Early in my career, a young girl who had been completely non-verbal following a traumatic event came into my office. I wasn’t sure what to do, so we silently played with pipe cleaners.

The next day her mother called to tell me her daughter smiled after our session. It was her first smile in 6 months.

Once I saw how powerful play, connection and touch can be in treating trauma, I knew I needed to learn more. I became a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor and received specialized training for working with kids and complex trauma.

After years of working with kids and trauma, what I’ve discovered is simple:

By incorporating play into our trauma treatment models, we give words to the voiceless and power to the powerless.

Join me in this comprehensive training and let me show you how you can radically change the way you practice and dramatically improve your treatment outcomes with simple, but powerful, evidence-based interventions.

See you in the course,
Jennifer Lefebre, PsyD, RPT-S

About the course faculty:

Jennifer Lefebre, PsyD, RPT-S, is a clinical supervisor and EMDR consult facilitator at the Trauma Center. She completed her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Hartford in 2006.

She is a Registered Play Therapist – Supervisor, and has received specialized training in Attachment, Regulation and Competency (ARC), Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Therapy (SMART), Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TC-TSY), Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Theraplay, and Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT-A). She is working toward becoming an EMDRIA-approved consultant and is an EMDR (Level II) clinician. Additionally, she is an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant.

Dr. Lefebre’s clinical and research interests center on the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, adults and families whose lives have been impacted by complex trauma. She has experience working with young children (0-5), adult survivors of severe childhood abuse and neglect, and combat veterans with PTSD. She has worked in residential treatment, psychiatric inpatient and community mental health settings, and schools, and has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate level. She has provided trainings around the country integrating play therapy and evidence-based trauma practices.

Janet A. Courtney, PhD, LCSW, is founder of FirstPlay Therapy® and an adjunct professor at Barry University School of Social Work, Miami Shores, FL. She is a Registered Play Therapy-Supervisor, TEDx speaker, chair of the Ethics and Practice committee through the Association for Play Therapy, and past president of the Florida Association for Play Therapy.

Dr. Courtney is author and co-editor of the groundbreaking 2017 book, Touch in Child Counseling and Play Therapy: An Ethical and Clinical Guide. Her research into touch is published in the International Journal of Play Therapy, and the American Journal of Art Therapy. She is also published in the Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture and is a contributing author for the chapter, “Touching Autism through Developmental Play Therapy” in the book Play-based Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

She offers a certification in FirstPlay Therapy® (including FirstPlay® Infant Massage Storytelling). She has been invited to speak nationally and internationally including the Cayman Islands, England, Ireland, Morocco, Russia and the Ukraine. She specializes in infant play therapy/infant mental health, attachment, and trauma related issues.

Dr. Courtney’s new form of Kinesthetic Storytelling® can be found in her children’s book, The Magic Rainbow. Visit her website at www.FirstPlayTherapy.com