The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn-Midtown — 6000 Middle Fiskville Rd, Austin, TX 78752

TAPT is an APT Approved Provider 98-043, CE provider for LPC (461) and MFT (865), and CEU provider for Social Work (1674).

CALL FOR PRESENTATION PROPOSALS IS CLOSED 

The deadline for all submissions was January 17, 2017. Thank you to everyone who submitted!

Friday, April 28

Click here for Break-Out Sessions and Full Conference Schedule

Ending Keynote Speaker:Toni Borowczak , M.Ed., LPC-S, RPT-S, NCC

Registration 7:30a-8:30a / Sessions: 8:30a-5:00p / Lunch: 12:00p-1:30p

Presentation Title
The Secret Lives of Play Therapists: A Journey into the Minds of Those Who Love Play
Therapy

Description and Learning Objectives
Play Therapists all over the world are making a difference in the lives of children daily. The work is meaningful, fulfilling, delightful, and can also be difficult and frustrating. Often times, we do not have an opportunity to share the inner workings of our playrooms, yet we are all united and tightly woven together for a common goal: to help parents, children & adolescents. In doing so, we have a multitude of experiences that are often very humorous, inspiring, or even embarrassing. Play Therapists have a language of their own. There is an automatic bond among Play Therapists. This session will highlight the commonalities among Play Therapists that make them a team regardless of their specializations or locations as you recall your journey to becoming a Play Therapist. It will focus on strengths, self-care, fears, goals, and humorous or inspiring stories that unite us all in this incredible profession.

Learning Objectives
1. Play Therapists will evaluate their strengths, fears, goals, and recall the reasons they became a Play Therapist.
2. Play Therapists will explore their journey in a meaningful way through hands-on activities.
3. Play Therapists will work together to share various humorous experiences they’ve had as a Play Therapist as well as hearing stories from others.
4. Play Therapists will leave with a new appreciation for their colleagues and their profession.

Saturday, April 29

Saturday Keynote Speaker: Phyllis Post, PhD, LPC-S, RPT

We are very excited to announce Dr. Phyllis Post will be our keynote presenter, and she will be presenting on multicultural play therapy.

Registration 7:30a-8:30a / Keynote Session: 8:30a-5:00p / Lunch: 12:00p-1:30p

Title of Presentation
Child-Centered Play Therapy: A Culturally Responsive Approach

Overview of Presentation
To be effective, play therapists must be knowledgeable, aware, and responsive to the changing of their clients’ unique cultural needs. The facts are clear. The demographic diversity of young children in the United States is increasing. In 2016, the majority of American children under 5 years old belong to racial and ethnic minority groups, and by the year 2020, the number of minority group children under 18 years old will surpass the number of majority group children.

Child-centered play therapy is an effective and respectful approach with culturally diverse children and parents. Using the foundations of multicultural counseling competencies (Sue & Sue, 2013), the workshop will focus on the demographics of children in the United States, effectiveness of CCPT/CPRT with culturally diverse clients, basic concepts of child-centered play therapy, and working with culturally diverse parents before and during providing play therapy to children. The presenter will use several instructional methods to actively involve the participants. These include presentation of content, experiential exercises, small group discussions, and practicing skills.

Following the workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Name two demographic changes in the United States that could impact their work with children of cultures different from their own.
2. Discuss two ways that self-awareness plays a part in their cultural responsiveness to children and their caretakers.
3. Name two facts about the effectiveness of CCPT/CPRT with regard to cultural diversity.
4. Discuss two ways that CCPT/CPRT is culturally responsive to children and their caregivers.
5. Discuss two strategies when working with culturally diverse parents before and during provision of services that demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences.

Sunday, April 30

Supervision Keynote Speaker: Andi Thacker, PhD, LPC-S, RPT-S, NCC

8:30a-12:00p

Title of Presentation
The Relational Brain: How Experiences Influence Relationships Inside and Outside the Play Therapy Supervisory Experience

Overview of presentation
Brain development occurs within the context of early relational experiences and lays the foundation for later relationships.  The relational foundation that is laid in earlier years will set the relational climate for future relationships.  For Play Therapists, these early experiences influence how they will interact with clients and supervisors alike.  The purpose of this presentation is to explore how brain development and early attachment experiences form and influence future work of Play Therapists.  Further, the presentation will include how the intersection of all these relationships shape and transform the brain of clients, Play Therapists, and supervisors.

Objectives
1.  Understand basic concepts of neurological development
2.  Examine how relationships influence brain development
3.  Investigate how one’s attachment and neurological landscape influences Play Therapy and Play Therapy supervisory relationships
4.  Discuss strategies for healing early relational wounds that might be interfering with Play Therapy effectiveness