Archive | Play Therapy

Julia Weimer, BA, MS

Julia Weimer is a Pre-Licensed Professional Counselor and play therapist.

She provides services to children between three and twelve years old. She specializes in working with children who have experienced trauma and those with ADHD or behavioral issues. She connects with her clients through expressive therapies and play therapy.

Experience

Julia began working in the mental health field in an inpatient facility for children who have experienced trauma, abuse, suicide attempts and behavioral issues. Julia furthered her experience by working at a partial hospitalization program for children needing emotional support beyond what their schools could provide. In addition to her outpatient counseling work at The Resiliency Center, she works as a school based therapist for children in kindergarten through second grade. In each of these settings, Julia has strengthened her skills in crisis intervention and supported children and families as they navigated complex school and healthcare environments.

Her work across all settings centers the concerns of children and their families, while empowering them to have a voice in the systems of which they are a part.

Specialties

Julia provides individual therapy and group therapy that including topics of emotion regulation, distress tolerance, communication skills, emotion identification, mindfulness, social skills, and healing trauma.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT/CBT)

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people learn the impact of their thoughts on their mood and behavior and provides tools for changing one’s thoughts and making incremental (and therefore manageable) steps towards positive change.

Trauma-Focused CBT supports children impacted by trauma to look at their trauma — and thoughts and behaviors since their trauma — through new eyes. Children learn to connect the impact of their thoughts, develop an understanding of the ways their thinking controls their behavior, and allow the space for them to learn new ways to change and welcome new self-efficacy and happiness.

Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)

Emotional-Focused Therapy supports children in increasing their awareness of their emotions and building acceptance of these feelings. Children often have big feelings but don’t know how to name or express them — or what to do when emotions take over. Through EFT, children learn skills to translate emotions into helpful information, so they can ask for support and support themselves in meaningful ways. EFT also supports children in developing their identity.

Play Therapy

Play is the natural language of children. Julia believes — and play therapy research has demonstrated — that the most effective way to connect with children is to enter their world of imagination. Play therapy offers a safe space for children to express their innate creativity. As children are seen and their stories (and feelings) honored through play therapy, they begin to see new possibilities, experience healing, and are empowered to change their behavior in a positive way. Play Therapy helps children learn to communicate better, develop problem-solving skills, build social-emotional skills, and express difficult thoughts and emotions.

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Vanessa Mortillo, MA, LPC

Vanessa Mortillo, LPC

Vanessa Mortillo is Licensed Professional Counselor that provides individual counseling and group therapy to youth and young adults.

Vanessa believes that therapy should be as fun, collaborative, and easily accessible as possible. Utilizing mindfulness, talk therapy, expressive arts, and play therapy modalities, she harnesses creativity and imagination in the service of growth and healing. She has worked with families and individuals from a variety of backgrounds and is committed to advancing equity and social justice in the therapeutic relationship and beyond. Vanessa has a Master’s Degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University.

Specialties

Play Therapy and Expressive Arts

Vanessa will meet with your child, on their level, by utilizing their natural language: play. Through play-based and art-based interventions, she supports children working with anxiety/depression, divorce/separation issues, trauma, and a range of issues, to process, heal, and gain new skills.

Learn more about creative and integrative therapies.

Autism

Vanessa is experienced in supporting individuals on the Autism Spectrum at all ages including preschool-aged youth to help them build skills necessary for thriving. For youth, she utilizes a Floortime-influenced play-based approach using your child’s natural interests to build connections, gain social skills, and reach developmental milestones.

Mindfulness Psychotherapy and Teen Mindfulness Groups

With extensive training in mindfulness-based contemplative psychotherapy through Naropa University, Vanessa utilizes mindfulness with adults and adolescents to help them become aware of the present moment, including their feelings, thoughts, and reactions. Mindfulness has been shown to promote feelings of calm and well-being as well as greater connection and insight into oneself. Vanessa facilitates Teen Mindfulness Groups to help build coping skills.

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Elizabeth Campbell, MS, LPC

Elizabeth Campbell is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, and is certified in EMDR.

She provides Integrated play therapy, EMDR therapy, and supervision. She specializes in support for Highly Sensitive people, help for helpers, and EMDR therapy for a variety of needs.

I began my work in the counseling field in community mental health in a program that served children at risk for out of home treatment.

