Tricia Robert (pronouns: she/her/hers) serves as the Clinic Intern at The Theraplay Institute and is simultaneously pursuing her Master of Social Work degree at Crown Family School of School Work at The University of Chicago. Tricia’s background involves providing social-emotional learning and group therapy for children and adolescents in the Chicago Public School system who have encountered traumatic loss, grief, community violence, and incarceration. Additionally, Tricia has gained experience within Partial Hospitalization Programs/Intensive Outpatient Program environments, providing essential behavioral health assistance to youths navigating Mood & Anxiety Disorders and other mental health difficulties that impact their everyday experiences.
Tricia is trained in Level One Theraplay and Group Theraplay and is supervised by a Certified Theraplay Practitioner. Additionally, she draws upon and implements skills from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. She aims to establish a nurturing and supportive environment for children and their families to explore and grow. Throughout her work with families, she aims to strengthen communication and attachment between caregivers and their children.
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Adrian is a Registered Art Therapist and Level One Theraplay trained therapist. She is working toward her Theraplay certification. She graduated from Adler University and has a Masters in Art Therapy and Counseling. Adrian has been working with children as a trauma informed therapist since 2019. Adrian’s work ranges with a wide group of ages from 2 to 18 years old. Most of the areas addressed with the children have been anything from complex trauma, to basic coping strategies, and more severe mental health issues and disability work. Current work involves adoptive families as well as blended families stemming from a large array of backgrounds and cultures. In her work with children across the south and west side of Chicago, she has built a deeper understanding of how culture, environment, access to resources, and basic needs affect a child’s ability to thrive and live a healthy life. Her work strives to bridge gaps between communities and find ways to collectively heal and thrive. Utilizing art has been one of the greatest tools she can provide a client to process their own experiences and hopefully gain new ones. It allows people to communicate when words are unavailable which is what play does as well. She continues to use play and art to create a new language for children and families to process and move forward.
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Bridget Sutton is an associate Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Illinois. Bridget believes that there is immense power in relationships, and works to empower family connectedness between caregivers and their loved ones.
In her work with children and families, Bridget sees the impact of life transitions, loss/trauma, disability, and relational challenges. Often, families navigate these difficulties while feeling stuck, alone, or ineffective. In play, however, we create opportunities to restore, understand, and strengthen loving bonds. Harnessing this creative power allows kids and adults to experience new ways of relating to themselves and their worlds.
Bridget is a white, queer therapist who strives to honor and incorporate the many social, ethnic, and religious identities that compose our families. Your unique family deserves celebration!
Bridget can be contacted at [email protected], and uses they/them and she/her pronouns.
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Katherine Vincent Lamb (she/her) is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Theraplay Practitioner with a degree in Art Therapy and Counseling. Prior to returning to school to pursue clinical training, Katherine worked for over a decade in residential and community-based programs for children and youth, providing case management services and later co-directing an after-school program in a Chicago public elementary school. Katherine is certified in the ARC trauma treatment framework and has experience working with children who have experienced personal and communal traumatic events. She supports children and adolescents navigating issues of identity and self-esteem, adjusting to parental divorce or separation, and developing skills in self-expression and regulation. In her therapeutic work, Katherine combines her understanding of art therapy, play-based approaches and sensory regulation techniques to support clients’ growth. In addition to offering caregiver-child therapy and individual art therapy for children and adolescents, Katherine provides support for parents and caregivers as they identify parenting approaches that align with their own strengths, values and goals.
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Charles Pasternak “Chuck” (he/him/his) is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) who earned his Master’s degree in Counseling from Southern Methodist University. He is licensed to practice counseling in Illinois and Texas. Chuck has experience working with children and adults of all ages providing individual, couple, group, and family counseling services in various settings. He completed his internship at a university clinic and an inpatient hospital servicing a diverse population. There he provided case management, individual, couple, and group counseling services for clients who presented with mood disorders, substance abuse issues, Schizophrenia, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and relationship challenges. During this time, he also conducted a supervised child custody evaluation with Collin County family court in Texas. After he completed his internship, Chuck worked in a community mental health setting providing case management, crisis intervention, and family psychoeducation services for individuals with severe mental illnesses in Dallas, Texas. During this time, he received training in Child-Centered Play Therapy and co-presented a workshop on adapting Emotionally Focused Therapy for lesbian couples at the Texas Association of Marriage and Family Therapy annual conference. After Chuck relocated to Chicago, he worked at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine on a study that provided Behavioral Activation and Behavioral Therapy services for individuals with depression. At Northwestern University, he was asked to co-teach a seminar on how to implement these evidence-based treatments for a class of
psychiatrists. In Chicago, he has also worked at a pediatric outpatient clinic providing play therapy, parenting support, and case management services addressing issues with emotion regulation, depression, anxiety, trauma, anger management, relationship challenges, adoption, and symptoms of ADHD and Autism. Currently, Chuck utilizes techniques and interventions from Theraplay, Child-Centered Play Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and other modalities working with children and adults of all ages. He is also trained to implement Cognitive Processing Therapy for adults with PTSD. He has a passion for working with children in adoptive/foster care families. He is also devoted to serving the LGBTQ community, and he has particular interest in working with gay men experiencing challenges with relationships, family of origin issues, career concerns, and low self-esteem. He is a Certified Child-Centered Play Therapist, Certified Autplay Therapist, and Foundational Theraplay Practitioner. Chuck can be reached at [email protected].
