Little Hands, Heavy Crowns: Ethical Play Therapy with Children Carrying Marginalized Identities

Some children walk into the playroom wearing invisible crowns forged from racism, poverty, immigration trauma, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, or the intersecting weight of multiple marginalized identities. These crowns are heavy, yet most play therapy training never teaches us how to see them, much less how to keep from adding to their weight.

This 3-hour ethics and cultural competence training centers the lived realities of minoritized and marginalized children (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, neurodivergent, refugee/immigrant, poor and working-class, religiously minoritized, and multiply-marginalized you...Read moreth) and examines the ethical mandates of culturally responsive play therapy when systemic oppression follows the child through the playroom door.

Using vivid clinical vignettes, sandtray scenes, artwork, and puppet play examples, participants will explore how unexamined power and privilege can unintentionally re-traumatize children, gain tools to create playrooms where all children—especially those whose identities are often misunderstood or marginalized—can experience liberation, affirmation, and ethically grounded therapeutic care. Less...

Learning Objectives

• Identify at least three ways systemic oppression (e.g., racism, poverty, immigration stress, disability stigma) influences children’s play themes and behaviors in clinical settings.
• Identify at least four specific ethical standards (ACA, AAMFT, NASW, APT, etc.) address cultural competence, nondiscrimination, and power-aware practice in child therapy.
• Describe how racism, classism, ableism, heteronormativity, and immigration-related stress manifest symbolically and non-verbally in the play, artwork, and sandtray creations of marginalized children (with clinical examples from Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Muslim, LGBTQ+, and neurodivergent youth).
• Apply culturally responsive, ethically grounded play therapy strategies that support safety, empowerment, and identity affirmation for marginalized youth.
• Develop documentation language that reflects ethical accuracy, avoids biased interpretations, and contextualizes the child’s play within their cultural and systemic environment.

Friday, February 20, 2026

01:00 PM CST - 04:00 PM CST