This gave me experience in crisis interventions, working with a variety of concerns in children and adults, and in family therapy. My work continued in victim services, where my knowledge of support for individuals that have experienced trauma expanded and my training in mindfulness as a tool for healing began. In the years that I have worked in private practice, my work with children, families, and individuals that have endured trauma has continued. I also specialize in working with Highly Sensitive People and children to support them in managing their unique strengths and challenges. I welcome child, adolescent, and adult clients experiencing depression, anxiety, PTSD, mood disorders, and issues surrounding grief and loss, transitions, abuse, and trauma.

In addition, as a Licensed Professional Counselor, RPT-S, and EMDR Consultant-in-Training, I am open to supporting counselors in expanding their professional knowledge and experience while they work towards licensure or certification.

My areas of expertise are child and family therapy, play therapy, parenting, trauma treatment, mindfulness, and a variety of treatment modalities grounded in humanistic counseling. I also specialize in blending IFS and EMDR as well as EMDR and play therapy. I am passionate about supporting helpers in building their awareness and prevention of vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue.

Play Therapy

The ability to express oneself is directly correlated with one’s developmental level. Therefore, children express themselves in much different ways than adults and require different therapeutic interventions than traditional talk therapy. Elizabeth provides a variety of mediums for children to express themselves through their language: play. She is trained in Child-Centered Play Therapy and in Eliana Gil’s Integrative Model of Play Therapy for children that experienced trauma. She also partners with parents in Filial Therapy, which builds strong relationships with children and supports parents in creating consistent structure at home.

Elizabeth Campbell's office

Elizabeth Campbell’s office

Creative Counseling for Adolescents

The developmental task of adolescents is to create a sense of identity. Elizabeth’s humanistic, client-centered, empowerment approach, founded in the individual’s strengths supports teenage clients in doing just this. Elizabeth also utilizes creative, mindful, and expressive strategies to engage teens and promote change inside and outside of sessions.

Trauma-Informed Care

In this approach to treatment, the clinician asks “what happened to you” rather than “what’s wrong with you.” Trauma impacts the whole individual. Elizabeth’s holistic, humanistic approach addresses the whole person and provides support in moving forward with one’s life.

Elizabeth is a certified sexual assault counselor and is trained in a variety of trauma-specific treatment modalities including EMDR Therapy, the Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model (TREM), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma Art Narrative Therapy, and Eliana Gil’s Integrative Model of Play Therapy.

Elizabeth Campbell's office

Elizabeth Campbell’s office

Workshops and Mind-Body Treatment

Elizabeth has had the joy of combining a personal passion, yoga, with her professional path through workshops and groups to bring yogic principles into treatment and subsequently, into one’s life. Elizabeth runs ongoing groups and workshops that address emotional healing through a combination of yoga and therapy as well as bringing these and mindfulness principles into individual sessions.

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Kathleen Krol, MSS, LCSW, RPT-S

KathleenKrolKathleen Krol is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, and Certified EMDR Therapist.

She has over 20 years of experience providing individual and family therapy to children, adolescents, and adults. She specializes in family-play therapy and play integrated EMDR with children. Other specialties include EMDR with all ages, trauma, anxiety, depression, grief/loss, life transitions, and interpersonal issues. She provides clinical supervision and consultation for clinicians.

My Education and Background

Kathleen earned her masters’ degree from Bryn Mawr College, with specialization in clinical treatment with individuals and families. As a post-graduate, she completed a three-year clinical training and mentoring program at the Family and Play Therapy Center, in Philadelphia. Kathleen is clinically trained in Contextual Family Therapy (8 years), Trauma Focused therapy, EMDR and Advanced EMDR with children and teens, Play Therapy and Child therapyTrauma Art Narrative TherapyFilial Family Therapy and Exposure and Response Prevention.

The direction that led me to my current private practice, began with work at an outpatient partial hospital program, and mental health and substance abuse inpatient treatment through Temple Hospital East/Neumann Medical Center. I have extended experience working with children, adolescents, and families in crisis and at substantial risk through NorthEast Treatment Center and Consortium Mental Health Center. Through my roles as a school-based therapist, outpatient therapist, and Family Based Lead Clinician, I had the opportunity to collaborate and treat individuals and families at all levels of mental, emotional, and behavioral needs in schools, community mental health and in the home. Additionally, I have 12 years’ experience as an EAP specialist.

Family and Child Centered Therapy

Typical therapy sessions begin with a comprehensive developmental and life history to identify and resolve “root” causes of problems to promote long-term healing. Treatment includes family therapy with the parent and child together, individual play therapy or sand tray therapy with the child, and parent coaching and feedback sessions.

