About CBPT Guidelines course
Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy (CBPT) guidelines offer a comprehensive framework for integrating nondirective play with evidence-based behavioral strategies. They describe how to introduce CBPT to parents and children, structure play sessions from start to finish, and establish clear routines for cleanup and transitions. The guidelines also detail techniques for setting limits, applying positive reinforcement, and managing uncooperative behavior, including appropriate use of time out. Finally, they cover variations in session format—seamless, structured, and manualized—along with in vivo interventions for phobias, strategies for generalization and relapse prevention, and termination.
The CBPT guidelines for working with parents emphasize the vital role caregivers play in every phase of treatment. They outline parent involvement during assessment, treatment planning, therapy sessions, and termination, whether through parent-only work, joint parent-child sessions, or minimal engagement. These guidelines explore how to coach parents in behavioral techniques—such as token systems, labeled praise, and exposure tasks—and address factors that help or hinder collaboration. By defining clear roles, setting realistic expectations, and responding to parental needs, therapists can build partnerships that extend the benefits of CBPT into the child’s home and community.
CBPT Guidelines Course Objectives
At the end of this module, participants should be able to:
- Describe the theoretical foundations, scope, and goals of CBPT.
- Explain CBPT to parents and to children using honest, developmentally appropriate narratives.
- Design and implement a full CBPT session—opening rituals, free play with embedded interventions, cleanup routines, and session closure.
- Apply key behavioral techniques within play: setting limits, shaping, positive reinforcement (e.g., sticker charts, labeled praise), and age-appropriate time-outs.
- Differentiate between seamless, structured-play, and manualized CBPT formats and select the best fit for each child’s needs.
- Plan and conduct in vivo CBPT interventions for common pediatric phobias (e.g., dogs, elevators, loud noises) using hierarchies, coping statements, and desensitization.
- Collaborate effectively with parents at every phase—assessment, treatment planning, skills coaching, and generalization support.
- Identify parental behaviors and attitudes that facilitate or hinder CBPT, and coach caregivers to reinforce adaptive patterns at home.
- Develop strategies for generalizing play-acquired skills to school and community settings, and create relapse-prevention plans.
- Formulate a termination process, including tangible skill reminders, celebration rituals, and an open-door follow-up policy.
CBPT Guidelines Course Requirements
The course is aimed at:
- Psychiatrists
- Psychologists
- Clinical Social Workers Or Licensed Independent Social Workers
- Licensed Professional Counselors
- Licensed Marriage And Family Therapist
- Licensed Mental Health Clinical Nurse Practitioner
The delivery of the certificate of attendance at the conclusion of the course will be tied to the evaluation of the participants' requirements. In the absence of the requirements, the course hours will not be certified.
CBPT Guidelines Course Curriculum
START NOW!
Find out how CBPT is going to help you create a better, more structured study process.
Your CBPT Instructor
Susan M. Knell, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and adjunct assistant professor in the department of Psychological Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. She received her undergraduate degree Magna Cum Laude from Mount Holyoke College, and graduate degrees from the Ohio State University (M.A., Developmental Psychology) and Case Western Reserve University (Ph.D., Clinical Psychology). She did pre- and post-doctoral training at the Neuropsychiatric Institute, UCLA. At Case Western Reserve, she teaches and supervises doctoral students. In addition to research, training and teaching positions, Dr. Knell has maintained a private practice for over 40 years, where she has provided assessment and therapeutic services to children, adolescents, and adults. She authored the book Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy (1993) which has been translated and published in Italian (1998) and Turkish (2021). Dr. Knell is known for her groundbreaking work integrating Cognitive Behavior Therapy with Play Therapy as a developmentally sensitive approach to psychotherapy with young children. She has written numerous chapters on CBPT in edited books, lectured throughout the United States and internationally, and served as a manuscript reviewer for peer revied journals. She co-founded the CBPT Institute in Rome, Italy.