Belonging, Encouragement, and Safe Haven: Integrating Adlerian Play Therapy with Attachment‑Based Practice

Webinar Details

Program name: Belonging, Encouragement, and Safe Haven: Integrating Adlerian Play Therapy with Attachment‑Based Practice

Presenters: Terry Kottman and Marshall Lyles

Date: June 12, 2026

Time: 10 am - 4:30 pm (Central time) - one hour lunch break and two 15-minutes breaks

Workshop Description:

In this 5 CE experiential webinar, we’ll explore how Adlerian play therapy and attachment theory can sit together, each offering language, structure, and relational depth that enriches the other. We’ll look at how clients' striving for belonging, significance, and connection shows up in their creative expressions and how our own attachment histories quietly shape the way we interpret and respond to those moments.

Through case examples, sand and art demonstrations and experiences, and plenty of gentle self‑reflection, we’ll consider how encouragement, attunement, and co‑regulation can guide our therapeutic choices. Our hope is to create a learning space where theory becomes usable, relational presence becomes central, and we remember that healing often begins with being seen and heard.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this five CE webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Describe core principles of Adlerian play therapy, including goals of behavior, lifestyle themes, and the role of encouragement—and explain how these concepts intersect with attachment theory.

2. Identify ways clients' attachment needs and patterns emerge in expressive arts and play, and articulate how these patterns inform Adlerian case conceptualization.

3. Demonstrate skills for offering encouragement and attuned presence that support both belonging (Adlerian Play Therapy) and secure base/safe haven functions (attachment theory).

4. Describe how to design Adlerian play therapy interventions that are developmentally appropriate and responsive to a client's attachment strategies, cultural context, and relational needs.

5. Discuss how the therapist’s own attachment history and relational style may influence interaction with play themes and the use of encouragement.

6. Explain how to integrate attachment‑informed strategies into each phase of Adlerian play therapy.

Registration information: The registration fee is $360 and the webinar platform is Zoom. A link will be sent for webinar access within 24 hours of the event. This event is sponsored by Marshall Lyles, APT Approved Provider 17-508. 

Cancellation policy: Registration is non-refundable.