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Counselling and Play Therapy with Gender Expansive Children

Item Code: GE
Price:  $200.00

Counselling and Play Therapy with Gender Expansive Children

Item Code: GE
Price:  $200.00
Sorry, this item isn't presently available for purchase

Informative and interesting.

I really enjoyed this. The presenter made everything much easier to understand and I feel somewhat more confident in how I would manage this area of counselling. Thank you very much.

I enjoyed this training because it offered me a different perspective on how to work with clients and caregivers around gender fluidity. Rather than needing to take a stance according to my faith beliefs I can now see a way forward to working with children & adults in a more inclusive and accepting way. This has been an area of concern and discomfort for me but Mandi provided a space to explore this in a new light.

 

 

Course Overview:

Gender identity begins to manifest in early childhood (Zucker & Bradley, 1995), and therapists who work with children should be prepared to support gender identity development in a wide variety of children and developmental stages. Play therapy is an effective therapeutic approach for supporting transgender and gender-expressive children, allowing them to safely explore and express their gender identity in an affirming and nonjudgmental space (Byrd, et al., 2021). Play therapists are ideally suited to support the development of coping skills and emotional regulation, which are crucial for children who may face discrimination or stigmatization due to their gender expression (Kavanaugh et al., 2016).

LGBT children are at high risk for depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, and LGBT children in families with accepting attitudes and behaviors towards them have significantly decreased risk and better overall health in adulthood. Specific caregiver behaviors, such as advocating for the child and supporting gender expression can guard against depression, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. In this course we will explore the role of play therapy in the treatment of gender expansive children, adolescents, and their caregivers as supports in healthy identity development and relational attachment.

You will have the opportunity to:

  • Define common terms and misconceptions about gender expansive people in order to provide ethically sound therapeutic support.
  • List two treatment goals for gender expansive children and    their families.
  • Apply play therapy interventions to support gender expansive children and their families.
  • Identify resources and support networks for gender-expressive children and their families, including LGBTQ+ organizations, peer support groups, and community initiatives.
  • Design play therapy spaces that provide a safe, affirming, and nonjudgmental space for children to express their gender identity.
  • Role play challenging conversations with caregivers of gender creative play therapy clients.

Who Should Attend?

Play Therapists, counsellors, psychologists and social workers who work with children. 

Workshop Facilitator

Presenter - Mandi Meléndez, Play  Therapist 

  

Mandi Meléndez, LMFT-S, LPC-S, RPT-S is the co-founder of Nurture Family Counseling, a group therapy practice with locations around Austin, Texas, USA.

She holds a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy with an emphasis on Play Therapy from Texas State University, as well as a Master of Arts in Interpersonal Communication from the University of Texas at Austin.

Mandi has shared her passion for the power of play therapy with trainings in Europe, Asia, North America and the Caribbean, and has served as the Clinical Editor for APT’s Play Therapy Magazine, as well as the President of the Texas Association for Play Therapy. 

 

 

 

Training Date and Times


28th April 2025, 9am - 12pm AEST (Sydney Time)

or

25th August 2025, 9am - 12pm AEST (Sydney Time)

 

Please note, this is a LIVE and INTERACTIVE training event. We don't record this.

 

Attending from interstate or internationally?

You can use this time converter to check the exact day and time of this training for your location.

What to Bring

Please bring some paper and colouring media (colouring pencils, crayons and/or markers). 

 

Training Details

Included in the workshop price:

  • 3 CPD hours 
  • Access to slides and link to create Certificate of Attendance
  • GST
  • Live online training

 

Training Cost

SPECIAL Price        $200

Work Paying?

Lucky you!

Send us an email requesting an invoice via the contact page with your name, the dates and name of course/courses you'd like to do and the name of your organisation who you want us to invoice and we will send you an organisational invoice and a registration form.