Telehealth with Children
and Very Young Children
Enroll in the Online Self-Study course and complete it at your own pace.
1.5 CE hours, and an extended 3 CE option are available upon completion
for behavioral health clinicians - including Play Therapists.
When working with children and very young children via telehealth, you’re not just navigating a screen—you’re navigating their world. For clinicians, the challenge of fostering connection, safety, and therapeutic progress with young clients online can feel overwhelming—especially when trauma, cultural complexity, and limited attention spans come into play.
In this powerful self-study course, you’ll gain strategies for engaging even your youngest clients in meaningful, evidence-based tele-play therapy. You’ll discover practical tools and culturally responsive frameworks that transform telehealth from a limitation into a therapeutic asset.
Enroll in the 1.5 CE Online Self-Study for $45
Payment Options are listed at checkout
Enroll in the 3 CE Online Self-Study for $90
Payment Options are listed at checkout
Dr. Ritchie Rubio, a seasoned clinical child psychologist, expressive arts therapist, and public mental health leader, brings a deep well of expertise to this course. With decades of international experience working with multicultural youth, Dr. Rubio equips clinicians with innovative, real-world strategies for reaching children where they are—developmentally, emotionally, and culturally—through virtual platforms.
Through storytelling, case examples, and actionable resources, Dr. Rubio offers a compelling approach that blends clinical rigor with creative interventions. Grounded in evidence-based practices and informed by the lived experiences of diverse families, his method helps clinicians build trust, regulate emotions, and promote healing via telehealth.
This course explores a wide range of telehealth adaptations and tools for work with children, including video-based interventions, child-parent relationship therapies, sandtray and play therapy, mindfulness, bibliotherapy, digital art therapy, and culturally adapted trauma treatments. It also highlights models like iPCIT, CPP, and SPICC, and emphasizes clinical engagement with caregivers as vital co-facilitators of therapeutic success.
Instructor
Dr. Ritchie Rubio, PhD,
Dr. Ritchie Rubio, PhD, is a clinical child psychologist, play and expressive arts therapist, researcher, and telehealth consultant with experience across the Philippines, U.S., and New Zealand. He serves as Director of Practice Improvement and Analytics for the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Children, Youth, and Families System of Care, where he advances trauma-informed and diversity-responsive practices. An adjunct associate professor at the University of San Francisco and the Wright Institute, Dr. Rubio teaches courses on trauma, child and adolescent counseling, neuroscience, and clinical assessment. His clinical work centers on immigrant and multicultural children, youth, and families, drawing on integrative approaches including psychodynamic, family systems, CBT, and expressive arts therapies.
Key Takeaways:
- Developmentally-appropriate frameworks: Learn to apply therapeutic models tailored to the telehealth environment for children and very young children.
- Engaging tele-play tools: Gain confidence in using technology-enhanced play, storytelling, and expressive arts interventions to support behavioral health treatment.
- Culturally responsive practices: Discover how to tailor interventions to BIPOC families with respect, creativity, and clinical excellence.
Why this course?
- Designed by a telehealth expert and child psychologist: Dr. Rubio combines cutting-edge knowledge of trauma-informed care with a global, multicultural lens.
- Practical, evidence-based, and immediately usable: Gain tools you can apply right away to improve clinical outcomes in virtual settings.
- Offered by a trusted leader in CE training: The Telehealth Certification Institute equips healthcare professionals with exceptional continuing education to elevate client care and professional growth.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify and describe at least one developmentally-appropriate model for working effectively via telehealth with children who present with behavioral health issues.
- Appraise the applicability of at least two virtual play therapy tools for engaging behavioral health child clients in treatment using evidence-based practices.
- Illustrate at least two ways of using telehealth and tele-play therapy interventions in a culturally responsive manner when working with BIPOC children and their families.
Whether you’re just beginning to navigate child therapy via telehealth or seeking fresh tools to revitalize your practice, this course will provide clarity, confidence, and inspiration. Join us in reimagining what is possible when connection, culture, and compassion meet technology.
Add this course to your cart to develop your skills, boost your confidence, and enhance your impact as a behavioral health professional.
This is a non-interactive, self-study course. It consists of hours of video instruction, a post-test and an evaluation.
Select each tab for course details
Availability:
From the time of registration, you have six months to access the coursework.
Who Should Attend:
This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.
Teaching Methods:
This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation.
How to attend:
Directions for completing a course can be found by clicking here.
The 1.5 CE program was recorded on October 9, 2021, and the 3 CE extended content program was recorded on January 28, 2022.
Testimonials
Iveyana Kiara Smith
Jessy Hainbach
Bryant Wilson
Ben Keyser
Mei Chan
Meghan Co, LCSW-C, LICSW