Select Page

Professional development is designed to support clinicians working with children and young adolescents.   Pathways to Play is providing an opportunity for local clinicians to come together once a month to learn something new, network with others, and collaborate with like-minded colleagues in the community. 

We meet on the 4th Friday of every month from 4:30-6:30 pm, at one of Step By Step Counseling’s St. Charles locations.  

The cost is $15 for professionals and $5 for students. You can pay in advance here or pay when you arrive.  The cost goes towards our scholarship program to subsidize mental health services for children & families that do not have insurance or cannot afford to use their insurance. Win-win!

As a bonus, anyone attending will have access to our Pathways to Play Google Drive folder of resources as well as an invitation to group chat to stay connected throughout the month.

We encourage attendees to: 

  • Bring any fliers for groups or programs to share with the group
  • Sign up to present on a topic, intervention, or modality that they are passionate about
  • Drop resources into the google drive folder throughout the month 
  • Connect with others and build relationships

We encourage our presenters to: 

  • Share resources on their topic in the google drive
  • Provide more information about their agency’s programs or individual practice

#bettertogether #growthmindset #playtherapy 

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”

Helen Keller

“None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”

Mother Teresa

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.”

H.E. Luccock

 “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

Ryunosuke Satoro

Example topics

  • Puppet Play
  • Expressive arts
  • Games
  • Family Interventions 
  • Engaging with parents
  • Body awareness
  • TBRI
  • Sensory integration
  • Sleep issues
  • Incorporating mindfulness
  • Self-care 
  • Coping strategies for clients
  • Collaboration with other members of the child’s team
  • Groups
  • Divorce
  • LGBTQ+
  • Anger
  • Grief 
  • Domestic violence 
  • Social Skills
  • Medical challenges
  • Chronic Illness or Chronic pain 
  • Adoption competent 
  • Sexual abuse 
  • Fostercare
  • Growth mindset
  • Dissociation 
  • Gender diversity
  • Using Music in Play Therapy
  • Courtroom/legal issues
  • Sandtray therapy 
  • Virtual play therapy
  • EMDR and play therapy
  • Legos and play therapy
  • Polyvagal theory 
  • Transference / Countertransference
  • Bibliotherapy (for specific diagnosis) 
  • Themes
  • Research 
  • Travel play therapy 
  • In-home Play therapy 
  • Setting up a playroom
  • School-based play therapy 
  • Cultural topics 
  • Documentation 
  • Assessment
  • Interpret drawings 
  • ADHD
  • DMDD
  • Conduct disorder
  • Oppositional defiant disorder
  • Attachment disorder
  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Anxiety
  • Depression 
  • Eating disorders
  • Trauma / PTSD
  • Pre-school
  • Middle school
  • Adolescents
  • Play therapy with adults 
  • CBT and play therapy
  • TFCBT and play therapy
  • Adlerian play therapy
  • Gestalt play therapy 
  • Theraplay
  • Child-Parent Psychotherapy
  • Child-Parent Relationship Therapy
  • Filial play therapy 
  • EXRP play therapy 
  • IFS play therapy 
  • Child-centered play therapy
  • Developmental play therapy
  • Jungian play therapy