A 2-day Training in Upstate, NY

CEs are available. See Below for All CE Details

All behavior makes sense

except the ones that don’t!

Some children have big, baffling behaviors

that leave even seasoned child therapists confused, overwhelmed, burned-out or referring-out. 

This confusion leaves therapists feeling ineffective and parents feeling hopeless. 

We can make sense 

of even the biggest, most baffling behaviors when we take a brain-based, nervous system based-approach.

This will increase therapist confidence and effectiveness while increasing successful client outcomes.

Register HERE

Understanding what behavior really is

begins the roadmap for treatment planning

Theories of human development and relational neuroscience, including

interpersonal neurobiology (Dan Siegel)

polyvagal theory (Stephen Porges)

the neurosequential model of therapeutics (Bruce Perry)

attachment theory (John Bowlby) …and more

help us make sense of even the most baffling behaviors in our clients.   

Therapists (and parents) can stop playing behavior whack-a-mole

and experience better client outcomes

by shifting the focus away from behavior and toward the brain and autonomic nervous system.  

This training is a

a 2-day didactic and playful training 

co-led by Rose LaPiere, LPC, ACS, & RPT-S & Robyn Gobbel, MSW

Together, we translate Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors (by Robyn Gobbel) for child and play therapists into therapeutic case conceptualization, treatment planning, and play-based interventions.

Attendees will learn:

  • To decode behaviors through the lens of the nervous system, increasing treatment planning effectiveness
  • A playful paradigm to support therapists, parents, and kids in making sense of even the most baffling baffling behaviors (owls, watchdogs, and possums, oh my! Based on Robyn’s book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors)
  • A brain-based treatment progression based on science from Interpersonal Neurobiology and the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics
  • To support state-integration by playfully connecting to our client’s inner communities (parts of self)
  • Ways to untangle shame from baffling and even dangerous behaviors through conceptualizing those behaviors as brave protectors working hard to keep the child safe

official learning objectives for CE program are below

Register HERE

Hey there! I’m Robyn!

I’m a therapist, educator, trainer, consultant, and now- author!

I’m a little obsessed with studying the relational brain and then teaching everyone who will listen alllllllll about it.

Understanding what’s underneath behavior has changed everything- at work and at home.

I started studying relational neuroscience in 2011, including:

  • Hundreds (thousands?!) of hours of reading and personal study
  • Mindsight Institute with Dan Siegel, MD
  • IPNB Immersion with Bonnie Badenoch, PhD
  • In-depth consultation with Bonnie Badenoch PhD and Juliane Taylor Shore LPC-S, LMFT-S of IPNB Austin

and many, many more (1000 hours!) of trainings and study

I previously taught the Science of IPNB in the Foundations of IPNB Post-Grad Certificate program at Portland Community College

and served on the Global Association for IPNB (GAINS) Board of Directors.

Relational Neuroscience is at the heart of everything I do.

Founder & Creator of:

  • The Baffling Behavior Trianing Institute
  • Immersion Program for Professionals- a year-long neuroscience based certificate program for professionals who work with parents
  • The Club- a virtual community for parents of kids with big, baffling behaviors
  • The Baffling Behavior Show podcast

Author of:

  • Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors: Brain-Body-Sensory Strategies that Really Work- my USA Today Best Selling Book for Parents and endorsed by Stephen Porges, PhD and Tina Payne Bryson, PhD
  • Chapter on Interpersonal Neurobiology in The Handbook of Complex Trauma and Dissociation in Children (edited by Ana Gomez and Jillian Hosey)
  • Guided Journal for Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors (forthcoming September 2026)

and I’m Rose!

I’m a therapist, educator, trainer, consultant, author, and Cohort Leader for the BBTI’s Immersion Program for Professionals.