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Kirsten is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Theraplay Practitioner. She earned her Master of Social Work with a mental health concentration from the University of Illinois at Chicago. There, she also earned a certificate in Integrated Behavioral Health with children and adolescents. Kirsten has received additional training in Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC), Trust Based Relational Interventions (TBRI), the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), and adoption related mental health.
Kirsten uses a strengths-based approach to promote secure attachments, foster healthy relationships between family members, and promote mutual enjoyment of each other. She has worked with youth in care, the refugee community, and youth and families who have adopted or have guardianship through DCFS. She has experience working with these communities on issues of trauma, grief, loss, displacement, identity, and other related issues. Kirsten can be reached at [email protected].
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Zaya Gillogly (she/her/hers) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Theraplay Practitioner, Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) Practitioner, and a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. She is a Theraplay Supervisor-in-Training and is working toward becoming a Registered Play Therapist. She works with youth of all ages, and their families, who have experienced abuse, trauma, neglect, domestic violence, separation and/or loss. Zaya has experience working with youth who are adopted and their families on grief, loss, identity, and other adoption-related topics. She aims to build a working alliance with families to identify the specific needs of their child. Zaya aims to create space for parent and child to experience connection, attunement, and mutual enjoyment as a tool to build their relationship. Utilizing the power of relationships to meet the needs of the child, Zaya supports families in creating positive emotional and behavioral changes.
Zaya earned her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Ohio University and her Master’s degree in Social Work with a concentration in mental health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has worked in community mental health, youth and domestic violence shelters, LGBTQ centers, and home-based services. Zaya has additional training in Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC), adoption-competent mental health, non-directive play techniques and art-based techniques. Zaya can be reached at [email protected].\
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Anita Johanson Maddox is a licensed clinical counselor and licensed professional educator with over thirty years of experience in varied settings that include a community mental health center, the Special Education District of Lake County, and 20 years at The Theraplay Institute. She has enjoyed working with a variety of populations from infants to the elderly. Her experience as a staff therapist at a Community Mental Health Center involved treating individuals and groups with both young families and the chronically mentally ill. During that time, she also worked at The Children’s Memorial Hospital (renamed Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago) as an Infant Care Volunteer Coordinator. She was employed for thirteen years at The Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL) as a Family Specialist. In the Spring of 2020, she became a Contractual Therapist at The Theraplay Institute. Anita has an interest in treating young children, children who have a variety of concerns that include, but are not limited to, characteristics of autism, medical and or developmental concerns, trauma and attachment concerns, and parent-child relationship difficulties. Using Theraplay® techniques, she guides families in experiencing happiness and togetherness. As a result, families achieve increased closeness and discover more positive ways of interacting. Anita creates a connection with families, and helps them develop a new perspective of their child’s worthiness and special strengths. Various experiences in her life have sparked her interest in working with families to assist them in understanding, accepting, and respecting each other. Anita has discovered the empowerment that can be provided to people who have experienced challenges in their lives.
Anita is a Certified Theraplay Practitioner and a Registered Play Therapist – Supervisor. She has co-presented at The Theraplay Institute International Conferences and also co-authored an article which was published in The Theraplay Institute Newsletter, as well as a chapter in the book Applications of Family and Group Theraplay, Rowman & Littlefield Publisher, 2009, edited by Evangeline Munns. In addition to mental health licenses in Illinois and Wisconsin, Anita also has a State of Illinois Educators License Early Childhood (Birth to Third Grade).
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M.S.W., J.D., L.C.S.W., R.P.T.
Mandy is a Certified Theraplay® Practitioner, Trainer, and Supervisor-in-Training. She is also the Executive Director at The Theraplay Institute. Mandy has worked almost exclusively with adoptive and foster families since she began her career. She takes a particular interest in helping families with young children form strong attachments and work through sensory concerns. Mandy is also experienced in helping adopted individuals with identity, loss, and anxiety concerns throughout their lifespan. Mandy provides ongoing therapy to anyone touched by adoption. Over the past few years, she has developed a specialty in helping children with FASD. She is also adjunct staff for The Ties Program, Adoptive Family Travel. In this capacity, she provides logistical and mental health support as adoptive families re-experience birth culture. She also assists with orphanage visits and provides support during birth/foster family reunions. While Mandy doesn’t regularly practice law, through her legal work she has advocated for children in both Illinois and Michigan’s child welfare systems. She continues to use her legal knowledge and advocacy skills to help families gain Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and other essential resources for children. Mandy earned her BA in Political Science and her BS in Psychology from Loyola University Chicago. She earned her Masters of Clinical Social Work and Juris Doctorate from Michigan State University. She is further trained in TBRI and ARC. Mandy can be reached at [email protected].
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