The Neurobiology of Play Therapy: A Synergetic Approach – HPP 02

Lisa Dion

In an optimal environment, most children will experience a healthy developmental process and not exhibit signs of overwhelming distress and emotional imbalances. Unfortunately, parenting is not common sense as many people expect. In a world filled with many distractions, it’s quite easy to mis-attune to our children and have significant issues surface that need attention.

In this episode, we dive into the world of children and what can happen to their nervous system when their needs aren’t consistently met. Our guest, Lisa Dion, founder and CEO of the Play Therapy Institute of Colorado and Synergetic Play therapy talks to us about authenticity and authentic expression as a Play Therapy clinicians, why your own “window of tolerance” matters more than your think, and instruction during play and when it undermines a child’s growth.

And we’re not just talking about Play Therapy here, even though it’s a very important application of this episode. This information applies to parents every where who are trying to learn the most effective ways to help their children grow in a healthy manner.

Show Notes:

Show Notes
How to use signals in your own body to have an information exchange with the child [11:44]

The impact on the nervous system of Play Therapy versus Talk Therapy [13:00]

A brief history of Play Therapy [15:06]

Synergetic Play Therapy…addressing the lower brain stem and why it’s so healing for children [18:17]

Why Synergetic Play Therapists see so much transformation in their own lives [19:56]

A young child’s brain can’t tell the difference in play between real and imagined and why that matters [21:45]

When instruction is useful and how it can undermine teaching internal regulation to the child [30:05]

An amazing case example of overcoming aspects of autism through Synergetic Play Therapy [35:22]

Lisa Dion

LISA DION, MA, LPC, RPT-S, is an innovative and inspiring teacher and pioneer in play therapy. She is the founder and CEO of the Play Therapy Institute of Colorado and creator of “Synergetic Play Therapy,” a model of play therapy bridging the gap between neuroscience and psychology. Lisa teaches and supervises globally, helping transform the lives of thousands of therapists and children. She is the only person in the world who is a Senior Certified Demartini Method Facilitator® and a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor.
Her training and understanding of how the mind and a person’s biology drives human behavior allows her to offer her child and adult clients a unique perspective and understanding on how to maximize their potential and develop a greater appreciation for themselves and the people in their lives. Lisa is dedicated to advancing the play therapy field worldwide through her teachings, books and research. Her first book Integrating Extremes: Aggression and Death in the Playroom is already being referred to as “groundbreaking.” Lisa is the recipient of the Association for Play Therapy’s 2015 Professional Education and Training Award.