Child Therapy Boston Is Now Offering
Professional Development Workshops and Trainings
Here at Child Therapy Boston, we have amazing therapists! They are knowledgeable, creative, and very talented. Our wonderful team of therapists is something that has always made Child Therapy Boston special. We have also met incredible friends and colleagues from whom we’ve learned so much. We have been so inspired that after careful consideration, planning and preparation…we are thrilled to now offer professional development workshops.
Our trainings will focus on working with children, teens and families and will include relevant topics, creative and useful interventions, and accessible strategies for therapists and counselors. Therapists from Child Therapy Boston, colleagues, and other fabulous professionals will share their knowledge and passion and you’ll be able to get CEU’s! Our goal is to offer one workshop a month and hope that you will find them inspiring and helpful.
Our workshops have been approved for CEU’s (continuing education units) for social workers and mental health counselors in Massachusetts. And of course, we welcome all professionals who would like to attend. We also welcome any and all suggestions and requests for additional trainings.
If you are interested in trainings for your school, agency or organization, please feel free to reach out! Email
All workshops will be virtual and a link will be sent upon registration.
Past Workshops
Getting Nervous Together: Supporting Families in Understanding How the Nervous System Impacts Our Behaviors
Many of the foundational building blocks for our nervous system are fully developed when we’re born, yet our brains don’t mature until around age 25….and even still we continue to develop and learn and change throughout our lives! So how does our nervous system impact our behavior? Join Child Therapy Boston in welcoming Carol Kim, LMFT, RPT, the creator of Parenting Resilience and owner of Beehive Child and Family Counseling in working this out. Together, we’ll learn how our nervous system impacts our behaviors and various ways in which we can support families in better understanding this. Through the lens of the nervous system, we’ll also gain some effective interventions and tools to use in the clinical setting!
Presented by: Carol Kim, LMFT, RPT
Virtual
Friday, January 19th, 2024
11am – 1pm EST
2 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
$50
Inside and Out: Understanding the Impact of Hospitalization on the Mental Health of Children and Teens
Treating children and teens “from head to toe” can sometimes be a very big task, especially those who require medical care at the inpatient level. These clients require additional support… from both the professionals inside and outside of the hospital. Child Therapy Boston is so pleased to be partnering with providers from Boston Children’s Hospital to present exactly on this topic. In this training, clinical social workers and licensed mental health professionals will learn about the ins and outs of what Child Life Specialists and Music Therapists do to help children and teens cope with complex (and sometimes scary) hospitalizations. Additionally, participants will explore how to transfer techniques utilized by the client’s hospital team into their own practice to reduce the impact of medical trauma in clients’ day to day lives.
Presented by: Samantha Swankowski, Level II Certified Child Life Specialist, MS, CCLS, Alexandra Ford, Behavioral Health Music Therapist for Creative Arts Program, MT-BC
Virtual
Friday, November 17th, 2023
10am – 12pm
2 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
$50
“Make Your Mark! An Experiential Training Using Art and Mindfulness to Explore Self-Awareness and Regulation”
Child Therapy Boston is thrilled to provide this in-person experiential training for those who work with kids and teens in a clinical or therapeutic setting. “Make Your Mark!”, with Anna Ryan, MAT & Expressive Arts Educator is an experiential art and mindfulness workshop where participants will explore simple, accessible and powerful art activities paired with intentional breathing. These exercises and projects will help our clients (and ourselves) to be more present, manage stress, and learn new coping skills. This training will invite participants to “map” their breathing through different guided mark-making activities. Participants will explore how art affects feelings and behaviors and practice tools to promote self-awareness and regulation. “Make your Mark” is designed to assist with clients of all ages. All levels of art-making experience are welcome.
View a sample of “mark making” ANNA W. RYAN (@annaryanexpressivearts) | Instagram
Presented by: Anna Ryan, MAT
In Person
Friday, September 15th, 2023
9am – 12pm
29 Hudson Road, Suite 2300 Sudbury MA 01776
3 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
$150
“Securely Attached: Helping Families Develop Connection and Co-Regulation in Therapy”
Child Therapy Boston is thrilled to provide this virtual training for those who work with kids and teens in a clinical or therapeutic setting. “Securely Attached: Helping Families Develop Connection and Co-Regulation in Therapy”, with Eli Harwood, Author, Licensed Therapist and creator of Attachment Nerd. The training will explore practical ways to assess attachment patterns in family systems and child behavior, as well as interventions to help increase security in parent/child relationships. Participants will identify strengths-based communication to use with parents and families to prevent shame and defensiveness as well as exercises for families to utilize inside and outside of therapy.
To learn more about Eli Harwood and Attachment Nerd check out her Instagram and website.
Presented by: Eli Harwood, LPC
Virtual
Friday, October 20th, 2023
10am – 12pm EST
2 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
$50
Having PRIDE In Your Practice: Affirming Treatment Interventions for LGBTQIA+ Youth
As clinicians gain more skills in treating the queer community, it has become important to provide interventions that they themselves feel confident delivering. During this training, participants will develop a deeper understanding of what it means to work with and treat LGBTQIA youth. Elly will provide participants with wide range of affirming interventions that are considered to be best practices for this population. In addition, participants will explore interventions for working with families who are accepting, ambivalent, or rejecting of their child’s identity.