Family Therapy

My work is with the family as well as with the child or adolescent. My family focused approach to treatment looks at both the immediate problem and the underlying causes. Through training and experience, I understand how unless the ‘root’ causes of the problem are addressed, symptoms will cease only temporarily, manifest in different behaviors later or develop in another family member. I recognize that problems or behaviors exhibited by one child often impact other members of the family and when family dynamics may play a role in their continuation.

Play Therapy and Sand Tray Therapy

As a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, Kathleen establishes an environment that feels safe and supportive for each child. She facilitates healing through play therapy and sand tray, which are the child’s tools for communication and self-expression. The play therapy process allows the child to self-regulate their emotions, increase self-confidence, develop mastery and adaptive skills, and promotes healing and restored health.

I enjoy using play and sand in my work with children and find myself blessed to observe the healing process as it unfolds. I strive to be open to the unique characteristics and resources of each family with whom I work.

Filial Family Therapy

Filial family therapy trains and coaches parents through child-centered play sessions on how to better engage with their children. Parents are then able to continue strengthening their relationship and incorporate more structure at home.

Kathleen Krol's Sand Tray Office

Kathleen Krol’s Sand Tray Office

Trauma Informed Therapy and EMDR

Trauma may come from a single traumatic event, series of events or chronic abuse, each of which may cause deep lasting effects. There can be smaller “T’s” or trauma which although one time or brief, can still cause negative impact on functioning, along with one’s belief and feelings about oneself. I use a trauma informed lens in identifying the underlying root of client’s presenting issues and symptoms. Based on comprehension of the underlying trauma, together a treatment plan is developed with the client; utilizing a trauma informed therapy including EMDR, Trauma Art Narrative Therapy, CBT, or Sand Focusing work.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing)

When a traumatic event occurs, pieces of the trauma can remain stuck or frozen in the brain and nervous system. Bilateral stimulation techniques help “unlock stuck material” thereby allowing the mind and body to process the traumatic event. EMDR therapy is utilized with significant or big “T” traumas but equally can be beneficial in alleviating symptoms of general anxiety and phobias or working through little “T’s” that can impact daily functioning, assist one in better managing stressors related to job, relationships, and overcoming roadblocks to growth and development. Preparation includes developing resources in containment of difficult emotions and relaxation techniques.

Focusing Sand Tray Therapy

This is a specialized means of using sand tray therapy that allows one to focus specifically on a problem, issue or fear. It might be a problem or place where one feels continuously stuck. This sand tray approach uses mindfulness meditation techniques combined with guided exploration or dialogue leading to deeper insight into the problem, issue or fear. It involves tuning into one’s somatic (body) experience and feeling affect awareness. The experience of Focusing Sand Tray can be profoundly meaningful. Individualized Sand Tray sessions offering self-awareness, clarity and self-growth can be scheduled for one or more sessions.

Trauma Art Narrative Therapy

Trauma Art Narrative Therapy is a structured cognitively oriented technique, which uses art as a modality for healing from trauma. Traumatic memories are often disconnected and fragmented. Trauma art pieces together these memories by guiding one to narrate the traumatic event through a series of sequential drawings. As one draws “snapshots” of the event, integration of the emotional and cognitive components of the brain takes place and promotes healing. Preparation for trauma work always includes establishing safe points before and after the trauma. TANT is effective with minor single incidents to major traumatic events that have had a significant impact. Artistic ability is not necessary and more spontaneous drawing is most effective.

Supervision for Play Therapists and Social Workers

Kathleen Krol, LCSW, RPT-S, provides clinical supervision for social workers towards their LCSW licensure or for play therapists seeking guidance or earning hours towards their Registered Play Therapist credential. Kathleen has over twenty years’ experience in diverse client settings including inpatient and outpatient mental health, home, and school-based settings. Her strong background in Contextual Family Therapy and trauma enriches the case conceptualization process.

In supervising Social Workers and Play Therapists, she practices from a child centered play therapy approach combined with knowledge of developmental stages and their connection to subsequent trauma and attachment issues. Supervisees will have the opportunity to enhance their clinical skills using Sand Tray Therapy and learning concrete strategies when coaching and providing feedback to parents. Supervisees seeking to work with a broad range of clients will benefit from her experience with clients across the age and life spectrum along with individual and family therapy treatment approaches. She supports therapists in varied stages of practice to grow and sustain healthy work/life balance.

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