Overview

ACT With Play Therapy for Children (Part 1) is an experiential training designed for mental health professionals who want to integrate Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into play-based work with children.

This hybrid training (online + in-person) explores how ACT’s core processes can be brought to life through play, imagination, storytelling, and experiential activities that meet children where they are.

You'll learn how to use ACT to help children develop psychological flexibility, emotional regulation, and values-based behaviour—all through developmentally attuned, playful therapeutic methods.

This training is accredited for 14 hours of continuing education when both Part 1 and Part 2 have been completed.

Note: This workshop focuses on children. Part 2 will focus specifically on working with teens using ACT and creative, developmentally appropriate interventions. Register for Part 2 here.

A Unique Training Experience

This isn’t a "sit-and-listen" workshop — it’s experiential, interactive, and creative. You’ll have opportunities to play, move, reflect, and practice interventions in a supportive environment.

• In-person participants will engage in hands-on, play-based exercises.

• Online participants will join adapted experiential sessions and small-group activities.
  

Through this format, you’ll experience the best of both worlds: relational depth and learning flexibility.

Who This Training Is For

This training is ideal for psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors, and graduate-level trainees who work with children and want to strengthen their ACT and play therapy skills. No prior ACT experience is required—just basic clinical foundations and supervised experience.

What You’ll Learn

In Part 1 (Children), we will explore:

• How to build strong therapeutic relationships with children through play

• ACT foundations adapted for younger clients (Hexaflex, defusion, mindfulness, values, and committed action through play)

• Using toys, storytelling, drawing, and metaphor to teach ACT skills

• Child-friendly case formulation and assessment

• How to use play to externalize difficult thoughts and emotions

• Ways to help children build flexibility, self-regulation, and willingness

• Introducing ACT metaphors in developmentally accessible language

• Supporting parents/caregivers while maintaining child-centred practice

You will also be introduced to themes that will be expanded upon in Part 2 (Teens), including autonomy, identity, and motivation—register for Part 2 here.

What You’ll Gain

• Practical and playful ACT techniques tailored for youth

• Tools to strengthen the therapeutic relationship through co-play and attunement

• Strategies to engage reluctant adolescents using creative and values-based methods [Part 2]

• Confidence integrating ACT + Play Therapy across developmental levels

• Experiential learning, reflection, and connection with peers

Practical Information

Format & Duration: 14 hours total over two consecutive days (online and in-person components).

Prerequisites: A basic understanding of therapeutic principles. No prior experience in ACT or Play Therapy is required.

Certificate: Participants receive a certificate of completion documenting training hours.

Accessibility: Online participation and in-person attendance options are available.

About the Presenter

Dr. Moire Stevenson (she/her) is a clinical psychologist, ecotherapist, and nature-based wellness educator with over a decade of experience helping people live fuller, more meaningful lives. She also helps clinicians build the skills to do the same.

Moire has worked with children and teens for over 30 years, across a range of roles that have shaped her deep, hands-on understanding of child development, including teacher's aide, children's entertainer, and child psychologist. She spent 10 years in pediatric rehabilitation, ran a private practice conducting psychoeducational assessments, and now works on staff at a children's hospital, bringing decades of accumulated experience into every aspect of her work with young people.

She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology (Research and Intervention) from the Université de Montréal (2015) and a Combined Honours degree in Biology and Biochemistry from Dalhousie University (2003). A pediatric psychologist and recognized expert in pediatric illness, trauma, disability, and accessibility, she serves on staff at the Montreal Children's Hospital, where she works with children, teens, and families navigating some of life's most complex challenges.

Moire is the founder of MindfulnessOutdoors.org, a social enterprise and integrative outdoor wellness platform offering Walk and Talk Therapy, nature-based mindfulness programs, professional training, and community events. She has hosted over 250 outdoor well-being events and built a thriving Meetup community of 3,000+ members, making her one of the most experienced practitioners translating ecotherapy from theory into real-world practice.

As an accredited trainer recognized by the Ordre des Psychologues du Québec (OPQ), the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), and the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), Moire has trained hundreds of therapists and healthcare professionals in nature-based and ecotherapy approaches, alongside clinical training on working with children and teens. She is also a recognized Clinical Supervisor with the OPQ, passionate about helping clinicians grow their skills and confidence in practice.

Learn directly from one of the field's most experienced voices; and bring nature-based approaches into your own clinical work.

For more on Dr. Stevenson, check out her Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin pages.