Play Therapy Training

Sophia Ansari, LCPC, LPCC, RPT™ is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist™, as well as an author, international speaker, activist, and owner of the Let’s Play Therapy Institute. She brings a deep passion for mental health, education, and community empowerment.

Sophia works with schools and organizations around the world to create strength-based, inclusive learning environments. Known for her creative approach to therapy, she incorporates pop culture, video games, and storytelling into her work and has shared her insights through publications, Comic-Con panels, and global trainings.

She also co-hosts Hero Nation, a podcast on the Geek Therapy Network that explores how media and geek culture can support mental health. Sophia holds a B.S. in biology from Wright State University and an M.A. in mental health counseling from the University of Cincinnati.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Sophia Ansari is the owner of Let’s Play Therapy Institute. Sophia Ansari receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Sophia Ansari has no relevant financial relationships.

Josué Cardona, MS, earned a master’s in mental health counseling and trained in Rational Emotional Behavior Therapy (REBT) at the Albert Ellis Institute in New York City. He has worked with clients ages 4 to 84 through in-home, community, and outpatient counseling.  As an educator, Josué has designed curriculum for social-emotional skills, technology, and language learning for K-12. At the university level, he co-created the course Geek Culture in Psychotherapy, taught at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and co-authored Gamification: A Pilot Study in a Community College. Josué also acts as a diversity and inclusion Design Researcher for the Office of the Provost at the University of Chicago.  Josué is the founder of Geek Therapy, a therapeutic approach that believes the best way to understand people is through the things they care about. He created the Geek Therapy Network and community to educate parents, teachers, and helping professionals on how to use their favorite hobbies, pastimes, and interests to connect with others. Since 2011, Josué has presented on Geek Therapy through podcasts, blogs, book chapters, and presentations around the world. For more information on Geek Therapy, visit geektherapy.com. 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Josue Cardona is the co-founder of Let's Play Therapy Institute and has an employment relationship with Accenture. Josue Cardona is the founder and president of Geek Therapy and is a freelance consultant. He receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc.
Non-financial: Josue Cardona is the founder of the Geek Therapy model.

Janet A Courtney, PhD, LCSW, RPT-S™, is founder of FirstPlay Therapy®. She is a Registered Play Therapy-Supervisor, TEDx Speaker and past Chair of the Association for Play Therapy Ethics and Practice Committee and past President of the Florida Association for Play Therapy, FirstPlay Therapy was awarded third place overall in the Best Practices Showcase for FirstPlay Therapy at the First 1000 Days Infant Mental Health Summit (2018) along with the Children’s Healing Institute. She is author and editor of the following books: Infant Play Therapy: Foundations, Programs, Models and Practice, and Healing Child and Family Trauma through Expressive and Play Therapies: Art, Nature, Storytelling, Body & Mindfulness and Nature-based Play & Expressive Therapies: Interventions for Children, Teens and Families, and Touch in Child Counseling and Play Therapy: An Ethical and Clinical Guide. Her research in practitioner experiences of training in touch and Developmental Play Therapy is published in the American Journal of Art Therapy and the International Journal of Play Therapy. She is a contributing author in several books including Play-based Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and the book Environmental Expressive Therapies (2017), and Play Therapy Supervision (2023). She is also published in the Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture. She offers a certification in FirstPlay Therapy® and provides training to professionals in the Ethical and Clinical Competencies of Touch, FirstPlay® Therapy, Ericksonian-based StoryPlay®, Expressive Therapies, and Nature-based Play Therapy. She has been invited to speak nationally and internationally including Bali, Indonesia, the Cayman Islands, England, Ireland, Morocco, Russia and the Ukraine. She is a provider through the Florida state boards of Mental Health and Massage Therapy, and an approved provider through the Association for Play Therapy. She specializes in infant mental health and infant play therapy, attachment, and Trauma related issues. Dr. Courtney’s new form of Kinesthetic Storytelling® can be found in her children’s book, The Magic Rainbow. Website: www.firstplaytherapy.com

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Janet Courtney is founder of FirstPlay™ Therapy, FirstPlay Café Podcast, and FirstPlay® Café. She is in private practice, has employment relationships with Ellen Whiteside McDonnell School of Social Work and Barry University, and is a consultant for Barry University Play Therapy Educational Center Curriculum School of Social Work and Continuing Education through the Association for Play Therapy. Dr. Courtney receives royalties as a published author and receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Janet Courtney is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, World Association for Infant Mental Health, and the International Association for the Study of Affective Touch.

