Description
Regression in therapeutic work with children is often misunderstood, frequently viewed as a setback, a loss of progress, or a sign that development is moving in the “wrong” direction. However, within play therapy, regression can hold far deeper meaning, offering important insight into a child’s emotional needs, sense of safety, and internal world. Rather than being a problem to correct, it may be understood as a communication of distress, a search for comfort, or a natural fluctuation in emotional development.
This Continuing Professional Development (CPD) webinar invites participants to rethink regression through a more compassionate, developmentally informed, and neurodiversity-affirming lens. The session will explore how regression can emerge in response to stress, trauma, change, or unmet relational needs, while also acknowledging that it may be part of normal emotional ebb and flow. Participants will consider how dominant developmental narratives can shape professional interpretations and how these may sometimes unintentionally pathologise adaptive responses.
Through reflection, discussion, and clinical examples, the training will support practitioners to explore their own emotional responses to regression in the playroom, including feelings of uncertainty, concern, or frustration. Emphasis will be placed on holding regression with curiosity and compassion, recognising it as a potential doorway into deeper understanding of the child’s internal experience. Drawing on developmental theory and neurodiversity-informed perspectives, participants will develop a more grounded and flexible approach to working with regressive behaviours in therapeutic practice.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this webinar participants will be able to:
Develop a deeper understanding of regression as a meaningful and potentially adaptive response within play therapy.
Challenge common myths and assumptions that frame regression as failure or developmental backsliding.
Explore how regression may reflect unmet emotional needs, trauma responses, stress, or attachment-related dynamics.
Consider neurodiversity-informed and developmental perspectives on fluctuating emotional and behavioural presentation.
Recognise when regression may signal distress and when it may reflect natural variation in emotional regulation.
Reflect on personal and professional responses to regressive behaviours in the playroom.
Develop greater confidence in holding regression with curiosity, compassion, and therapeutic presence.
Understand how regression can be used as a clinical indicator for safety, relational needs, and emotional processing.
Strengthen the ability to respond in ways that support regulation, connection, and emotional integration.
Why Attend?
Regression can be one of the most challenging presentations for therapists to understand and respond to, particularly when it evokes uncertainty about progress or clinical direction. Yet when approached with curiosity and sensitivity, it can provide valuable insight into a child’s emotional world and current capacity for regulation and safety.
This webinar offers a reflective and practical space to reframe regression, moving away from judgement and towards understanding. Participants will leave with greater confidence in recognising the meaning behind regressive behaviours and in responding in ways that support emotional safety, connection, and healing.
