Healing Attachment Wounds in Children: Integrating EMDR and Play Therapy

This training teaches clinicians how to integrate play therapy and EMDR to support children with attachment wounds. Participants will explore how early relational trauma impacts neurodevelopment, behavior, and symbolic play. The training explains how the EMDR eight-phase protocol can be adapted to meet the needs of children in the playroom.
With a focus on developmental sensitivity and relational safety, this course offers practical tools for every phase of EMDR. Topics include building regulation through rhythm, identifying targets through symbolic play, and supporting reprocessing through s...Read moreensory-based interventions. Therapists will learn how to track healing through changes in relational play, not just symptom reduction.
Designed for EMDR-trained therapists who work with children, this training blends fidelity to the EMDR model with the clinical flexibility needed to stay attuned to each child's nervous system and way of healing. Less...

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Learning Objectives

Identify how attachment trauma presents symbolically in the playroom
Apply EMDR interventions in developmentally appropriate, regulation-centered ways
Use play to support adaptive shifts in the child’s beliefs and relational capacity
Identify signs of integration and attachment repair in children’s play
Identify and respond to subtle signs of readiness, rupture, and repair

Target Audience

This training is designed for EMDR-trained therapists who sit with children and teens carrying stories too heavy for words.
It will be especially meaningful if you support young people navigating complex trauma, relational wounds, or struggles that show up more in their play and behaviors than in what they can say out loud.

Learning Levels

Immediate
Advance

Thursday, May 07, 2026

Live Interactive Webinar

11:00 AM EDT - 06:30 PM EDT

Register for this Webinar

$497.00

EARN 6 CE Credit Hours
Click Here to Register

About the speaker

Jackie Flynn, EdS, LMHC-S, RPT-S™,

EMDRIA Approved Consultant and Advanced Trainer

Jackie Flynn, EdS, LMHC-S, RPT-S, a leader in trauma therapy, is known for her expertise in integrating play therapy, EMDR, and Gottman Method Couples Therapy. She's an advanced trainer for EMDRIA and an approved credit provider for the Association for Play Therapy. Jackie hosts global events like the Innovative Child Therapy Symposium and co-hosts the Playful EMDR Summit and Neuroscience of Play Therapy Summit. Her engaging presentations on nervous system-informed therapy, based on Dr. Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory, teach therapists worldwide. She offers mentorship and supervision, empowering therapists to integrate EMDR and play therapy. Jackie fosters a global play therapy community dedicated to transformative healing.

Agenda

Total Time: 7.5 hours (includes 6 hours of instruction, 2 breaks, and lunch)

Start: 11:00 AM EST

End: 6:30 PM EST

11:00 – 11:15 AM

Welcome and grounding

Overview of the day, learning objectives, nervous system regulation to settle in

11:15 – 12:15 PM

Attachment and neurodevelopment

How early trauma affects the brain, behavior, and play; foundational theory (Bowlby, Perry, Porges, Shapiro)

12:15 – 1:15 PM

Symbolic play and readiness

How attachment wounds show up in play; assessing readiness for EMDR; clinical vignette (Maribel)

1:15 – 1:30 PM

Morning break

1:30 – 2:30 PM

Integrating EMDR Phases 1–4

Safety, co-regulation, target selection through play, using symbolic language in Phase 3

2:30 – 3:30 PM

Integrating EMDR Phases 5–6

Installation and body scan using art, movement, and somatic cues in play

3:30 – 4:30 PM

Lunch break

4:30 – 5:15 PM

Phases 7–8 and tracking repair

How to see integration in play, story, and relational shifts; tracking attachment gains

5:15 – 6:00 PM

Therapist presence and co-regulation

Using your own nervous system as a tool; modeling rhythm, pacing, and repair

6:00 – 6:15 PM

Afternoon break

6:15 – 6:30 PM

Q&A and reflection

Final insights, linking back to learning objectives, course evaluations

CE Information - Earn 6 CE Credit Hours

CE Process Info

EMDRIA

EMDRIA Credit Hours

Provider: Jacqueline Flynn

EMDRIA EC Program Approval Number: Pending Approval

EMDRIA Credits: 6

Eligibility for EMDRIA credits is restricted to those who have completed an EMDRIA-Approved Basic EMDR Training.

Association for Play Therapy (APT)

6 Live CE Hours for Association for Play Therapy (APT) – Approved by APT Approved Provider Jacqueline Flynn (#20-628).

State Licensure & Continuing Education Credit Hours

State licensure and CE credit hour approvals are currently in process. Updates will be posted here as they are confirmed. This may include APA approval and other applicable CE granting organizations.