David A. Crenshaw, PhD, ABPP, RPT-S™, is Clinical Director of the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie. He is Past-President of the New York Association for Play Therapy, a Board-Certified Clinical Psychologist; a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychology, and a Registered Play Therapy Supervisor. Dr. Crenshaw has taught graduate courses in play therapy at Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University. He was honored with the Excellence in Psychology Award in 2009, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 by the Hudson Valley Psychological Association. In 2018, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the NY Association for Play and in 2021 was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the NY Association for Play Therapy. The author/editor/co-editor of 17 books, numerous book chapters, and journal articles on child aggression, play therapy and child trauma, his latest book co-edited with Cathy Malchiodi is What to Do When Children Clam-Up in Psychotherapy and a book co-written with Eliana Gil titled Termination Challenges in Child Psychotherapy.
 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: David Crenshaw is the founder and director of Rhinebeck Child and Family Center LLC. He receives royalties as a published author. David Crenshaw receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: David Crenshaw is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Play Therapy, and the New York Association for Play Therapy, Los Angeles County Psychological Association, and the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.

Dr. Cheryl Fisher is a counselor educator, and licensed clinical professional counselor, certified in trauma and ecopsychology with over 20 years of clinical experience. She is an international speaker, former columnist for Counseling Today Online, and author of Mindfulness and Nature Based Therapeutic Techniques for Children. Dr. Fisher’s most recent research examines Ancestral Wisdom and Intergenerational Trauma Recovery.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Cheryl Fisher maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with Alliant International University. She receives royalties as a published author. Cheryl Fisher receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Cheryl Fisher serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma and the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology. She is a member of the American Counseling Association (ACA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and several other professional organizations. For a complete list, please contact info@pesi.com.

Jackie Flynn, EdS, LMHC-S, RPT, is a licensed psychotherapist, registered play therapist, certified EMDR therapist, EMDR consultant, and a certified Safe and Sound Protocol provider. She hosts Play Therapy Community®, where clinicians gather together from around the world to share resources and inspire each other. As a co-host of the Neuroscience of Play Therapy and Playful EMDR Summit, as well as the founder of EMDR and Play Therapy Integration Support, she supports countless clinicians internationally learning about the power of PLAY through training and consultation.  

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Jaqueline Flynn is the founder of Play Therapy Community and maintains a private practice. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Jaqueline Flynn is a member of the Association for Play Therapy (APT) and EMDR International Association (EMDRIA).

Paris Goodyear-Brown, PhD, LCSW, RPT-S™ and approved EMDR consultant, is the creator of TraumaPlay™, the executive director of the TraumaPlay Institute, the clinical director of Nurture House, and an adjunct instructor of psychiatric mental health at Vanderbilt University. She is a Ted Talk speaker, a master clinician, a thought leader in the fields of child trauma and play therapy globally, has received the APT award for Play Therapy Promotion and Education, and served as the executive director of the Lipscomb Play Therapy and Expressive Arts Center. She is on the board of TNAPT and has written over twenty chapters and articles as well as twelve books, including Trauma and Play Therapy, Parents as Partners in Child Therapy, Big Behaviors in Small Containers, and her newest edited volume Polyvagal Power in the Playroom. Paris delights in serving traumatized children and families locally, loves to travel with her family, and finds great joy in equipping child trauma therapists all over the world.
 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Paris Goodyear-Brown maintains a private practice and has employment relationships with TraumaPlay Institute, Vanderbilt University, and Nurture House. She receives royalties as a published author and compensation as a consultant. Paris Goodyear-Brown receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Paris Goodyear-Brown is a member of the Association for Play Therapy and the National Association of Social Workers.