Presented by: Elly Humphrey, LMHC
Friday, June 16th, 2023
12pm – 2pm
2 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
$50
“It’s All Fun and Games…” How to Use Games to Enhance Group Therapy for Kids and Teens
Presented By: Jenn Angelone, LMHC,
Child Therapy Boston Clinical Director
Tuesday April 25th, 2023
11:00am-1:00pm
7:00pm-9:00pm (recorded workshop with live Q & A)
2 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
$50
If you’re sick of playing UNO and having a hard time finding games that everyone in your groups will enjoy? Well then, this training is for you! During this workshop, participants will learn about how to effectively facilitate, and sequence games and activities based on your group. Participants will learn how to use ice breakers, trust-building activities, team games and challenges, and then ways to process those activities through LIVE demonstrations. Lastly, this training will guide you on how to use games that have been on your shelf since grad school through a more therapeutic lens. Come prepared to play too as some of these activities can be done via Zoom!
If you are interested in learning more about our previous workshops, please feel free to reach out.
“Radical Self-Love” How to Model Radical Self-Love for Kids and Teens in Therapy
For a special Heart Month training, Child Therapy Boston is offering a workshop that flexes the heart muscles. Throughout this training, participants will explore what it means to practice radical self-love in order to make ourselves as providers and the therapeutic spaces we provide to our clients, as welcoming, accepting, and loving as possible. Participants will be encouraged to dig deep into their own thoughts and beliefs about biases and other systems that have sometimes made this process very difficult. Through interactive activities, participants will learn ways to be authentic in session as a model to clients to love themselves, fully, wholly, and radically.
Presented By: Coralanne Hocking, LCSW
February 28th, 2023
11:00am-1:00pm
7:00pm-9:00pm (recorded workshop with live Q & A)
2 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
$50
“The ART of Therapy” Using Art in Therapy for Kids and Teens
Presented By: Shera Weintraub, LMHC-ATR
March 28th, 2023
11:00am-1:00pm
7:00pm-9:00pm (recorded workshop with live Q & A)
2 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
$50
It can be hard to always say how you are feeling, especially when those emotions are so overwhelming. As a response, art can be used to help your clients, kids and teens alike, express and explore those emotions. During this training, clinical social workers and mental health therapists will learn about the basic important facts of implementing art therapy techniques for both individual and group therapy settings. Participants will explore specific art therapy techniques and activities depending on the client’s age, diagnosis, and goals for treatment. This training will be a hands-on experience, so be sure to bring some paper and art supplies!
“There’s A Book For That!”
An Exploration Of Bibliotherapy For Kids And Teens
Presented By: Esty Schachter, LICSW
Tuesday October 25th, 2022
11:00am-1:00pm
7:00pm-9:00pm (recorded workshop with live Q & A)
2 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
In this training, therapists and clinical social workers will learn the fundamentals of bibliotherapy and how to execute it in both in-person and virtual sessions. Participants will explore the resources that are currently available and develop skills on how to utilize literature, from picture books to graphic novels, in therapy sessions. Additionally, participants will learn how to find the “just right book” and present it in a clinical and meaningful way. This training is intended to be both didactic and interactive!
Esty Schachter is a clinical social worker with Child Therapy Boston who has nearly thirty years of experience in providing counseling and play therapy in clinic and school settings. In addition to being a social worker, she is also a writer and a book reviewer.
All the feels
Using sensory interventions for kids and teens and all their feelings
Presented By: Jenn Angelone, LMHC,
Child Therapy Boston Clinical Director
Tuesday November 29th, 2022
11:00am-1:00pm
7:00pm-9:00pm (recorded workshop with live Q & A)
2 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
$50
During this training, participants will learn about the different senses, including proprioception, interoception, and the vestibular system and how important it can be to activate these to develop emotional regulation skills for children and teen counseling clients. This trainer is designed to be interactive and experiential and will explore coping skills with and without the presence of physical tools to accomplish those skills.
Refilling Your Cup
Exciting Self-Care Activities for Professionals and Their Practice
Presented by: Jennifer Angelone, LMHC., Shera Weintraub, LMHC-ART., Coralanne Hocking, MSW., Emily O’Brien, LCSW/ Yogi., and Melissa Peterson, LICSW
Tuesday December 13th
12pm – 1pm
*Free*
Feeling a little “empty” as the year winds down? Need a boost of energy before the holidays? Child Therapy Boston will be hosting a free workshop for professionals to promote your own self-care and learn some new skills and activities to then use in your professional practice! Featuring therapists from the practice, participants will explore and reframe what “optimism” means to them and learn self-care practices through art, play, movement, and mindfulness. Come and join us as we help YOU take care of YOU! This training allows for a “bring a friend” option as well! Because, as we say… It’s more fun with friends!
Untangling Adoption
Understanding the Intricacies of Working with Adopted Clients
Presented By: Debra Olshever, founder of Adoption Associates
Tuesday January 31st, 2023
11:00am-1:00pm
7:00pm-9:00pm (recorded workshop with live Q & A)
2 CEU’s (Approved for Social Workers and MaMHCA)
$50
Featuring: Debra Olshever, founder of Adoption Associates
Working with adoption can get a little… tricky. There are a lot of nuances that go into it and as providers it can be hard to know where to start, what to say, and how to bring it up. There is no “one-size fits all” approach, just like there is no “one-size fits all” adoption. In this training, Debra Olshever, founder of Adoption Associates will guide participants in better understanding those intricacies of working with clients who have been adopted and explore the best practices of working with families during these transitions too. Participants will also learn how developmental behaviors can be impacted and what sorts of “typical” challenges arise. Additionally, participants will uncover how concepts like grief and loss, trust-building, self-esteem, and worldviews can be impacted by the adoption process.