I started studying relational neuroscience in 2017, including:

  • Mindsight Institute with Dan Siegel, MD
  • IPNB Immersion with Bonnie Badenoch, PhD
  • Certified Synergetic Play Therapist
  • Advanced Practitioner- Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors Course Facilitator
  • Ongoing consultation with Marshall Lyles, LPC-S, LMFT-S, and Robyn Gobbel

I’m also a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor and EMDR Consultant.

I’m a past-president for the New Jersey Association for Creativity in Counseling  

and a former board member of the World Association of Sand Therapy Professionals.

My heart belongs to Relational Neuroscience- it gives me hope!

This work has inspired how I parent my own kiddos- with curiosity and through a lens of connection, regulation, and felt safety. Not perfectly, of course!

My clinical work integrates attachment theory, IPNB, mindfulness, therapeutic powers of play, sand tray, and nature-based approaches.I maintain a private practice in NJ serving children, teens, adults, and families for over 2 decades and the relational neuroscience is how I work with families.

Additionally, I am the

  • Co-editor of Nature-Based Play and Expressive Therapies
  • Co-author with Lisa Dion, LPC-S of Using Nature to Create Safety for Medical Trauma Integration (book chapter)
  • Cohort Leader of the 2026 Cohort of the BBTI’s Professional Immersion Program

During the 2-day training

attendees will learn play-based interventions that support children’s neurosequential development and brain integration. We will progress through the workshop in a similar way, starting with

  • Experiential, here-and-now movement and play interventions for highly dysregulated children
  • Symbolic and projective play interventions, including art and sand, to support integration between higher and lower parts of the brain
  • Narrative and story-based interventions for ‘strengthening the owl brain’

Robyn & Rose both take an approach that values and integrates parent/caregiver participation in treatment. 

All Training Participants Will Receive a Digital Resource Folder

and permission to use all materials with their clients

Register HERE

ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED

When:

Monday & Tuesday June 1 & 2, 2026

Where:

Cascades Hall at Delphi Falls County Park

2006 Cardner Rd, Cazenovia, NY 13035

Schedule:

Tuesday

8:30 – Registration begins

9- Training Begins

12pm- Lunch

1- Training Resumes

4- Day Concludes

Wednesday

9- Training Begins

12pm- Lunch

1- Training Resumes

4- Training Concludes

A detailed agenda is available for review HERE.

Fee:

Earliest Bird: $450 (thru Feb. 28, 2026)

Early Bird: $475 (registration between 03/01 & 04/30/2026)

$500 (registration after 05/01/2026)

Registration fee includes all materials as well as coffee, tea, and nourishing snacks through the day

Workshop Description:

All behavior makes sense- except the ones that don’t! Some children have big, baffling behaviors that can leave even seasoned play therapists confused, overwhelmed, burned-out, or referring out. This confusion leaves play therapists feeling ineffective and parents feeling hopeless. 

Theories of human development and behavioral neuroscience, including polyvagal theory (Stephen Porges), the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (Bruce Perry), and attachment theory (John Bowlby), help us make sense of even the most baffling behaviors in our play therapy clients. Understanding what behavior really is begins the roadmap for treatment planning. Therapists (and parents) can stop playing behavior whack-a-mole and experience better client outcomes by shifting the focus away from behavior and toward the brain and autonomic nervous system. 

Attendees will learn a playful paradigm that will decode even the most confusing behaviors in children, as well as in parents and even ourselves. When children learn how their challenging behaviors are the heroic ways their watchdog and possum brains are working hard to keep them safe, they can develop the inner felt safety to connect with and soothe these overworked and confused parts of self. Playfully connecting to our client’s inner communities decreases shame and increases integration, ultimately decreasing challenging behaviors. 

