About


Honoring the elemental in play therapy - An attachment exploration of Avatar: The Last Airbender

Part of the 2026 Geek Play Therapy Summit


In this training, we explore the fundamentals of attachment theory and play therapy through the lens of community.

 

Avatar: The Last Airbender provides countless metaphors that amplify the healing power of the collective for our wounded needs, including how to harness the power of relationships with animals and the elements.

 

Even play therapists not familiar with the story will resonate with these images of stories that hold wisdom from ancient healing sources.

Training Components

    1. Welcome! About This Training...

    2. Webinar video

    3. Handouts

    4. Post-Test

    5. Quest Complete! Guide Our Next Mission...

About this course

  • $50.00
  • 1.5 hours of video content
  • This recorded training offers 1.5 non-contact Continued Education credits. To earn your CE certificate you will need to complete the post test with at least an 80%.
  • Upon purchase, you'll have 30 days of access to recordings, handouts, and post-tests.
  • Content is for personal/professional use only. No sharing, distribution, or reproduction allowed. Updates may occur without notice.

In this course you will...

  • Describe the overlapping histories of play therapy and attachment theory

  • Discuss the importance of acknowledging the collective in addressing attachment wounds in play therapy

  • Use animated and fandom-based metaphors to facilitate client insight, emotional safety, and engagement in play therapy sessions.

Presenter

Marshall Lyles, LMFT-S, LPC-S, RPT-S

Marshall Lyles, LMFT-S, LPC-S, RPT-S, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, has over 20 years of practice in family and play therapy. Drawing on lessons learned from working with attachment trauma in a variety of mental health settings, Marshall regularly teaches on sandtray therapy, other expressive modalities such as poetry, and attachment-informed family work around the globe. In addition to co-authoring the book Advanced Sandtray Therapy: Digging Deeper into Clinical Practice, he has contributed multiple chapters and articles to publications. You can connect with him at www.marshalllyles.com.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

FAQs

  • What is your refund policy?

    All sales of recorded training sessions are final. Once purchased, there are no refunds or returns available. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to providing you with valuable content and insights through our recorded sessions.

  • How many CE credits are available

    This recorded training offers 1.5 non-contact Continued Education credits. To earn your CE certificate you will need to complete the post test with at least an 80%. A New Hope Therapy Center, our sister organization and partner for trainings and workshops, is an Approved CE Provider for the Association for Play Therapy™ (APT™) - Approved Provider. Furthermore, A New Hope Academy has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7816. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. A New Hope Academy is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please check with your state or other licensing board regarding their acceptance of these CEs.

  • How long will I have access to the training?

    Upon purchase, you'll have 30 days of access to recordings, handouts, and post-tests. Access extension requests must be made before expiration.

What people are saying about this course...

“I LOVED this training — I don't think I could give it enough high praises. The presenter was so knowledgeable and I loved how he talked about challenging western ideas of attachment. And Avatar the Last Airbender is such an incredible show already, so to bring all of this knowledge/theory to it to explore more deeply was wonderful.”

“I was enthralled by how Marshall was able to weave the Native American experience into discussions about Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

“This was such a beautiful and meaningful course. I so appreciated the presenter’s honesty and perspective, everything he shared resonated so deeply with me.”

“I loved the breakdown of how we approach cultural and historical context in play therapy, and how we can use this knowledge and credit to improve ourselves in the therapy space. I loved the anarchical presenter and his ability to give metaphor from an amazing show to what we see play out in real time with our clients.”

“I learned a lot about how culture impacts the therapeutic relationship and how to support a client’s expression of it.”

“I love Avatar and Marshal’s use of it! The eloquence in which he spoke and his perspective on attachment was extremely engaging!”

“I really appreciated thinking about attachment from a zoomed out perspective. I was messaging my work group chat with some of the perspectives I gained from Marshall during the training because I just really appreciated the perspective shifts.”

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