Childhood Emotional Development

Have you ever wondered how emotional understanding develops from infancy through childhood?
Do you find it challenging to identify when emotional growth isn’t keeping pace with a child’s developmental stage?
Would you like practical, evidence-based strategies to help children build emotional awareness and regulation skills?

This interactive workshop is designed for psychologists who work with children aged 0–12 and want to strengthen their understanding of emotional development and how to foster it through targeted intervention.

Delivered live via Zoom, this 3-hour training blends theory with practical application. Participants will explore the stages of emotional understanding, how these typically progress through early and middle childhood, and how to recognise when a child’s emotional development may be delayed or disrupted. The workshop will also include hands-on exercises and practical tools to help psychologists design interventions that build emotion knowledge, awareness, and regulation—tailored to the child’s developmental level.

What You Will Learn

• The stages of emotional development from birth to age 12 and what to expect at each stage.
• How emotion understanding, expression, and regulation evolve across developmental milestones.
• Ways to identify and assess when a child’s emotional development may not align with their chronological age.
• Practical, evidence-based strategies for helping children label, understand, and manage emotions.
• How to scaffold emotional learning through play, stories, reflection, and regulation modelling.
• Tools and frameworks to integrate emotional development goals into therapy, school collaboration, and parent guidance.
• Case examples to help translate theory into practice for children with varied developmental and neurodivergent profiles.

Event Details

📍 Delivery: Live via Zoom
🕒 Duration: 3 hours (12:00–15:00 AEDT)
🎥 Recording: A recording will be available to registrants after the event.

Presenter: Shannon Lopez is a Clinical Psychologist, Board-Approved Supervisor and Principal Clinical Psychologist at Spencer Health. She has a strong interest in child and adolescent therapy, autism and ADHD assessment, and is a neurodiversity-affirming practitioner dedicated to evidence-based, compassionate care. With years of experience supporting children, adolescents and families, Shannon brings practical, real-world insights to these sessions.

Recording, Privacy and Informed Consent

Please note that this event will be recorded. The recording will be shared with registered attendees for up to 14 days following the event, and may also be uploaded to the Spencer Health Institute website for access by health professionals.

Attendance at the live session is optional. Participants are welcome to have their cameras on or off; however, individuals are responsible for managing their own privacy, confidentiality and professional boundaries while attending live. We encourage you to consider your environment and level of comfort when deciding how you participate.

By choosing to attend the live session, you are providing informed consent to be included in the recording. If you prefer not to be recorded, you are welcome to register and access the recording afterward rather than attending live.