While considering neurosequential development, attendees will learn how to support brain-based treatment progress through the flexible use of playful interventions strategically offered based on the therapist’s assessment of the client’s brain state. Playful interventions will be practiced during the workshop.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

  1. Explain how bringing coherence to symptoms can reduce burnout
  2. Describe challenging behaviors through the lens of the nervous system and relational neuroscience
  3. Teach a playful paradigm to help therapists, parents, and kids make sense of baffling behaviors
  4. Apply a brain-based treatment progression informed by Interpersonal Neurobiology and the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics
  5. Identify techniques to support state integration by connecting with inner parts of self
  6. Conceptualize shame through the lens of the nervous system
  7. Apply nervous system theory to treatment planning
  8. Demonstrate play-based interventions to reduce dysregulation and problematic behaviors

Target Audience

Intermediate; professionals who work therapeutical with children including psychologists, therapists, counselors, social workers, educators, school counselors, and direct care staff

Taught By:

Robyn Gobbel, MSW: Full CV available HERE

Rose LaPiere, LPC, ACS, & RPT-S: Full CV available HERE

Continuing Education

Participants will be eligible for 11 CE credits for participation. Participants must attend the entire 11 hours. No partial credit will be awarded. 

Attendance will be monitored and tracked by workshop staff.

***We are unable to answer questions regarding your license and continuing education units. You must check with your licensing board in your state to determine if CE credits sponsored by the American Psychological Association are approved. Robyn Gobbel LLC makes no claims that you’ll be able to use CE credits and is not responsible or liable if your licensing board does not accept CE credits sponsored by the American Psychological Assocation***

American Psychological Association

Robyn Gobbel LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Robyn Gobbel LLC maintains responsibility for our programs and their content. 

No other CEs are offered. Participants are responsible for completing CE requirements and checking with your own licensing board to determine if APA CE credits are approveds.

Cancellation Policy: 

Registration is refundable (minus a $25 cancellation fee) prior to 04/15/2025.

Between 04/16 and 05/15/2026, cancelled registration is eligible for a 50% refund.

Registration is non-refundable (no refund given) after 05/16/2026.

***Registration is transferrable- you are responsible for finding you own colleague to fill your registration. We will refund your payment minus $25 after your replacement has completed the registration process, including paying the fee in full***

Conflicts of Interest:

There are no known conflicts of interest.

Robyn Gobbel and Rose LaPiere are paid an instructor fee for teaching this workshop. 

Robyn Gobbel, MSW (instructor) is the owner of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute and author of Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors. Through the offering of this program, the BBTI’s other offerings may become known to participants. 

Lodging:

Lodging and other travel expenses are the responsibility of each attendee.

Register HERE

Hosted by:

no financial support is received from any of these organizations

FAQs

Nope! We anticipate the majority of attendees will be mental health practitioners.

However, we also recognize the need for other professionals who work with children to develop skills to support struggling kids with dysregulated nervous systems. We trust attendees to use the skills learned in the ways that are ethically aligned with their scope of practice, regardless of the discipline.

No. This is a live, in-person event only.

Daily lunch will be on your own. The location has a refrigerator and beautiful spaces to enjoy lunch on-site. We offer a long, 90-minute lunch to give attendees time to order in or leave the training facility for lunch.

We will have healthy snacks and beverages throughout both days.

This training will support your work directly with children and is not focused on working with parents or offering parenting strategies.

If you’d like an in-depth training to support your work with parents and caregivers (including access to a parent course and dozens of additional resources) consider applying for the Professional Immersion Program that Rose and Robyn teach based on Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors

Both Rose and Robyn have previously taught a one-day (6 hour) workshop called “All Behavior Makes Sense.”

This training has some similarities. We took the outline of the 6-hour workshop and expanded it to 12 hours so we can engage in so many more experiential activities. You’ll walk away with even more practical interventions as well as support for case conceptualization and treatment planning.

Instead of spending three hours on interventions for the whole brain and nervous system, we will do that in NINE hours!

Ready to STOP playing behavior whack-a-mole?

I’ll send a free one-hour webinar & eBook

Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior 

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Invited Into Their Story: Receiving the Wisdom Offered by Play Therapy ClientsWorking with the Families of Dysregulated Kids (Part 2 of 4)