpt-spring-conference/.

DENTON, Texas (UNT) -- Designed for mental health professionals who use play therapy in their practice working with children and families, the annual conference at the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy will train attendees in a parenting group model that helps caregivers become emotional healers and therapeutic agents in the lives of children. Known as child-parent relationship training, the intervention is an evidence-based, developmentally responsive intervention aimed to enhance child-parent relationships using children's natural medium of communication: play.

"Kids are not little adults; they do not always know how to put words to the issues they may be experiencing," said Alyssa Swan, a graduate assistant at the center who also is completing her doctoral degree at the UNT counseling program. "Filial play therapy creates a safe environment for children to express themselves through play."

The workshop takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 5 and 6 (Thursday and Friday) on the first floor of UNT's Willis Library, located at 1506 W. Highland St. in Denton. Regular and on-site registration is $300 for professionals and $125 for UNT faculty, staff and students.

The event is geared toward mental health professionals interested in learning how to incorporate child-parent relationship training into their work with parents. The workshop will be facilitated by Sue Bratton, the director of the UNT Center for Child Play Therapy, and Gary Landreth, Regents Professor and founder of the UNT Center for Play Therapy.

Housed in UNT's College of Education, the Center for Play Therapy encourages the unique development and emotional growth of children through play therapy. The center provides training, research, publications and counseling, among other services.

About UNT's College of Education

UNT's College of Education prepares students to contribute to the advancement of education, health and human development. Founded in 1890 as a teacher's training college, UNT now enrolls more than 4,000 students in the College of Education, which consists of four departments -- counseling and higher education; educational psychology; kinesiology, health promotion and recreation; and teacher education and administration. UNT's College of Education certifies about 1,000 teachers a year -- making it the largest producer of new teachers in the north Texas region. Students are also prepared for careers as researchers, counselors, leaders, physical activity and health promotion specialists, child development and family studies specialists and more.

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