IAPT is excited to present our annual one-day spring conference to provide more learning opportunities to our play therapy community.

APT Approved Provider #07-195

Approved Provider status is granted by the Association for Play Therapy; this allows registrants to earn credit at IAPT programs towards their Registered Play Therapist™, School Based Registered Play Therapist™, or Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor™ credentials.

2026 Spring Conference

Friday, April 17th, 2026

8:30am to 4:45pm

Rhythm City Resort and Casino

Davenport, IA

REGISTER HERE

IAPT is excited to hold our 5th Annual Spring Conference. Feedback from conference attendees has shown a desire for a broader range of training options, which we have incorporated into this day. In order to better accommodate our members’ needs, the spring conference will be held in different locations around the state each year. We are happy to be meeting in Davenport for 2026.

MORNING KEYNOTE SESSION (8:30am-11:30am)

What You Oughta Know About Attachment: Exploring Connection, Separation, and Repair in Play Therapy presented by Jen Alexander, M.A., NCC, SB-RPT™

Overview: Relationships—everybody needs ‘em, yet they’re also what many children (and adults) struggle with after they’ve experienced developmental trauma! Play therapists need to know how to support youth and families navigating these challenges—all from an attachment-based perspective. Get ready to feel safe, seen, heard, and felt in this keynote presentation with fellow Iowa play therapist, trauma expert, author, and speaker, Ms. Jen Alexander. Mental health professionals will learn how to help children work on their relationships with their families, peers, and professional caregivers, utilizing play therapy interventions. Leave with practical ideas you can use in your school or community-based mental health setting that are appropriate for kids of all ages so they can better understand how they engage in connections with others and improve their relationship skills too. Ideas for teens included!

Objectives:

1. Participants will explore how connection, separation, and repair are at the heart of responsive relationships while discovering kid-friendly language that supports these human needs within the play therapy setting.

2. Participants will explore trauma-informed play therapy interventions, brainstorm questions for processing those interventions both inside and outside of their metaphors, and discuss which interventions they may utilize or modify to best meet their clients’ needs.

3. Participants will discover trauma-informed coaching tips that will help other adults help kids outside the play therapy office—whether that’s at home, at school, in the community, or an inpatient setting.

LUNCH BREAK (11:30am-12:30pm)

Buffet lunch provided on-site/included with registration

AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSIONS #1 (12:30pm -2:30pm)

  1. Emotional Regulation and Sensory Interventions in Play Therapy (Paula Cox LMHC, RPT™)- Beginner
    • Overview:
      • This workshop will explores sensory- and movement-based approaches in play therapy to support emotional regulation and resilience. Participants will learn to assess children’s window of tolerance, understand the neurobiological impact of movement, and apply practical interventions to promote regulation across therapeutic and everyday environments.
    • Objectives:
      • Describe the developmental process of emotional and sensory regulation and how it impacts children’s symptomatic presentation in play therapy.
      • Utilize play therapy at least three techniques to explore and assess an individual’s window of tolerance and what situations or triggers may contribute to clients becoming dysregulated in play therapy.
      • Describe the impact of movement on the brain, body, and nervous system, specifically related to emotional regulation, trauma, and resilience for clients who are participating in play therapy.
      • Describe the reason for sensory and movement-based interventions as a tool for overall regulation and resilience, including the use of sensory and movement-based activities both in and out of play therapy sessions to advocate for clients’ needs across environments.
      • Utilize and demonstrate skills, vocabulary, and exercises to increase body awareness of self and clients to build resilience in play therapy sessions.
      • Prepare and apply at least three sensory and movement-based interventions for play therapy sessions to help clients maintain and expand their window of tolerance and to regulate their bodies and nervous systems in and out of session.
  2. Rewiring Through Play: Neuroscience of Emotion Regulation & Integrating Neurofeedback in Child Therapy (Rebecca Louison Ph.D, LMFT and Jess Pladsen Ph.D, LMFT, RPT-S™, TTP)- Advanced.
    • Overview:
      • Brief overview of Brain States and emotional regulation. Using play therapy to support with neurological rewiring. Concepts from neurofeedback and description of this modality and how this can be integrated into play therapy to support with regulation, arousal, and focus. Demonstrations and discussion on ethical, practical, and developmental considerations for integration of this modality.
    • Objectives:
      • Describe core neurobiological systems involved in childhood emotion regulation, including the limbic system, prefrontal cortex, and stress-response pathways.
      • Identify how dysregulation presents in children behaviorally and neurologically, and explain how play-based interventions support brain integration.
      • Explain the foundational principles of neurofeedback and how it supports emotional regulation skills through operant conditioning of brain activity.
      • Apply at least two strategies for integrating concepts of neurofeedback into existing play therapy frameworks.
      • Evaluate ethical and developmental considerations when incorporating neurofeedback with children and families in a therapeutic setting.
  3. Who is the Person I See?: Addressing Stigma, Bias and Self-Identification with Children and their Families (Remi Andrews, MA, LMFT, RPT™ and Heather Sowada, PhD, LMFT)- Intermediate.
    • Overview:
      • Heather and Remi will use their extensive experience, recent research and case studies to support plat therapists in understanding and identifying their own biases. Additionally, therapists will gain skills to support children and families in addressing and understanding these biases through the use of play therapy interventions.
    • Objectives:
      • Therapist will be able to identify biases and stigma within their own framework to better support children and families in managing biases within play therapy sessions
      • Therapist will learn 2-3 interventions to utilize in play therapy sessions to reduce buas in the family system
  4. Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (Jeremy Koerselman LISW, RPT™)- Beginner
    • Overview:
    • Objectives:

AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSIONS #2 (2:45pm- 4:45pm)

  1. Ready, Set, Play! Supervising Play Therapy Interns Without Losing Your Marbles (or Your Miniatures) (Joella Gerber, LISW, RPT-S™ and Robin Murphy, LISW)- Intermediate .
    • Overview:
      • Graduate interns often need support translating play therapy theory into practice. This session highlights how experiential learning and intentional supervision—through modeling, live feedback, reflection, and structured opportunities—build interns’ play therapy competence, confidence, and clinical skills.
    • Objectives:
      • Identify at least three supervisor-driven strategies (e.g., modeling, structured feedback, live supervision) that support interns’ development of play therapy attitudes, knowledge, and skills, as defined in research on graduate-level training.
      • Create a written supervision plan outlining how their internship site will provide developmentally appropriate, hands-on play therapy learning experiences aligned with APT training standards and the intern’s skill level.
  2. Strengthening the Brain Muscle: A Play Therapy Approach to Support Neurodiverse Children at Home (Lynn O’Brien, EdD, NCC, LPCC-S, LMHC, LPSC, RPT-S™ and Casey Baker, EdD, LMHC, RPT-S™)- Intermediate .
    • Overview:
      • This workshop equips play therapists with practical, brain-based strategies to teach parents how play, co-regulation, and neurodiversity-affirming practices strengthen children’s emotional regulation, executive functioning, and resilience across home and therapeutic settings.
    • Objectives:
      • Identify core principles of attachment-based and neurobiology-informed play therapy, including co-regulation, relational safety, and neurodevelopmental sequencing, that support emotional regulation and executive functioning in children.
      • Explain how interpersonal neurobiology and attachment theory inform play therapy conceptualization of behavior, using developmentally appropriate and parent-friendly language to enhance caregiver understanding and engagement.
      • Demonstrate at least two play therapy–informed skills or methods for coaching parents to support co-regulation, therapeutic play, and neurodiversity-affirming practices within the home environment.
      • Apply culturally responsive, ethically grounded, and neurodiversity-affirming play therapy practices when educating and collaborating with parents, while honoring family systems, cultural context, and developmental needs.
  3. Directive Interactive Activities in Play Therapy (Jess Pladsen Ph.D, LMFT, RPT-S™, TTP)- Intermediate
    • Overview:
      • Several directive interactive and expressive interventions will be taught focusing on elementary and middle school ages. Participants will engage in hands on practice of interventions individually and in partner work. Discussion, adaptations, and question and answer will be included.
    • Objectives:
      • Learn and apply directive, interactive interventions (Game of Life, I Am Unique, Connections that Continue, Individual/Family Crest) to support children’s self-awareness, identity development, emotional processing, boundaries, and coping skills.
      • Use these interventions as assessment and conceptualization tools to gain insight into children’s schemas, relationships, emotional experiences, and treatment needs while strengthening therapeutic rapport.
      • Integrate core play therapy principles—including unconditional positive regard, empathy, authenticity, and respect for the child’s autonomy—to create a safe, accepting environment that fosters natural growth and healing.
  4. Play Therapy for All: Utilizing Assistive Technology to Enhance Therapeutic Outcomes (Tony Raymer, LISW, RPT-S™, Tracy Keninger, MS, CRC, ATP)- Beginner .
    • Overview:
      • Discover how assistive technology can transform play therapy for individuals with disabilities. This workshop explores practical tools, strategies, and creative approaches to enhance engagement, accessibility, and therapeutic outcomes, ensuring inclusive, effective play experiences for all.
    • Objectives:
      • Understand the role of assistive technology in play therapy and how it enhances accessibility and engagement for individuals with diverse abilities.
      • Gain practical strategies and resources for selecting and implementing low-tech and high-tech assistive devices in therapeutic play settings.