Ana M. Gómez, MC, LPC, is the founder and director of the AGATE Institute in Phoenix, AZ. She is a world-renowned expert on the treatment of complex trauma, intergenerational trauma and dissociation and the use of EMDR therapy and adjunct approaches with children and adolescents. She is a psychotherapist with over 25 years of clinical experience and an EMDR Trainer of Trainers. Ana has led workshops and keynote presentations in five continents and over 20 countries and is the author of EMDR Therapy and Adjunct Approaches with Children: Complex Trauma, Attachment and Dissociation and several children's books, book chapters and articles on the use of EMDR therapy, dissociation, emotional awareness and literacy.

Ana has developed numerous training programs and protocols that include the EMDR-Sandtray Protocol and The Systemic, EMDR-Attachment Informed Program to Heal Intergenerational Trauma & Repair the Parent-Child Attachment Bond.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Ana Gómez maintains a private practice, is the founder, trainer, and director of AGATE Institute, and is an EMDRIA approved consultant and training provider. She receives royalties as a published author. Ana Gómez receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Ana Gómez has no relevant non-financial relationships.

Dr. Robert Jason Grant is the creator of AutPlay® Therapy. He is a Licensed Mental Health Therapist, supervisor, and consultant. He utilizes several years of advanced training and his own lived neurodivergent experience to provide affirming services to children and their families. He is an international trainer and keynote presenter and multi-published author of several articles and books on the topics of child and play therapy and neurodiversity.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Robert Grant is the owner of AutPlay Therapy Clinic. He receives royalties as a published author. Robert Grant receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Robert Grant is a member of the American Counseling Association, the American Mental Health Counselors, the Association American Counseling, the Association of Missouri American Mental Health Counselors, and the Association for Play Therapy.

The late Carmen Jimenez-Pride, was the creative mind behind Focus on Feelings®, an emotional literacy curriculum, a licensed clinical social worker, registered play therapist supervisor, certified AutPlay® therapy provider, certified EMDR therapist, registered children’s yoga teacher, certified IFS therapist, and a certified LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator.

Carmen was a trauma therapist experienced in the clinical treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with culturally diverse backgrounds addressing a wide range of concerns. Carmen’s career in the mental health field spanned more than 15 years.

She was an international speaker, award-winning best-selling author, and business consultant. Carmen was a visionary in the therapeutic community, working to create and develop a wide range of educational tools to assist the clinician, and the client to reach optimum goals. With a focus on cultural humility and cultural diversity, Carmen educated clinical professionals to address racial and cultural trauma within their clinical practices.

Carmen served as the South Carolina Association for Play Therapy President and was the recipient of the 2021 Association for Play Therapy Emerging Leader Award. She also served as the diversity and inclusion director of the Internal Sandtray Therapy Association.

Carmen was the developer of Diversity in Play Therapy Inc.; and the Diversity in Play Therapy Summit. She was also the developer and publisher of Focus on Feelings®.
 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Carmen Jimenez-Pride had employment relationships with Internal Family Systems Institute and Outspoken Counseling and Consulting, LLC. She was a published author and receives royalties. She received a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She had no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Carmen Jimenez-Pride was a member of the National Association for Addiction Professionals, National Association of Social Workers, and Association for Play Therapy.

 

Liana Lowenstein is a licensed clinical social worker, certified play therapist-supervisor, and certified TF-CBT therapist who has been working with children and their families in Toronto for over 35 years. Her areas of specialty include treating trauma, bereavement, divorce, anxiety, and ADHD. She integrates play therapy into evidence-based models such as CBT and TF-CBT. In addition to her clinical practice, she provides supervision and consultation to mental health professionals. Liana’s 14 books are used by mental health professionals and children’s support workers all over the world, and several have been translated into Chinese, Korean, and Turkish. Her best-selling titles include Creative Interventions for Bereaved, Creative Interventions for Children of Divorce, Creative CBT Interventions for Children with Anxiety, and Cory Helps Kids Cope with Sexual Abuse. Her latest book, Cory Helps Kids Cope with Grief: Playful Activities for Young Children, helps young grievers impacted by suicide, homicide, drug overdose, natural disasters, mass violence, war, military casualties, and other types of loss.

