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When strategies that have always worked in the past, are not working, it’s frustrating! In fact, sometimes our responses even seem to make the situation worse. What’s going on? When we learn to identify brain and body states it facilitates using the right strategy at the right time, including understanding why something might work in one moment and not another. When students aren’t in the higher regions of their brains, some strategies meant to support them, actually create escalation. Learn critical classroom strategies that work with students during varying states of arousal, expanding windows of tolerance and getting students back to places of learning. Strengthen your ability to help students grow their capacity for dealing with stress and challenges in and out of the classroom as you support creating new options for behavior. -
Safety and belonging start with the brain! Creating a safe and welcoming environment is the foundation of classroom culture and community and is crucial for academic success and overall well-being. We spend so much time creating beautiful classrooms, however, providing students with a sense of security can be challenging if we don't understand how the brain perceives safety and threats. You cannot talk someone into feeling safe. Learn to use approaches that foster a sense of safety, nurture trust and belonging, and support students in approaching challenges with curiosity instead of fear as they learn that they can manage to do things that are difficult. -
Empowering Educators and Students: Strategies for Navigating the Realities and Thriving in Today’s Schools is a 5-part video series. You can watch them all (already selected, just add to cart for your discount) or CLICK HERE to explore and purchase them individually. Should you want to watch the entire series, we recommend viewing them in this order:- The Neurobiology of Preparing Brains and Bodies to Learn in the Classroom
- Creating a Felt Sense of Safety and Belonging in School Starts with the Brain
- The Classroom is a Nervous System: Working with Daily Regulation and Dysregulation Cycles
- The Process of Developing Self-regulation: Understanding the Missing Pieces
- Brain-aligned Strategies for Re-wiring Brains and Re-patterning Nervous Systems
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It can be frustrating when we teach students certain skills, and they don't seem to use them. This is especially true when it comes to behavior, and it's easy to assume that students are intentionally being defiant. However, what if we told you that much of the social-emotional learning programming and teaching lacks important components? These missing pieces make it difficult for students to use strategies independently. The good news is that we can incorporate these vital elements by making only small shifts to daily routines! Learn a framework for using whole-brain approaches that includes teaching specific skills and developing capacities that result in students being able to determine and apply strategies that work for them. We can provide students with the tools they need to succeed both academically and socially, by scaffolding the development of the skills they need to take responsibility for their own behaviors. -
This is a therapist-designed course that assists teachers, early-childhood educators, and caregivers in learning how to support the nurturing of social-emotional development in a group and classroom setting. Looking for a fresh explanation on why children feel and act the way they do? Curious about the relationship between brain development and perception? Want to know how the nervous system lives up to its name? Learn this and more! Scroll down for course details and objectives. -
Use Early Bird Coupon Code “EarlyBird50” for $50 USD off until October 1st!
Registration Deadline is October 28th, 2025, 12pm MST
Are you a school-based mental health professional questioning how to truly support students struggling with challenging behaviors? Or maybe, you’re finding yourself stuck between educational demands and the real needs of your students? Or perhaps you’re trained in Synergetic Play Therapy and looking for ways to bring your SPT skills into schools or educational settings to make a deeper impact? A Synergetic Approach to Education is here to bridge that gap, offering you practical, neuroscience-backed strategies that are not just “another thing on your or others’ plates,” but tools to transform your approach to classroom regulation and student engagement. How Is This Different from Other Programs? Unlike traditional educational programs that often overlook the link between mental health and classroom dynamics, our approach integrates decades of experience working at the intersection of education and mental health. This isn’t just about adding new techniques—it’s about fundamentally reshaping how you understand and respond to student behaviors. You’ll learn to implement small but powerful shifts in daily routines that prepare brains and bodies to learn, helping educators see beyond surface-level behaviors to the neurophysiological states driving them. What Does This Have to Do with SPT? Rooted in Synergetic Play Therapy principles, this program extends the insights of SPT into the classroom, giving you what you need to empower educators to become external regulators who support students in real time. You’ll discover how to translate the SPT model’s emphasis on regulation, curiosity, and connection into practical strategies that fit naturally into classroom settings. Our unique lens helps educators see their own roles in student dynamics, fostering environments of safety, belonging, and co-regulation that elevate everyone. What Will You Learn That Makes Us Different?- Identify Missing Pieces in School Programs: Discover critical components often absent from current school approaches that keep students stuck in challenging behaviors and learn how to explicitly teach educators how to prepare brains and bodies to learn with “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches.
