Self-Regulation: Strategies and Interventions for Children

Course Description

Emotional regulation is not a skill we are born with.  Helping children learn to self-regulate is among most important tasks.  This online seminar will examine how emotional self-regulation develops and how psychologists, school counsellors, teachers and parents can help children acquire this crucial skill.

A child’s capacity to regulate their emotions affects their long-term mental health, their future relationships, academic performance, and their ability to thrive in a complex world.  People who can self-regulate have better attention and problem-solving  capabilities.  They perform better on tasks involving delayed gratification, inhibition and long-term goals.  The effect carries on throughout life.  An adult who cannot master emotional regulation enjoys less job satisfaction, mental health or general well-being.  Many clinical disorders are closely related to emotional regulation, or rather, the lack of it.  Adults who have learned to regulate their emotions  in childhood, have a higher distress tolerance and more resilience, and they can better handle life adversity.

This seminar begins with a review of neurobiological processes involved in the development of self-regulation. Further, you will learn how to communicate knowledge of the brain and its role in self-regulation to parents and children in ways that are more easily grasped.  You will be able to help them to understand the purpose of various interventions. You will also learn about the vital role parents/caregivers, clinicians and teachers play in co-regulation. Finally, this seminar includes introduction of over 15 practical, age-appropriate (including play-based) interventions that can be used in therapy sessions or in the classroom to help promote development of self-regulation in children and teens.

Learning Objectives

• a). State the areas of the brain which are involved in processes affecting self-regulation.
• b). Name at least 3 possible causes for dysregulation in children and teens and corresponding treatment implications, including the importance of co-regulation.
• c). Learn and practice at least 3 strategies to promote self-regulation for infants and toddlers.
• d). Learn and practice at least 5 strategies to promote self-regulation in preschool age children.
• e). Learn and practice at least 5 strategies to promote self-regulation in elementary age children.
• f). Learn and practice at least 3 strategies to promote self-regulation in adolescents and teens.

About the Speaker

KATRINA JONES, MS, LCMFT, RPT

Katrina is a Licensed Clinical Marriage & Family Therapist and Registered Play Therapist. She owns a private practice, Hope for Healing, LLC, in Beloit, Kansas, providing therapy to clients throughout rural North Central Kansas. As a play therapist, Katrina uses self-regulation interventions in her work with young clients almost every day who present with a variety of issues including trauma, anxiety, reactive-attachment and challenges in family systems. She believes strongly in the power of the therapist’s own self-regulation in the therapy room as the basis for this work. In addition to her specialization in play therapy, Katrina is also trained in EMDR. Katrina serves on several steering committee’s and advisory boards in her community, and is currently the secretary for the Kansas Association for Play Therapy Board.

This online workshop will give you instant access to 5.5 hours of video content, accessible via streaming on our website, as well as downloads for supplemental materials. You can view the course content in your own time. Note that access will expire 90 days after purchasing this course.