Liana is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences and agency training events, and has provided workshops throughout North America and abroad, including China, South Africa, Israel, England, New Zealand, Australia, and Slovenia. Liana has trained mental health professionals and grief group facilitators on innovative ways of supporting bereaved children, including presentations at the ADEC through the Learning Institute at the Sick Kids Centre for Community Mental Health.
 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Liana Lowenstein maintains a private practice and receives compensation as a consultant. She receives royalties as a published author. Liana Lowenstein receives a speaking honorarium, book, and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Liana Lowenstein is a member of the Ontario Association of Social Workers, the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers, the Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy, and the Association for Play Therapy.

Marshall Lyles, LPC-S, LMFT-S, RPT-S™, lives in the Austin, Texas area and has 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 trauma, expressive therapies, relational neuroscience and attachment-informed family work around the globe.

In addition to maintaining a small clinical practice, Marshall also conducts supervision and consultation sessions with counseling professionals who are pursuing EMDR certification and RPT status, often with a particular focus on the use of sandtray therapy to treat trauma.

Marshall has published in professional journals and magazines in addition to contributing chapters to the books Counseling Families: Play-Based Treatment and EMDR with Children in the Play Therapy Room: An Integrated Approach and co-authoring Advanced Sandtray Therapy: Digging Deeper into Clinical Practice.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Marshall Lyles owns The Workshop. He receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Marshall Lyles serves on the advisory board for WASTP. He is a member of the Association for Play Therapy, the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association, and the International Family Therapy Association.

Clair Mellenthin, PhD, LCSW, RPT-S™, is an international speaker, author, psychologist, and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor. Throughout her career, she has specialized in providing play therapy to children, teens, and their families. She is currently the Director of Child & Adolescents at Wasatch Family Therapy. Ms. Mellenthin frequently presents professional play therapy and family therapy trainings on Attachment-Centered Play Therapy, Family, and Trauma issues both nationally and internationally.

Ms. Mellenthin is a sought-after supervisor, training graduate students and interns in play therapy, and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Southern California MSW program. She is the past-president of the Utah Association for Play Therapy and remains an active member on the Board of Directors. She is the author of the books Attachment Centered Play Therapy; Play Therapy: Engaging & Powerful Techniques for the Treatment of Childhood Disorders; My Many Colors of Me Workbookand has authored several chapters and articles. In addition to being an experienced play therapist and professor, Ms. Mellenthin also appears on local and national TV and radio as an expert on children and family issues. She holds a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Clair Mellenthin has an employment relationship with Wasatch Family Therapy. She is a published author and receives royalties. Clair Mellenthin receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Clair Mellenthin is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the American Psychological Association, and the Association for Play Therapy.

​​Amy Nelson, LCSW, LSCSW, RPT-S™, is deeply passionate about promoting neurodiversity and fostering inclusion in the classroom.​ 

With firsthand experience as an autistic professional, Amy's commitment to fostering inclusive environments extends beyond her work as a play therapist and keynote speaker. She is the author of the award-winning children's Every Bunny Can Learn: A Tail of Inclusion which received 1st Place in Disability Awareness in the 2023 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards. 

As the founder of Emotional Milestones, Amy aims to inspire and motivate professionals to "LEAN IN" and embrace learning and thinking differences.  

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Amy Nelson has an employment relationship with Emotional Milestones, LLC. She receives royalties as a published author. Amy Nelson receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI and the Let's Play Therapy Institute, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Amy Nelson partners with Constructive Playthings.

Dr. Dan Siegel is the founder and director of education of the Mindsight Institute and founding co-director of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA, where he was also co-principal investigator of the Center for Culture, Brain and Development and clinical professor of psychiatry at The School of Medicine.

