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Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence podcast artwork
Education

Next Level Play Therapy: A Podcast for Play Therapy Excellence

by Cathi Spooner, LCSW, RPT-S
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Latest episodes

  • Play Therapy Not Working? 4 Ways to Get Unstuck

    October 22, 2026 · 47 min

    Send us Fan Mail Is play therapy working for your client, or are you stuck in the "I don't know if this is helping" loop?  In this free weekly podcast episode for play therapists and child and adolescent therapists, you'll learn 4…

  • Family Play Therapy: 3 Signs a Parent Is Ready (and 3 Signs They're Not)

    October 15, 2026 · 49 min

    Send us Fan Mail In family play therapy, the caregiver's readiness matters as much as the child's. Because the parent-child relationship is the vehicle for healing, a parent has to be emotionally and mentally prepared to enter their…

  • Family Play Therapy: Why Treating Just the Child Limits Outcomes

    October 8, 2026 · 42 min

    Send us Fan Mail If you're a play therapist or child therapist meeting with kids weekly while updating parents on the side — this episode is for you. Individual play therapy is powerful. But when the family system stays the same, even the…

  • Congruence & Co-Regulation in Play Therapy

    October 1, 2026 · 45 min

    Send us Fan Mail Congruence & Co-Regulation in Play Therapy: How Nervous System Attunement Heals Kids What does it really mean to use "therapeutic use of self" in the playroom? In this podcast episode, we go beyond the buzzwords to explore…

  • Window of Tolerance in Play Therapy: Why Kids "Bail" on Deep Play

    September 23, 2026 · 42 min

    Send us Fan Mail You're 20 minutes into a play therapy session. The child is in it — deep in the sandtray, the story, the metaphor. And then, without warning, they bail. Silliness. A different toy. A total tonal 180. If you've ever…

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  • Explosive Emotions in Kids: A Brain-Based Approach for Play Therapists

    September 17, 2026 · 47 min

    Send us Fan Mail Free Podcast Training for Play Therapists: How the Brain Constructs "Explosive" Emotions in Kids Join Renewing Hearts Play Therapy Training with Cathi Spooner, LCSW, RPT-S podcast as we go beyond simple redirection…

  • Stop Guessing: 3 Keys to Decode Behavior in Play Therapy

    September 10, 2026 · 44 min

    Send us Fan Mail What do you do when your 6-year-old client is kicking things in the lobby or a 7-year-old starts using cursing in a family session? If you've ever felt like your play therapy questions are falling flat or a client’s…

  • Stop Processing Your Hardest Play Therapy Sessions Alone

    September 3, 2026 · 36 min

    Send us Fan Mail Have you ever finished a challenging play therapy session, watched the child walk out the door, and then just sat there — processing everything alone with no one who truly understands what happened in that room? If that…

  • Stop Guessing: 3 Indicators Play Therapy is Working

    August 26, 2026 · 38 min

    Send us Fan Mail Tired of feeling like you’re just "playing" without a clear way to track progress in play therapy? As play therapists, we often hear the same question from parents: "How is my child actually doing?"  And maybe you’re…

  • How to Stop Dreading Your Complex Play Therapy Cases

    August 20, 2026 · 34 min

    Send us Fan Mail Are you dreading that "challenging" case on your schedule?   The client who wreaks your room or doesn’t talk during their play therapy session?  Or the parent session with a parent that seems to avoid you yet calls you…

  • 5 Ways Community Improves Play Therapy Results, Especially When Clients Wreck Your Playroom

    August 13, 2026 · 47 min

    Send us Fan Mail Stop clinical isolation and help your play therapy clients progress faster.  What does that mean? A classic example of working in isolation and figuring things out on your own is figuring out what do you do when your…

  • The Dangerous Lie Every Isolated Play Therapist Believes

    August 6, 2026 · 42 min

    Send us Fan Mail Do you ever feel like the only play therapist who hasn’t figured it out? You’re not alone—and that thought might be exactly what’s keeping you stuck. In this week’s podcast episode, we’re exposing the "dangerous lie" of…

Full episode archive on Apple Podcasts →

About the show

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.