On-Demand: Circus Arts Therapy® Level 2: Introduction to Incorporating Hooping, Sensory-Based Exercises, & Additional Juggling into Your Practice - 4 hours

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• CE Hours Included: 4 Core (see below for more information)
  
• Format: On-Demand Webinar (“Asynchronous”) ~ At your leisure to be viewed at your own pace. You may pause, rewind, and fast forward at any point during the videos. You are in complete control of how you view this workshop. It also comes with a PowerPoint and references. There is a quiz at the end to ensure viewing and required by all CE approval organizations.
  • NOTE: Your certificate will be dated when you complete the course - Click here for more detailed information on the best way to do this: https://www.theknowledgetree.org/p/help
• Investment: $109 (provides lifetime access!)
• Presented by: Carrie Heller-Altfield, LCSW (see bio below)
• Date of Recording: December 22, 2025
• Target Audience: Psychologists, Counselors, Social Workers, Marriage & Family Therapists, Physical Therapists, Physical Therapy Assistants, Occupational Therapists, Occupational Therapy Assistants, Speech-Language Pathologists, Athletic Trainers
• Instruction Level: Intermediate
• Required Prerequisite: Circus Arts Therapy® Level 1: Introduction to Adaptive Apparatus & Juggling in Therapy

Learning Objectives:

After completing this workshop in its entirety, you will be able to:

• Discuss hula hooping and additional juggling exercises and their therapeutic applications.
• Utilize Circus Arts Therapy® for sensory integration and regulation.
• Demonstrate a variety of beneficial sensory-based exercises, including crossing the midline activities, and their application in the Circus Arts Therapy® room
• Apply Circus Arts Therapy® to trauma-informed care
• Illustrate how cultural humility is applied in Circus Arts Therapy®.
• Discuss in detail the therapeutic language used in the Circus Arts Therapy® room.

Course Description:

We received rave reviews from this unique therapeutic approach in our Introductory to Circus Arts Therapy® course, so we are back with more. Circus Arts Therapy® Training Level 2 will continue to introduce you to hula hooping and additional juggling exercises, as well as a variety of sensory-based activities, including crossing-the-midline activities. You can add these new additions to your toolbox and use them in individual, sibling, partner, family, and group sessions.

Circus Arts Therapy® Training Level 2 is based on the publication, Circus Arts Therapy® Fitness and Play Therapy Program Shows Positive Clinical Results which can be found in the International Journal of Play Therapy, April 2018 edition here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pla0000068.

During this course, we will discuss sensory integration, and we will review in detail the therapeutic language used in the Circus Arts Therapy® room, the application of trauma-informed principles, and cultural humility in the Circus Arts Therapy® room.

Equipment needed for this workshop: 2 juggling balls & 1 hula hoop. Links to purchase these can be found here.

Workshop Agenda:

