Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training

02/21/2026

“I don’t know” in therapy sessions with teens often gets mislabeled as avoidance or lack of effort.

But for many teens, it’s the most honest response their brain can give in that moment.

They’re flooded. They’re overloaded.

And pushing for answers only increases shutdown.

Play therapy gives teens a way to show what they can’t yet say.

We can’t think our way out of dysregulation.

Teens can’t talk their way out of survival mode either.

Regulation comes first—through movement, creativity, sensory input, and relational safety.

Once the nervous system settles, conversation becomes possible.

Not forced. Not rushed.

But real.

Want to learn more about using play therapy with your adolescent clients?

Check out my website for information about play therapy training, membership programs, and free resources!

Cathi Spooner, LCSW, RPT-S
Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training
Rhplaytherapytraining.com

02/21/2026

Even when it’s not your turn to present, you still walk away changed.

That’s the power of being in the right professional community.

Members often share that every meeting brings:
✨ A new strategy they can use immediately
✨ Fresh inspiration
✨ Grounding during hard personal seasons
✨ Support that helps them show up well for clients

It becomes the fastest — and most meaningful — hour and a half of the week.
Through grief, life stress, and professional challenges, the heart of the group stays the same: lifting one another up.

Because in this field, a rising tide truly lifts all boats.

If you’re tired of doing this work alone and want support that strengthens both your clinical skills and your heart as a therapist —
👉 Follow for more insights.
👉 Visit our website to find the right community for you.

02/20/2026

Some experiences can’t be accessed through words — not yet.
When clients can’t explain what they’re feeling, instead of pushing for language, we invite symbolic expression: clay, art, movement, poetry, sand tray.
We don’t have to label it.�We just give it form.

Once it’s externalized, it becomes safer to explore. We access the right-brain, implicit processes first — then gently bring in words to make meaning.
In this episode, we talk about why healing often starts with symbols, not talking.

🎧 Listen to the full podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2021678/episodes/18691052
�📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/wcNzl6M-0Bo

02/20/2026

Check out these play therapy trainings 👇👇👇

📅 March 7, 2026
Play Therapy with Adolescents Using Expressive Arts
🕘 9:00 AM–4:30 PM MT | Hybrid
📍 St. George, UT + Zoom
A full day of experiential learning using expressive arts to engage teens who don’t “do” traditional talk therapy. We’ll nerd out on neuroscience and attachment while exploring powerful, hands-on play therapy activities to use with your adolescent clients.
6 Play Therapy CEs & 6 Social Work CEs

📅 April 18–19, 2026
Sand Tray in Play Therapy with Children & Teens
🕘 9:00 AM–4:30 PM MT (both days)
📍 St. George, UT | In-person only
Two days of deep, experiential learning with your hands in the sand. You’ll create and process sand trays alongside fellow play therapists, grounding your work in theory, meaning, and felt experience.
12 Play Therapy Contact CEs & Social Work Live/In-Person CEs

📅 SAVE THE DATE: June 6, 2026
Play Therapy with Traumatized Children & Teens
🕘 9:00 AM–4:30 PM MT | Hybrid
📍 St. George, UT + Zoom
A powerful, integrative play therapy training that clarifies how to support trauma processing, build safety, and strengthen the therapeutic relationship using neuroscience and attachment principles. This is an integrative play therapy training focuses on how to conceptualize trauma using a neuroscience and attachment lens. You’ll walk away with play therapy strategies and activities across each stage of the treatment process to use right away with your clients.
6 Play Therapy CEs & 6 Social Work CEs

AND - it’s important to have support after the training when you’re sitting in front of clients trying to remember what you learned or later when you’re figuring out what happened in the play therapy session 👇

So- you’ll have two whole months of support through Play Therapy Elevation CIRCLE at no cost for new members so you have ongoing support. You don’t have to do this work alone.

For more information and to register, hop over to my website on the Training page

Cathi Spooner, LCSW, RPT-S
Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training
Rhplaytherapytraining.com

02/20/2026

When we rely only on talk therapy with overwhelmed kids or teens, think about what we’re actually asking them to do:
Identify their feelings.�Find complex emotion words.�Reflect on the experience.�Connect emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

All while their nervous system is in fight, flight… or even shutdown.
No wonder they go silent.�No wonder they “don’t know.”

In this episode, we unpack why silence isn’t resistance — it’s often nervous system overload — and what to do instead.

🎧 Listen to the full podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2021678/episodes/18691052
�📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/wcNzl6M-0Bo

02/19/2026

Silence in therapy sessions can feel uncomfortable — for the teen and the play therapist.

As play therapists – when we’re uncomfortable – we feel compelled to fill the empty space, ask better questions, try harder.

But sometimes silence is communication.

It’s a teen saying, “I don’t feel safe enough yet.”

Traditional talk therapy assumes a regulated nervous system, a mature prefrontal cortex, and easy access to language—things adolescents don’t always have, especially under stress.

Play therapy doesn’t lower the bar; it changes the doorway.

Expression comes before explanation, creating the conditions for healing without requiring teens to perform emotionally for us.

This is the magic of accessing the therapeutic powers of play with teens for deep healing.

Want to learn more about using play therapy with your adolescent clients to facilitate healing?

Check out my website for information about play therapy training, membership programs, and free resources!

Cathi Spooner, LCSW, RPT-S
Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training
Rhplaytherapytraining.com

02/19/2026

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 thing no one warned you about in grad school: why play therapists feel stuck with teens—and why it’s not because you’re doing it wrong.

