Creative Play-Based DBT Activities for Children and Their Caregivers

Children feel emotions in many ways. At times the intensity of childrens emotions may be create difficulties at school, home, and social settings, and obstruct childrens relationships with others in their lives. Dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) has been proven as an evidenced based intervention for teenagers and adults with various mental health diagnoses that focus on mindfulness, interpersonal relationships, distress tolerance, and emotional regulation.

This helpful workbook will translate DBT principles through play therapy informed activities for children and their parents since children learn best through play. Supportive activities and techniques for use in the therapy room and at home with children are provided to assist children in managing their emotions and strengthen their relationships. Children need mediums to express themselves in order to channel their internal conflicts when posed with varying factors which contribute to a childs inability to conceptualize their world.

Blending the facilitative powers of DBT and play therapy will allow children to utilize the needed tools and techniques to process their internal conflicts. DBT techniques such as mindfulness, interpersonal reflective, emotional regulation, and distress tolerance, as well as play therapy techniques will be combined. Utilizing these skills while combining the therapeutic powers of play will allow children to play out these presenting challenges to better understand their world and the contributing factors which lead to their dysregulation and inability to cognitively process that which they cannot verbalize due to their limited cognitive ability

About the Authors

Kellie Giorgio Camelford, PhD LPC-S, NCC, NCSC, PMH-C, Registered Play Therapist, PCIT Therapist is a licensed professional counselor supervisor specializing in parent-child interaction therapy and perinatal women’s issues in clinical services. As assistant professor at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center–New Orleans, she enjoys teaching and supervising students in ethics and clinical supervision.

Krystal Vaughn, PhD LPC-S, NCC, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor is a licensed professional counselor supervisor specializing in children ages 2–12. As associate professor of clinical rehabilitation and counseling at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center–New Orleans, she enjoys teaching as well as providing clinical services with certifications in Parent Child Interaction Therapy and AutPlay.

Erin Dugan, PhD, NCC, CRC, LPC-S, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor is a licensed professional counselor supervisor specializing in children (ages 2–12), attachment disorders, and child–parent relationships, including filial therapy and family play therapy. As a Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation and Counseling at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans, she enjoys teaching play therapy courses and supervising students.

Krystal Vaughn, PhD LPC-S, NCC is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor specializing in children ages 2-12. As an Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans she enjoys teaching as well as providing clinical services with a certification of AutPlay. Her research interests are supervision, play therapy, neurodevelopmental disorders, dysregulation issues, other developmental disorders, and mental health consultation. Dr. Vaughn has extensive experience providing mental health consultation in childcare centers, private schools, and local charter school systems. Dr. Vaughn also provides supervision to counselor interns seeking licensure as professional counselors. She received specialized training in the fields of infant and early childhood mental health and play therapy, which she presents on locally and nationally. Additionally, she serves on numerous boards and committees to promote professionalism in the fields of play therapy and clinical supervision.

Erin Dugan, PhD, NCC, CRC, LPC-S, is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor specializing in children (ages 2-12), attachment disorders, and child-parent relationship therapy including filial therapy and family play therapy. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Dugan is a Professor in the Department of Clinical Rehabilitation and Counseling at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans and serves as the Interim Department Head of the Department of Clinical Rehabilitation and Counseling as well as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in the School of Allied Health Professions at LSUHSC. With nearly 15 years of experience as a Registered Play Therapist, she is recognized as a leader in the field of play therapy, presenting both nationally and internationally at professional conferences and publishing scholarly works on the subject. Dr. Dugan is a current member of the American Counseling Association, the International Association of Play Therapy, and many other professional organizations in the field. She has served on several committees and most recently serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of Play Therapy.