The Play Therapy Dimensions Model

The Play Therapy Dimensions Model (PTDM), developed by Lorrie Yasenik and Ken Gardner, provides an integrative, decision-making framework that helps play therapists navigate clinical choices moment-to-moment in session. Rather than aligning with a single theoretical orientation, the PTDM supports therapists in understanding how and when to intervene based on two core continua: directiveness (child-led to therapist-led) and consciousness (metaphoric/unconscious to conscious processing).

This training introduces the four quadrants of the model—Active Utilization, Open Discussion and Explorat...Read moreion, Non-Intrusive Responding, and Co-Facilitation—and explores how each reflects different therapeutic intentions and levels of therapist involvement. Participants will learn how the model serves as a flexible framework for integrating various play therapy approaches while remaining responsive to a child’s developmental level, play skills, and presenting needs.

Emphasis will be placed on helping new play therapists conceptualize why they are choosing certain interventions, how to recognize which dimension they are working within, and how to shift intentionally between dimensions to support therapeutic change.


1. Participants will be able to describe the two primary continua of the Play Therapy Dimensions Model—directiveness and consciousness—and explain how these dimensions organize clinical decision-making in play therapy.
2. Participants will be able to identify and describe the four quadrants of the Play Therapy Dimension Model (Active Utilization, Open Discussion and Exploration, Non-Intrusive Responding, and Co-Facilitation), including the therapist’s role and level of involvement in each.
3. Participants will be able to recognize key clinical indications for working within each quadrant and apply the model as a framework for selecting developmentally appropriate and theoretically grounded interventions. Less...

Learning Objectives

• 1. Participants will be able to describe the two primary continua of the Play Therapy Dimensions Model—directiveness and consciousness—and explain how these dimensions organize clinical decision-making in play therapy.
• 2. Participants will be able to identify and describe the four quadrants of the Play Therapy Dimension Model (Active Utilization, Open Discussion and Exploration, Non-Intrusive Responding, and Co-Facilitation), including the therapist’s role and level of involvement in each.
• 3. Participants will be able to recognize key clinical indications for working within each quadrant and apply the model as a framework for selecting developmentally appropriate and theoretically grounded interventions.

Friday, April 10, 2026

09:00 AM CDT - 12:00 PM CDT