The Way of Play: A Neuro-Filial Approach to Repair Parent-Child Bonds and Build Trauma Resilience in Play Therapy

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT, RPT-S™, ECMHS Related seminars and products

Georgie Wisen-Vincent, LMFT, RPT-S™, ECMHS is a nationally recognized play therapy expert and co-author (with Dr. Tina Payne Bryson) of the new book – The Way of Play (Penguin Random House, January, 2025).

Georgie is the founder/director of The Play Strong Institute, a center devoted to the study, research, and practice of play therapy through a neurodevelopment lens, along with Dr. Bryson, the founder/director of The Center for Connection, a multidisciplinary clinical practice in Southern California. Georgie is also a child, adolescent, and family psychotherapist and maintains a private practice at The Center for Connection.

The Play Strong Institute offers the Certificate in Play Therapy with a Neurorelational Emphasis, an educational pathway toward becoming a credentialed play therapist. Through the institute, the Play Strong approach was developed using child-led, adult scaffolded connection and play to help parents, therapists, educators, and care providers augment intervention aimed at the social, emotional, developmental, and learning needs of children from infancy to early adolescence. Play Strong Parenting (a component of Neurofilial Therapy) has been validated by empirical research and is currently being studied with non-parental caregivers and early childhood educators, among other research investigations currently underway.

Neurofilial Therapy (NFT) is a more recent expansion on the well-established research behind Filial Therapy, a model that nurtures the parent-child relationship and places parents and caregivers in the role of therapeutic changemaker for their children. Georgie has gathered an advisory group of clinicians, knowledgeable in dyadic practice, to further develop the model and advance training in family therapy informed by Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB).

A graduate professor at Santa Clara University and active researcher in childhood play, attachment science, and mental health, Georgie has been commissioned as a consultant, program designer, and lead trainer for several major organizations and frequently presents to educators, parents, and clinical professionals on play therapy, trauma resilience, and the power of play-driven learning. She completed advanced study in play therapy at the University of Roehampton, London. Georgie gained specialist endorsement in early childhood mental health after completing the UC Davis Napa Infant Mental Health Fellowship. She is currently in the final phase of her doctoral program, a PhD in Infant and Early Child Development, focused on neurodiversity and parent-child attachment relationships.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Georgeanne Wisen maintains a private practice, is the co-founder and director of Play Strong Institute, and has an employment relationship with Santa Clara University. She receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Georgeanne Wisen is a member of the Association for Play Therapy, the British Association of Play Therapists, and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.