Contributed by Dafna Lender

13 Results

The PACE Attitude

A Guide for Parents

The PACE attitude is a way of interacting with your child, especially around difficult topics or situations, that will help them feel less defensive and more... Read more

When senseless tragedy turns a child's world upside down, parents are looking for mental health support for the whole family. Read more

Awakening the Playful Self

A Depressed Client Rediscovers Connection

Most therapies are missing out on a fundamental tool for healing when they ignore the power of feeling playful embodiment with others. To help our clients grow... Read more

Case Study September 15, 2021

Doing Our Own Work Differently

An EMDR Portal to Our Clients’ Healing

How stepping outside our comfort zone when doing our own work can change therapy for our clients. Read more

"Networker Live" with Dafna Lender

Intergenerational Trauma

The Networker's director of CE, Zach Taylor, sat down for a live conversation and Q&A with therapist and author Dafna Lender, discussing Dafna's recent... Read more

Case Study November 3, 2020

A New Family Narrative

Transforming Intergenerational Trauma

The key to working with a family may be getting parents to see the intergenerational trauma underlying present-day issues. Read more

Some Days Are Too Much

A Therapist Gets Real about Families Struggling to Cope in Quarantine

Some clients in quarantine with their families report a constant feeling of being out of control. That danger lurks around the corner of every family... Read more

Hot Chips

From Storytelling 2020

When providing a secure base means overturning conventions. Read more

VIDEO: Using Play with Adults in Therapy

Dafna Lender Demonstrates Three Proven Techniques

Any therapist who works with kids will tell you that incorporating play in therapy is a great way to break the ice, reduce anxiety, and strengthen the... Read more

VIDEO: Dafna Lender on Harnessing Your Social Engagement System

Strategies for Building the Therapeutic Alliance More Easily

We all know therapists who seem magically able to establish a powerful sense of trust and connection with even the most distrusting clients. But are there... Read more

Case Study September 5, 2018

A Playful Path to Attachment

A Mother and Adopted Daughter Learn to Bond

Through games that encourage small moments of laughter, a struggling mother and her adopted daughter learn a different way to bond. Read more

Tuning into Attunement

How to Harness Your Social Engagement System

We all know people who have the magic touch when it comes to relating to others. They can instantly connect with strangers and put people at ease without even... Read more

Daring to Play

The Challenge of Embracing Our Youngest Clients

Although they make up nearly a quarter of the population, children are rarely a central part of therapists’ practices. Why? The most effective interventions... Read more

Dafna Lender

Dafna Lender, LCSW, is an international trainer and supervisor for practitioners who work with children and families. She is a certified trainer and supervisor/consultant in both Theraplay and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP). Dafna’s expertise is drawn from 25 years of working with families with attachment in many settings: at-risk after school programs, therapeutic foster care, in-home crisis stabilization, residential care and private practice. Dafna’s style, whether as a therapist or teacher, is combining the light-hearted with the profound by bringing a playful, intense and passionate presence to every encounter. Dafna is the co-author of Theraplay: The Practitioner’s Guide (2020). She teaches and supervises clinicians in 15 countries in 3 languages: English, Hebrew and French. Visit her website.