190. When the Aggressor is You: Therapist Activation in the Playroom with Mili Shoemaker
Release Date: 04/08/2025
Helping Kids & Families Navigate Screen Time Balance | Stacy Jagger (Best Of)
Lessons from the Playroom
Original Air Date: June 22, 2023 We are so excited about this hot topic and our incredible guest—Stacy Jagger! Stacy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S), and AAMFT Approved Supervisor. She is the founder and clinical director of Music City Family Therapy and the author of 30 Day Blackout and A Letter from Emma. You may have seen her as a regular guest on “Today in Nashville” or sharing her expertise on child development on local morning and evening news. In this episode, Stacy and Lisa dive into how screens—phones, tablets,...
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199. EMDR Sand Tray Therapy for Trauma Healing: Ana Gomez on Symbols, Attachment, & Integration
Lessons from the Playroom
In this episode, Lisa welcomes back Ana Gomez, internationally recognized expert in EMDR Therapy, complex trauma, and dissociation, for her third appearance on the podcast. Ana shares insights from her brand-new book, EMDR Sand Tray-Based Therapy: Healing Complex Trauma and Dissociation Across the Lifespan, offering practical, innovative strategies for trauma work. Together, Lisa and Ana explore the evolution of Ana’s integrative approach, combining her love of symbols, dreams, and sand tray work with EMDR therapy. This powerful union creates a flexible pathway for clients to safely access...
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Vicarious Trauma & Compassion Fatigue: What Every Therapist Needs to Know (Best Of)
Lessons from the Playroom
Original Air Date: May 3, 2020 The word compassion means ‘to suffer with’ or merge with. This is different than empathy." – Lisa Dion As play therapists, we hold so much. And often, we don’t realize how deeply the work impacts us—especially when we’re navigating crises both personally and professionally. In this essential episode, Lisa explores the nuanced differences between vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue—experiences that are far more common in the field than we may recognize. She also reflects on what happens when therapists are living through the same crises as their...
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198. Wounded Healers in the Playroom: How Attachment Histories Shape Our Work
Lessons from the Playroom
What happens when therapists bring their own attachment histories into the playroom—consciously or not? In this deeply validating and insightful conversation, Lisa welcomes back Dr. Clair Mellenthin—renowned play therapist, author, and professor—to unpack her groundbreaking dissertation research and explore how a therapist’s personal story shapes their clinical work, especially within family-based play therapy. Together, they explore: Why many play therapists are drawn to the work as “wounded healers” Research that debunks the myth of needing to be fully healed to help others How...
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Special: Where Are We Now? Reflecting on the Evolution of Play Therapy
Lessons from the Playroom
This episode originally aired in June 2023 when Synergetic Play Therapy turned 15 this year 🎉 (and was also Lisa’s birthday week! 🥳), which made it the perfect moment to pause and reflect on how far the field of play therapy has come—and where it might be headed next. In this celebratory episode, Lisa dives into the evolution of the mental health and play therapy fields—from early models focused on behavior change to today’s integrative approaches that honor the nervous system, the body, and the power of relationship. You’ll hear about the rise of neuroscience, Polyvagal...
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197. Why the Playroom Must Evolve: Embracing Digital Play Therapy & AI (Part 2)
Lessons from the Playroom
In this powerful follow-up episode, Lisa reunites with psychologist, author, and digital play therapy pioneer Dr. Jessica Stone to explore the ever-evolving intersection of technology, artificial intelligence, and mental health. Together, they dive into why the playroom must evolve—offering a grounded, nonjudgmental look at how digital tools and AI are showing up in children's lives and what that means for us as therapists. Together they explore: Is digital play therapy the same as virtual play therapy? How do you ethically use tools like ChatGPT, story generators, or VR in the...