An award-winning educator, Dan is the author of five New York Times bestsellers and over fifteen other books which have been translated into over forty languages. As the founding editor of the Norton Professional Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology (“IPNB”), Dan has overseen the publication of over one hundred books in the transdisciplinary IPNB frame which focuses on the mind and mental health.

A graduate of Harvard Medical School, Dan completed his postgraduate training at UCLA specializing in pediatrics, and adult, adolescent, and child psychiatry. He was trained in attachment research and narrative analysis through a National Institute of Mental Health research training fellowship focusing on how relationships shape our autobiographical ways of making sense of our lives and influence our development across the lifespan.

Speaker Disclosures
Financial: Dr. Dan Siegel serves as the Medical Director at the Lifespan Learning Institute and is the Co-Founder and Director of Education at the Mindsight Institute. He is also the founding editor of the Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology. Dr. Siegel receives royalties as a published author and serves as a scientific advisor for the Inner Development Goals initiative and as an advisor for the Center for Child Well-Being. Additionally, he receives honoraria and recording royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. Dr. Siegel has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Dan Siegel is an honorary member of the Austrian Federal Association for Mindfulness. He also serves on the Board of the Garrison Institute and as an advisory board member for both Gloo and Convergence.

Jessica Stone, PhD, RPT-S™, is an internationally recognized expert in play therapy and the integration of technology in therapeutic practices. With over 25 years of experience as a licensed clinical psychologist and a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, Dr. Stone is a pioneer in the field, known for her work in Digital Play Therapy™, technology, trauma, attachment, and family systems. She is the author, co-author, and contributor to more than 27 books, including Trauma Impacts, Digital Play Therapy, and Play Therapy Theories and Perspectives, which explore cutting-edge strategies to enhance therapeutic outcomes through play and technology.

Dr. Stone’s expertise lies in helping clinicians understand and treat systemic and generational trauma through a play therapy lens, providing powerful interventions for children, families, and neurodivergent individuals. Her work focuses on creating healing environments where both children and their families can process and overcome relational trauma, fostering secure attachments and long-term generational healing. As a sought-after speaker, trainer, and executive coach, Dr. Stone’s unique approach empowers therapists to adopt innovative, effective strategies in trauma-informed care.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Jessica Stone maintains a private practice and is the CEO of Virtual Sandtray®©. She is the co-creator of the Virtual Sandtray App for iPad (VSA) and the Virtual Sandtray for Virtual Reality (VSA-VR) and receives royalties as a published author. Jessica Stone receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Jessica Stone serves as the chair of Mental Health Virtual Reality International Coalition and Digital Play Therapy™. She serves on the board for World Association of Sand Therapy Professionals, Frontiers: Virtual Reality in Pediatric Medicine, and is an advisory board member of AutPlay.

Tammi Van Hollander, LCSW, RPT-S™, RST-C/T, is a licensed clinical social worker, Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, and Registered Sand Therapist Consultant/Trainer with over 25 years of experience working with children, families, and individuals. She earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania and is internationally recognized for her innovative contributions to play therapy. Tammi is the author of Casey’s Greatness Wings and The Bibliotherapy Toolbox: 100+ Creative and Playful Story-Based Interventions to Help Kids Create Safety, Overcome Challenges, and Build Resiliency. She is also the creator of Greatness Sticks, a tool designed to foster resilience and self-esteem in children. A leader in the field, Tammi played a pivotal role in co-teaching the first-ever Sandtray therapy class in China, helping introduce this transformative modality to the country. She is founding board member of the World Association for Sand Therapy Professionals (WASTP), an organization dedicated to upholding the integrity of sand therapy through research, training, ethical standards, and global community building. Tammi is a sought-after international speaker and delivered her first TEDx Talk in October 2023, titled Stories in the Sand: Healing Trauma, Anxiety, and Grief.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Tammi Van Hollander is the owner of Main Line Therapy, LLC. She receives royalties as a published author. Tammi Van Hollander receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Tammi Van Hollander is a member of the Association for Play Therapy and the National Association for Social Workers. She is a board member of the World Association for Sand Therapy Professionals and a program committee chair for the Specialists of Schools.