Wonders Counseling Blog
Therapist Spotlight: A Labor of Love
Meyleen Velasquez, LCSW, PMH-C, RPT-S, is in the Therapist Spotlight this week! She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, FirstPlay® Supervisor, and Certified in Perinatal Mental Health. She serves as the Chair for...
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5 Mindfulness Games for Children & Teens
The practice of being present with full attention is one we all will benefit from. When we are working with children it can be helpful to have some play-based ways of introducing and reinforcing mindfulness skills. I offer a 2 hour recorded training for therapists...
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Mindfulness Meditation Changes Your Brain for the Better
People who regularly practice mindfulness meditation can attest to the positive effects of increasing calm, reducing stress and enhancing ability to develop insight on one’s life. Now, we have ample research to back up the positive impact meditation has. Dr....
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Therapist Spotlight: A Seasoned and Thriving Play Therapist’s Career Story
This week we are shining the therapist spotlight on Jamie Lynn Langley, LCSW, RPT, a seasoned play therapist with over 30 years working with child clients. She worked for an agency for 27 years where she became very well known in the area for her clinical services and...
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3 Resources for Play Therapy With Trauma
I hear a lot of therapists asking for resources for using play therapy with trauma. I decided to do some deep digging into my files and I had conversations with several of my revered colleagues who specialize in working with trauma. While this short resource list is...
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Resources for Child Centered and Directive Play Therapy in the Play Room
I recently led a live webinar now available as a recorded training called Bridging and Blending Non-Directive & Directive Play Therapy and as I explain at the beginning of that training I am passionate about operating from a prescriptive approach in order to...
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Therapist’s Spotlight: Diversity in Play Therapy
Kadesha Adelakun, LCSW, RPT-S, is an advocate for diversity and has known since she was in high school that she wanted to be a child therapist and wanted to have a private practice. She provided in-home therapy for many years with various agencies when she began to...
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Therapist Spotlight: Time Management Makes The Practice Thrive
Andrea Heston M.S., LMFT, RPT, has always had the passion to work with children. She decided to leave her former career as a restaurant manager to become a counselor. From the moment she began her graduate school program, she felt a pull toward play therapy and never...
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Therapist Spotlight: From Teacher to Therapist
This week, I had the pleasure to speak with Missy Riddles, LPC, in our Therapist Spotlight. Missy was a classroom teacher before transitioning to a play therapist. She achieved her Licensed Professional Counselor license in August 2018. Then two and half months later,...
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Offering Group Play Therapy in Your Private Practice
Play therapy with groups of children can be a powerful modality for growth and healing. Much of the research done to demonstrate efficacy of play therapy has been with groups of children. Many children benefit from being able to participate in group play therapy....
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Therapist Spotlight: Growing A Private Practice that Runs Like Clockwork
Each week, I like to feature a play therapist who has built an inspiring career providing play therapy in private practice in order to inspire other therapists who are just beginning the practice building process. I am also on a mission to continue building the...
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Blending Play Therapy with Family Therapy
Therapists who have earned the credential of Registered Play Therapist through the Association for Play Therapy know the importance of including parents as an essential part of the treatment plan when we see children for play therapy. Many play therapists also provide...
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Therapist Spotlight: When You Feel Called to Be a Play Therapist
Rachel Altvater, Psy.D., RPT-S is a Licensed Psychologist in Maryland, Virginia, & Washington, DC and a Registered Play Therapist – Supervisor where she has her own private practice called Creative Psychological Health Services in Catonsville, Maryland where she...
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Filling Your Private Practice: How to Be a Client Magnet
Often I ask groups of therapists and coaches who are starting out in private practice what they feel they most need, and a lot of times I hear, "I need to know how to get more clients,". I completely understand when you’re in the beginning of building that business,...
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Therapist Spotlight: Connecting with Clients & Others on the Journey
Amy Duren, MA, LPC owns a private practice called Safe Haven Christian Counseling Center, where she provides play therapy services and support for families focused on providing a safe space, acceptance and encouragement needed to grow into one’s full potential. She...
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What’s Blocking You From Your Dream Career?
If you are like many people you spend a lot of time thinking about your dream career. That's a very good thing because visualizing what you want to bring to life is an important first phase of manifesting what you long for in your work. The problem here is that often...
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Treating Selective Mutism With Play Therapy
I remember my very first case with a child who presented with selective mutism. I was under supervision and direction. I was working at an early childhood development center provisionally licensed as an Associate Professional Counselor. When first approached by the...
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Are You a School-Based Play Therapist? One Survival Skill You Need
By Guest Author Sarah Scott Dooling, LCSW, RPT-S In the public education and social work industries, we have created a culture that seems to stipulate that the more we work, the better we are. The harder we work the more validated we will be. If we put work first and...
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