Here’s the hard truth (said with love):

👉 Trying harder to get teens to talk about their feelings is often the exact thing keeping them shut down.

If you’ve ever:
Asked thoughtful, open-ended questions and gotten one-word answers
Left therapy sessions wondering if you’re missing something obvious
Questioned your competence because “nothing happened”
Googled how to get teens to open up at 10 p.m. like an imposter.

…pause. Breathe. You’re not failing. And they’re not resistant.

In this podcast episode, we’ll unpack what’s actually happening in the adolescent brain when teens are overwhelmed by trauma, anxiety, depression, or family stress—

and why traditional talk therapy often overloads their nervous system instead of helping it settle.

We’ll talk neuroscience (without making your eyes glaze over), development (in real-world language), and the mindset shift that changes everything:
✨ Stop pushing for verbal processing
✨ Start creating pathways for expression

You’ll learn how purposeful expressive arts—clay, art, music, sand, collage—help teens bypass cognitive overload, access safety, and express what they cannot yet put into words.

Not because they’re immature. But because they’re human and still developing.

This is not about “playing.”

This is about working with adolescent development instead of against it.

If you’re ready to stop feeling stuck, stop blaming yourself, and start seeing teens engage in ways that actually lead to healing—come join the conversation.

Your future sessions will thank you.

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 thing no one warned you about in grad school: why pl...

02/19/2026

Ever leave a play therapy session with a teen thinking:

“Why did that fall flat?” 😬

Teens shut down when play therapy feels too direct, too fast, or too exposed.

This free guide helps you shift from doing to being—so expressive arts in play therapy sessions actually work.

It’s –
🧠 Grounded in neuroscience
💛 Rooted in attachment
🎨 Built for real-life play therapy sessions with teens

👉 Hop over to my website on the Free Resources page and download the Be5 Framework (free)

Feel free to message me for the link or if you have questions. You can also write in the Comments to get the link.

Cathi Spooner, LCSW, RPT-S
Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training
Rhplaytherapytraining.com

02/19/2026

When trauma shuts down growth, words aren’t always the way in.
Expressive arts can gently bypass the cognitive defenses and access what’s stored deeper — the implicit experiences that don’t yet have language.

This is especially powerful with:�
• Adolescents�
• Adults with early childhood trauma�
•Clients with substance misuse histories

Instead of pushing for explicit memories before they’re ready, expressive arts allow safe access to what’s “behind the wall.”

From an Internal Family Systems (IFS) lens, protectors may be guarding vulnerable parts. Creative expression helps us approach those spaces without overwhelming the system.

No forcing.�No breaking defenses.�Just safe, symbolic access.

👉 Follow for more trauma-informed play and expressive arts strategies.�
👉 Visit our website to deepen your skills and clinical confidence.

02/18/2026

Teens don’t shut down because they’re resistant.

They shut down because their nervous system is overwhelmed.

Play Therapy with Adolescents Using Expressive Arts

This virtual and in-person play therapy training shows you how to work with adolescent development —

using expressive arts to create safety, regulation, and real engagement without forcing teens to talk before they’re ready.

March 7, 2026
In-person: St. George, UT
Virtual option and On-Demand (available after training date) option available

Learn practical, developmentally-aligned play therapy strategies to help teens express, regulate, and heal.

CEs are available.

AND - it’s important to have support after the play therapy training when you’re sitting in front of clients trying to remember what you learned or how to make sense of what happened in the session 👇

So- you’ll have two whole months of support through Play Therapy Elevation CIRCLE at no cost for new members so you have ongoing support. You don’t have to do this work alone.

For more information and to register, hop over to my website on the Training page

Feel free to message me for the link or if you have questions. You can also write in the Comments to get the link.

Cathi Spooner, LCSW, RPT-S
Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training
Rhplaytherapytraining.com

02/18/2026

Working with adolescents can feel complex — especially when talk-based approaches fall flat.
That’s exactly why Play Therapy with Adolescents Using Expressive Arts was created.
In this training, we walk through:
🧠 Neuroscience
🤝 Attachment
🌿 Interpersonal neurobiology
💛 Polyvagal-informed understanding
This becomes your case conceptualization lens — helping you truly understand what’s happening beneath the surface.
Then we move into an integrated play therapy model grounded in that science — giving you a clear framework to thoughtfully structure your expressive arts interventions:
• What to use
• When to use it
• Why you’re using it
And because we’re play therapists… this isn’t just theory.
You’ll experience the activities yourself so you can confidently implement them right away.
If you’re ready to deepen your work with teens using expressive arts and a neuroscience-informed framework, this training was designed for you.

🎧 Listen to the full podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2021678/episodes/18691052

📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/wcNzl6M-0Bo

Let’s move beyond “just talking” — and into transformative, developmentally attuned healing.

02/17/2026

We need to stop forcing pre-teens and teens to “just talk about their feelings.”
Many of them aren’t resistant — they’re overwhelmed. And when we push them to verbalize what they’re not developmentally or emotionally ready to express, we can unintentionally make it worse.
There is another way.
✨ Through the therapeutic powers of play�✨ Through expressive arts activities�✨ Through creative, developmentally attuned interventions that meet them where they are
When we shift from pressure to process, from interrogation to expression, teens begin to open up in ways that feel safe and authentic.
In this episode, we dive into why talk-based approaches aren’t always the answer — and how expressive arts can transform your work with adolescents.

🎧 Listen to the full podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2021678/episodes/18691052
�📺 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/wcNzl6M-0Bo

If you work with pre-teens and teens, you don’t want to miss this conversation.