Meehan Mental Health Services

You feel stuck.

The door to the office shuts and you are met with folded arms, blank stares, silence, and the words “I don’t know” as the answer to every question. Every second seems to drag on as you hit the roadblocks of difficult to engage kids and teens.

And progress? Well… it’s slow to say the least. Sometimes nonexistent. 

And the worst part?

You have all of these interventions, techniques, and ahhh-mazing toys that you just know can help heal the anxiety, depression, anger, trauma, and life difficulties that brought them into session in the first place. Things that can really make a difference in their lives. 

But each session as you show up with new ideas, activities, and games you get met with resistance, difficulty opening up, loooong periods of silence, and one word answers. Or the 500 suggestions you have are all met with hard stops, head shakes, and little participation. 

And all that healing? Well…. It’s just beyond reach. 

The road forward toward progression on goals is rocky at best.  It feels like climbing a mountain and you are taking this journey inch by inch with the occasional backslide. 

You start to question if you are a good fit for this client, and deep down if you're really even a good therapist.


It's not just you.

Resistance is actually a common occurrence in the playroom. AND when you know exactly how to spot resistance and really listen to why resistance is showing up you hold the keys to unlocking and moving through resistance. 

AND kids and teens that are engaged do better in therapy and make more progress towards their goals. And that’s why you have likely spent countless hours in consultation and on Pinterest searching for anything to help break through resistance.

You need the tools and framework to unlock resistance and increase engagement. 

You need the specific steps, frameworks, and skills to take kids and teens from resistant to engaged.  From a place of shut down and hesitation to being able to have the courage and trust to open up and begin their healing process.  

What if resistance didn't make you feel so...stuck?

What would it be like to see resistance as a part of the therapeutic process? To understand that resistance shows up for a reason and has a story to tell?  What would it be like for you to have a clear understanding of how to sit with kids and teens in resistance and understand the specific steps and skills to move forward toward healing?

Now, imagine this... 

• You are able to spot the (sometimes surprising) signs of resistance quickly and easily 
• You are able to have insight into why resistance shows up in therapy in the first place 
• You have a clear understanding of the specific frameworks, steps, and skills for moving through resistance and into engagement 
• You have tons of play therapy ideas and activities to help move clients from resistant to engaged
• You are able to articulate to parents why resistance is showing up in therapy and are able to help them understand the path forward 

 This course Rolling With Resistance: Play Therapy Interventions For Your Most Difficult To Engage Clients holds your hand and creates a concrete roadmap for the specific steps to identify the root of resistance and the specific frameworks, skills, and play therapy theories and techniques to decrease resistance and increase engagement. 

Inside the course you will learn:

• 25+ play therapy interventions to help move through resistance 
• How to spot the four categories of resistance in the playroom - and specific skills to work through each
• Understand the four factors that contribute to resistance 
• The 6 frameworks and specific strategies to move through resistance 
• Strategies to minimize resistance, even before the first session, and at each stage through the therapy process 
• Specific skills to navigate parent resistance to the therapy process 
• 3 play therapy theories and modalities that are the most effective for resistant clients 
• 5 in depth case examples of resistance and how to work with resistance in the playroom 

Want to learn more? Check out the details below! 

CE Information:

This course is approved for 6.5 APT Non-Contact hours by Meehan Mental Health Services (APT Approved Provider 19-580).  

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the four categories of resistance in the playroom
• Identify 6 frameworks to understand and work through resistance
• List at least 10 therapist strategies to minimize resistance
• Identify 25 play therapy interventions to help kids and teens move through resistance
• Describe 3 play therapy theories and modalities that are the most effective for resistant clients
• Describe 5 interventions to help resistant parents
• Identify 5 strategies to help minimize resistance prior to kids and teens beginning therapy   

Course Format:  Train when it works for you! This course is a pre-recorded online self paced course where the modules are broken up into smaller digestible chunks that can be completed during a client cancellation, on the weekends, early in the morning, late at night - whenever! You can login at your own pace, re-watch content, and have unlimited access to the course. This course is designated "Non-Contact" by the Association for Play Therapy.

Who should attend:  This program is a beginning to intermediate course for any Play Therapist who wants to increase confidence in working with resistance. 

Cost: $159.00 

Presenter: Ann Meehan, MS, RPT-S® 

Play Therapy Credit may not be awarded to non-mental health professionals.  There are no refunds for this recorded course.
See Meehan Mental Health Services full policies and procedures for online and in person trainings here.