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Special: Little Questions, Big Insights: Answering Common Play Therapy Questions
Lessons from the Playroom
In this latest episode, Lisa tackles three little, yet powerful questions that every play therapist faces at some point in their practice. These insightful answers will expand your approach and deepen your work with children. 🔹 What to do when you see your clients outside of a session? 🔹 How to navigate working with imaginary friends in therapy? 🔹 What to do when a child refuses to do their chores or other tasks they should be doing? These are just a few of the essential questions Lisa dives into, giving you practical answers that can make a world of difference in your play therapy...
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196. Dissociation Reimagined: Honoring the Inner World of Therapist and Child
Lessons from the Playroom
In this powerful and deeply human episode, Lisa is joined by two internationally recognized leaders in the field of complex trauma and dissociation—Ana Gómez and Jill Hosey—for a heartfelt conversation about their monumental new release: The Handbook of Complex Trauma and Dissociation in Children. More than just a book discussion, this episode offers a reverence-based reframe of dissociation—not as pathology, but as a brilliant, adaptive survival strategy used by children navigating overwhelming experiences. Ana and Jill share their personal insights from editing this groundbreaking...
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Special: Understanding Sexualized Play in Therapy with Dr. Jodi Mullen
Lessons from the Playroom
One of the most highly requested topics in play therapy is finally here—understanding sexualized play in the playroom. In this deeply insightful episode, Lisa Dion is joined by Dr. Jodi Mullen, a leading expert in play therapy and child trauma, to explore what it means when sexualized play emerges in sessions. 🔹 How to trust your felt sense as a clinician when sexualized play appears 🔹 Identifying red flags and themes that may indicate sexual trauma 🔹 Understanding transference and countertransference as clinical clues 🔹 The key differences between medical trauma vs. sexualized...
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195. When the Body Remembers: Psychosensory Healing, Play Therapy & the Wisdom Within with Kim Barthel
Lessons from the Playroom
She’s back—and the energy in the room just elevated. In one of the most moving and illuminating episodes to date, Lisa Dion reunites with internationally renowned occupational therapist, author, and teacher Kim Barthel—one of the most beloved guests in the podcast’s history. Together, they take us deep into the world of psycho-sensory interventions, a term Kim coined decades ago during a pivotal moment that forever changed her clinical approach. Through a powerful real-life case study, this conversation explores how the body holds the story of trauma, how sensation can unlock memory,...
info_outline"Every part of us, even the ones we've been taught to reject, holds the potential for growth and healing." – Mili Shoemaker
Aggression in the playroom is a familiar topic—but what happens when it’s not coming from the child, but from within us as therapists? This is a conversation we rarely hear in the play therapy world, yet it’s a reality many therapists silently grapple with. In this eye-opening episode, Lisa sits down with Mili Shoemaker, a seasoned play therapist, Synergetic Play Therapy trainer, and clinical supervisor, to explore what it means when therapists feel their own aggression arise in session.
With honesty and compassion, Lisa and Mili unpack the discomfort, shame, and stigma that often accompany these experiences. They dive into the protective patterns that emerge when we try to suppress these feelings, and how true healing begins when we stop rejecting these parts of ourselves.
Together, Lisa and Mili explore:
✨ The taboo of therapist aggression – Why this conversation is missing in the play therapy world and why it needs to be heard.
✨ Recognizing therapist activation – How to notice when your own history, protective mechanisms, and triggers show up in the playroom.
✨ Befriending aggression – How shifting from judgment to curiosity about our own aggressive parts creates deeper therapeutic presence.
✨ Embodied expression vs. catharsis – Why aggression isn’t something to suppress, but also isn’t about explosive release.
✨ The unmet needs beneath aggression – Understanding what these feelings are signaling and how to meet them with self-compassion.
✨ Breaking free from shame – How to reframe aggression as part of our full humanity rather than something to fear or reject.
✨ Integration and authenticity – Why making space for all parts of ourselves strengthens our ability to hold space for our clients.
This episode is an invitation to step into a conversation that has been long overdue—to acknowledge, explore, and ultimately embrace a part of ourselves that holds the potential for healing and growth.
🔗 Tune in and take the next step toward deeper self-acceptance and authenticity in the playroom.
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