Play Therapy to Address Suicidality Across the Lifespan Non-Contact Webinar 9.12.26

Presenter: Irene Gomez, LCPC, BC-TMH, Registered Play Therapist™ 

Session date: September 12th, 2026 

Session time: 9:00 am-1:15 pm CST 

CEs: 4 APT Non-Contact CEs 

Session Description:

Suicide is an issue that affects people of all race, genders, ethnicities, socioeconomic status, age and sexual orientation. As mental health professionals & play therapists, we have a duty to clients of all ages to effectively identify, document and treat clients who are at risk of harming themselves. This session will provide play therapists with the skills to provide ethically-sound support to clients across the play therapy process. Attendees will engage in experiential activities to assess and treat suicide risk in the playroom. Time will also be spent identifying play themes that may signal self-harm or suicidal risk in play therapy sessions. Play therapy interventions to support safety both in and out of the playroom will be explored, along with play-based strategies to support populations at a higher risk of suicide including children of color and LGBTQ youth. 

Learning Objectives 

1. Identify play themes that may signal issues around self-harm in play therapy sessions
2. Analyze play therapy interventions to assess suicide risk in children of all ages 
3. Describe play therapy interventions to decrease suicidal risk in children & adolescents
4. Explain key items in the playroom to support youth experiencing suicidality 

Agenda: 

• 9:00 am-10:30 am Lecture & experiential learning 
• 10:30 am-10:40 am Break 
• 10:40 am-12:10 pm Lecture & experiential learning 
• 12:10 pm-12:20 pm Break 
• 12:20 pm-1:00 pm Lecture & experiential learning 
• 1:00 pm- 1:15 pm Q & A and wrap-up