- Model Classroom-Wide Regulation: Learn how to demonstrate regulation strategies that benefit all students and teachers, without adding extra workload.
- Understand Underlying Issues: Help educators recognize the deeper dynamics affecting classroom behaviors in ways that make sense to them, making their interventions more effective and sustainable.
- Tailor Supports to Educators' Realities: Establish practical approaches that account for differing student needs while ensuring educators can implement them seamlessly in their classrooms.
- Address Barriers with Curiosity: Tackle common challenges educators face and empower them to engage with these difficulties using a mindset of curiosity rather than resistance.
- Prepare Brains and Bodies to Learn: Gain tools to articulate the connection between neurophysiological states and behaviors, equipping educators to support students more effectively.
- Practical, Scalable Strategies: Implement classroom-wide regulation that supports every student and doesn’t feel like “one more thing.”
- Deeper Understanding of Behavior Dynamics: Uncover the root causes of challenging student behaviors and learn how to guide educators in addressing them.
- Empowerment to Transform Classrooms: Use the principles of SPT to create regulatory environments that allow for dynamic, individualized support.
- Collaboration and Connection: Model how to balance support and challenge, cultivating resilience in educators and students alike.
Program Prerequisites: This program requires that you have taken a Level 1 Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® program. This includes the completion of one of the following:- Online or In-Person Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® program
- Six-Day Synergetic Play Therapy® Intensive Training (no longer offered)
- Synergetic Play Therapy® Supplemental Course (no longer offered)
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Use Early Bird Coupon Code “EarlyBird50” for $50 USD off until October 1st!
Registration Deadline is October 28, 2025, 12pm MST
Are you a school-based mental health professional questioning how to truly support students struggling with challenging behaviors? Or maybe, you’re finding yourself stuck between educational demands and the real needs of your students? Or perhaps you’re trained in Synergetic Play Therapy and looking for ways to bring your SPT skills into schools or educational settings to make a deeper impact? A Synergetic Approach to Education is here to bridge that gap, offering you practical, neuroscience-backed strategies that are not just “another thing on your or others’ plates,” but tools to transform your approach to classroom regulation and student engagement. How Is This Different from Other Programs? Unlike traditional educational programs that often overlook the link between mental health and classroom dynamics, our approach integrates decades of experience working at the intersection of education and mental health. This isn’t just about adding new techniques—it’s about fundamentally reshaping how you understand and respond to student behaviors. You’ll learn to implement small but powerful shifts in daily routines that prepare brains and bodies to learn, helping educators see beyond surface-level behaviors to the neurophysiological states driving them. What Does This Have to Do with SPT? Rooted in Synergetic Play Therapy principles, this program extends the insights of SPT into the classroom, giving you what you need to empower educators to become external regulators who support students in real time. You’ll discover how to translate the SPT model’s emphasis on regulation, curiosity, and connection into practical strategies that fit naturally into classroom settings. Our unique lens helps educators see their own roles in student dynamics, fostering environments of safety, belonging, and co-regulation that elevate everyone. What Will You Learn That Makes Us Different?- Identify Missing Pieces in School Programs: Discover critical components often absent from current school approaches that keep students stuck in challenging behaviors and learn how to explicitly teach educators how to prepare brains and bodies to learn with “top-down” and “bottom-up” approaches.
- Model Classroom-Wide Regulation: Learn how to demonstrate regulation strategies that benefit all students and teachers, without adding extra workload.
- Understand Underlying Issues: Help educators recognize the deeper dynamics affecting classroom behaviors in ways that make sense to them, making their interventions more effective and sustainable.