• Welcome and Introduction to the Six Learning Objectives (5 min)
• Introduce hula hooping and additional juggling exercises and discuss their therapeutic application (25 min)
  • Therapeutic applications of hooping (12 min)
  • Therapeutic applications of juggling (13 min)
• Discuss how to use Circus Arts Therapy®for sensory integration regulation (62 min)
  • Define sensory integration & sensory load (5 min)
  • Review the traditional five senses and discuss three additional sensory systems (3 min)
  • Define sensory processing disorder (SPD) and explain how Circus Arts Therapy® is beneficial for those with SPD (4 min)
  • Explain the overall benefits of Circus Arts Therapy® (2 min)
  • Discuss specific applications of Circus Arts (17 min)
  • Juggling break (4 minutes)
  • Provide practical tips for you to take back to your practice (2 min)
  • Explain how to incorporate behavior modification into your practice while practicing Circus Arts Therapy® (12 min)
  • Bringing it all together (5 min)
  • Hooping break (8 min)
• Introduce a variety of beneficial sensory-based exercises, including the midline activities, and their application in the Circus Arts Therapy®Room (41 min)
  • Discuss the goals of sensory exercises (3 min)
  • Explain the benefits of crossing the midline (4 min)
  • Provide other examples of sensory-based exercises (28 min)
  • Detail best practices and identify things to avoid (3 min)
  • Share a case study (3 min)
• Describe how Circus Arts Therapy® is applied to trauma-informed care (54 min)
  • Definition, prevalence, consequences, and need (5 min)
  • Guiding Principles (2 min)
  • Applications (38 min)
  • Hooping break (9 min)
• Describe how cultural humility is applied in Circus Arts Therapy® (22 min)
  • Define cultural humility -> understand what it means (3 min)
  • Differentiate between cultural humility and cultural competence (5 min)
  • Understand the relation between cultural humility and trauma-informed teaching (2 min)
  • Learn several applications of cultural humility from a clinician’s standpoint (10 min)
  • Juggling break (1 min)
  • Hooping break (1 min)
• Discuss in detail the therapeutic language used in the Circus Arts Therapy® room. (27 min)
  • Discussion of why the relationship is key (1 min)
  • Defining the background, basics, and goals of the language and understanding the importance of the therapeutic language: We will be reviewing and building/expanding upon what we learned in Level 1 (6 min)
  • Understanding the components of T.E.E.L., which stands for Tracking, Empathy, Encouragement, and Limit Setting (16 min)
  • Introducing new adjacent concepts, like, for example, separating the self from the behavior (4 min)
• Wrap Up, Next Steps, and Thank you! (4 min)

Presented by: Carrie Heller-Altfield, LCSW

Carrie Heller-Altfield is the Founder and Executive Director of the Circus Arts Institute in Atlanta, GA. Carrie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist and professional aerialist. Since 1972, Carrie has been in the circus ring mastering an array of ground and aerial skills in the circus arts beginning with the Florida State University Flying High Circus. She then moved on to become a circus teacher, performer, and choreographer; complementing circus training with the study of dance, yoga, and martial arts.
Carrie received her Masters in Social Work from Tulane University in 1987. After graduating, she founded Atlanta’s first circus school and opened her classes to families. Carrie began observing the unique benefits of circus when combined with therapeutic language. At the same time, she served as Director of Clinical Services at The Bridge Runaway Shelter in Atlanta. Shortly thereafter, Carrie went into private practice and founded Circus Camp, serving thousands of children before selling the camp in 2003 to focus on her seminal work combining circus and therapy. After researching and studying with a Dance Movement therapist, Carrie began to integrate what is now Circus Arts Therapy® into her private practice. Her research began in 2007.
Combining Carrie’s background as a social worker, play therapist, and circus artist, Carrie served as a Trainer of Trainers for Cirque Du Monde, a Cirque Du Soleil Outreach Program that uses circus arts to help youth around the world. Carrie has also been involved with the American Youth Circus Organization (AYCO) since its inception. AYCO has since expanded to include the American Circus Educators (ACE) and Carrie had the honor of serving on the Board of Directors for AYCO/ACE and is now serving on the Legacy Advisors Committee. Carrie is the author of the industry’s first Aerial Circus Training and Safety Manual. She is passionate about passing on her experience in both adaptive and typically developing circus arts in her trainings.
In conjunction with Dr. Lauren Taglialatela, Carrie co-authored the article Circus Arts Therapy® Fitness and Play Therapy Program Shows Positive Clinical Results, which can be found in the International Journal of Play Therapy, April 2018 edition: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pla0000068.

4 "Asynchronous" Core CEs Included - Details by License Type Below

• PSYCHOLOGISTS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company maintains responsibility for this program and its content. For more detailed information on the current CE ruling in Georgia, or if you are licensed in another state or country, please click here.
• COUNSELORS: The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company has been approved by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as an Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP), ACEP No. 7153. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Knowledge Tree, A Summit Professional Education Company is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Please click here for more detailed information.
• SOCIAL WORKERS: This workshop is approved for 4 core CE hours through the Georgia Society for Clinical Social Work (GSCSW), approval #022326. If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.
• MARRIAGE & FAMILY THERAPISTS: This workshop is approved for 4 core CE hours through the Georgia Association for Marriage & Family Therapy (GAMFT), approval #036-2026. If you are licensed in another state or country, please click here for more detailed information.

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