Description
Boundaries and limit setting are foundational to play therapy practice, yet they remain one of its most nuanced and continually evolving aspects. While often introduced early in training, boundaries are not fixed rules but living expressions of the therapeutic relationship, shaped by experience, reflection, and the developing capacity to hold both structure and connection. In the playroom, boundary work is rarely straightforward; it is relational, embodied, and often activated through moments of emotional intensity and limit testing.
This Continuing Professional Development (CPD) webinar revisits boundaries and limit setting as dynamic clinical tools that support emotional safety, containment, and therapeutic presence. Participants will be invited to reflect on their own personal and professional journeys with boundaries, including how these may have shifted over time and how they are influenced by needs for protection, connection, and relational safety. The session will explore how boundary responses can be held ethically and compassionately, while remaining attuned to the child’s underlying emotional communication.
The training will also introduce and compare several frameworks for limit setting, encouraging critical reflection on their therapeutic value and practical application. Participants will consider how different approaches align with their own style of working and how to remain flexible while maintaining clarity and consistency. A key focus will be on understanding boundary-testing behaviours as meaningful expressions of need rather than simply challenges to authority, and on responding in ways that support both structure and relationship.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this webinar participants will be able to:
Reflect on the evolution of personal and professional boundaries in play therapy practice and their role in emotional safety and therapeutic presence.
Understand boundaries as relational and dynamic rather than fixed, and explore how they shift across different clinical contexts.
Explore ethical and compassionate approaches to setting and maintaining limits within the playroom.
Recognise boundary-testing behaviours as meaningful communication of emotional needs, development, or relational dynamics.
Compare different frameworks for limit setting and consider their application in clinical practice.
Develop confidence in choosing boundary approaches that balance structure with attunement and connection.
Reflect on how personal experiences and professional identity influence boundary work.
Strengthen capacity to maintain therapeutic presence during moments of challenge, testing, or escalation.
Why Attend?
Boundary work can evoke strong emotional and relational responses for therapists, particularly when children test limits in ways that feel persistent, challenging, or emotionally charged. Yet these moments often hold important therapeutic meaning and offer opportunities for connection, repair, and growth.
This webinar provides a reflective and practical space to deepen understanding of boundaries in play therapy, supporting practitioners to respond with greater confidence, clarity, and compassion while maintaining both structure and relational depth.