- Tailor Supports to Educators' Realities: Establish practical approaches that account for differing student needs while ensuring educators can implement them seamlessly in their classrooms.
- Address Barriers with Curiosity: Tackle common challenges educators face and empower them to engage with these difficulties using a mindset of curiosity rather than resistance.
- Prepare Brains and Bodies to Learn: Gain tools to articulate the connection between neurophysiological states and behaviors, equipping educators to support students more effectively.
- Practical, Scalable Strategies: Implement classroom-wide regulation that supports every student and doesn’t feel like “one more thing.”
- Deeper Understanding of Behavior Dynamics: Uncover the root causes of challenging student behaviors and learn how to guide educators in addressing them.
- Empowerment to Transform Classrooms: Use the principles of SPT to create regulatory environments that allow for dynamic, individualized support.
- Collaboration and Connection: Model how to balance support and challenge, cultivating resilience in educators and students alike.
Program Prerequisites: This program requires that you have taken a Level 1 Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® program. This includes the completion of one of the following:- Online or In-Person Introduction to Synergetic Play Therapy® program
- Six-Day Synergetic Play Therapy® Intensive Training (no longer offered)
- Synergetic Play Therapy® Supplemental Course (no longer offered)
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Join us for this exciting program in which we will be exploring ways to support students and educators. You’ll learn strategies for use in educational settings that promote trauma-informed, social-emotional support. You’ll learn the neuroscience behind these strategies, as you focus on teaming and working together to support your community. Click here for instructions on how to register. -
Keep the momentum going and continue growing and learning! Nurture the bonds you've built, with our 6-month group consultation journey designed for those who’ve completed one of our signature SEI programs. It’s a chance to deepen your learning, stay inspired, and grow together with our vibrant global community. Join Judy for six 1-hour group consultation sessions. This is your space to pause, reflect, and recharge. A place to reconnect with the heart of our work and the people who make it meaningful. Whether you're navigating challenges or celebrating wins, we want to walk alongside you. Use the dropdown menu to choose the group that fits your schedule the best. For dates and times, refer to the details below. -
It is time to integrate the valuable insights and trauma-informed, community responsive approaches with the laws and mandates governing behavioral health. First, we will clarify the alphabet soup of educational acronyms as we examine the hierarchy of laws and rights that guide our work in implementing behavioral health in education while ensuring compliance with special education regulations. Next, we will discuss the importance of federal rights and how they are applied specifically in the state of Colorado, including a comparison of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Section 504 plans to highlight educators' responsibilities in each case. We will also explore pathways to support and success by learning about the Child Find process, with a focus on the obligations of educators. Additionally, we will explore the intersection of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) and special education identification, as well as some criteria that determine a student’s eligibility for special education services. Join us to learn how to stay compliant without losing the heart of education! -
It can be frustrating when we teach students certain skills, and they don't seem to use them. This is especially true when it comes to behavior, and it's easy to assume that students are intentionally being defiant. However, what if we told you that much of the social-emotional learning programming and teaching lacks important components? These missing pieces make it difficult for students to use strategies independently. The good news is that we can incorporate these vital elements by making only small shifts to daily routines! Learn a framework for using whole-brain approaches that includes teaching specific skills and developing capacities that result in students being able to determine and apply strategies that work for them. We can provide students with the tools they need to succeed both academically and socially, by scaffolding the development of the skills they need to take responsibility for their own behaviors.
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Discover the true importance of regulation and how it's often misunderstood. Don't let regulation be just another buzzword in your vocabulary. Join Judy to explore how regulation and dysregulation cycles affect students and adults throughout the day. Learn how finding moments of regulation in the midst of dysregulation can be a powerful tool in improving your well-being and shifting students’ behaviors. By gaining a deeper understanding of how dysregulation is a natural part of everyday life, we can recognize important clues for supporting students in becoming aware of their own activation and learning effective strategies through challenging moments. Apply this understanding to class-wide activation. Viewing the class as a collective nervous system gives you the ability to support entire groups of students at the same time, without burning out your own nervous system. Empower yourself and your students!
