Dianne Nicholas, MS, LMFT, is a licensed marriage family therapist and a Certified Theraplay Practitioner and trainer. She holds a master’s of science degree in counseling from California State University, Northridge and a BA in psychology with a minor in developmental psychology. She has worked extensively with children and families in the child-welfare system and specializes in attachment focused treatment for childhood trauma and abuse. Dianne has completed intensive training in Dyadic Development Psychotherapy with Daniel Hughes, PhD, trained in Trauma Focused-CBT, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization (EMDR). Dianne held the position of Clinical Director and Supervisor at a non-profit Agency until recently taking on a position as a Consultant to Children & Family Services with the objective of promoting Trauma- Informed Best Practice within the Agency. Dianne resides in Ventura, CA where she has a private practice. She views Theraplay as an integral component toward developing the relationship bond between the children and caregivers she sees in therapy. Dianne can be reached at [email protected].
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is a Certified Theraplay Practitioner, Trainer and Supervisor with a private practice in the Buffalo, New York area. Dave has been involved in Theraplay from its beginnings, from his days as a college student to after he became a psychologist. He was supervised by Ann Jernberg and many of the other pioneers, including Phyllis Booth. Dave has worked in private practice since 1983. He and his wife, Susan Bundy-Myrow, have done training both in the U.S. and internationally. Dave’s special interest is in working in an outpatient setting with school-age children and young teens. For more information: www.theraplace.com
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Lori A. Losen, LPC, RPT-S is a certified Theraplay Therapist, Trainer, and Supervisor in Training. She has been using Theraplay in her practice since 2015. Lori is the owner of a small group practice in Mountain Top, PA that specializes in working with children and their families. Additionally, she is the Mental Health Consultant for her county’s Head Start Program and provides training and support at Brandon’s Forever Home which aids parents that have provided foster care or have adopted children. She has a special interest in working with families with children with chronic illness. Lori received her undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education and proceeded to work as a kindergarten teacher in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras. Upon returning to the United States and while raising her three children Lori returned to school to obtain her Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Scranton. She began her counseling career working in a community nonprofit with children and adolescents who had experienced trauma. Lori is also the Luzerne County Head Start Mental Health Consultant. She provides trainings on trauma informed care to teachers and staff. She also works with parents/guardians to provide parenting classes and support. When not working Lori can be found traveling and hiking with her husband and dog. Lori can be reached at [email protected]
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is a certified Theraplay ® therapist and a Registered Play Therapist- Supervisor. Elizabeth spent five years in community mental health providing therapy for children in the foster care system in Washington D.C. before moving into private practice, where she specialized working with children who had relational trauma and attachment issues. She has been in private practice since 2011, both in the D.C. area and since relocating to Boulder, Colorado. She has extensive training in trauma, particularly working with children, adolescents, and families whose lives are affected by physical abuse, sexual abuse, family violence, neglect, bullying, and attachment issues related to adoption. Elizabeth values the importance of working with the whole family system to heal from trauma, improve mental wellness, and adjust to changes in the family dynamic.
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is a certified Theraplay therapist, trainer, and supervisor. She holds an MSW from the University of Maine at Orono, an A.D. in Nursing from the University of Maine at Augusta, and a B.A. from Earlham College in Richmond Indiana. Annie authored Chapter 7 “Theraplay for Children with Regulation Disorders” in the 3rd edition of Theraplay (Third Edition, 2010), and Chapter 6 “Home-Based Theraplay” in Theraplay: Theory, Applications and Implementation” (2021) Annie has a lifelong passion for helping parents and their children have healthy, joyful attachment relationships. After a 10 year career as a registered nurse, Annie provided home and office-based mental health therapy to families of young children in Mid-Coast Maine for 23 years, working with a wide variety of problems including families with attachment and trauma histories. She was a full time Theraplay trainer from 2013 to 2020, leading trainings in the US and around the world. The pandemic brought her home to Maine where she is leading trainings, both virtual and “live,” and enjoying semi-retirement. She can be reached at [email protected].
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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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Rana is certified Theraplay® Practitioner, Supervisor and Trainer. She is also a certified Parent-Child Interaction therapy® (PCIT) Therapist/Within agency Trainer, and certified Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing® (EMDR) Therapist and Consultant, and certified DIR/Floortime expert training leader. Rana is specialized in treating children, adolescents, and their parents with issues of attachment, anxiety, autism, behavioral issues, and trauma. Rana earned a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2000 and Ph.D. in Social Work at Loyola University Chicago in 2014. Currently, she is a full-time faculty at Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work while running a group practice-Playful Healing Center in Des Plaines, IL. For her recent publication, she wrote an article on “Becoming a neurobiologically informed play therapist” (Hong & Mason, 2016) and co-edited the book “Theraplay: Therapy, Applications, and Implementation” (2021).
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is a founding partner of Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education, LLC and Director of Starbright Institute, LLC. She provides evidence and practice informed mental health services for children, youth, and adults impacted by trauma. She earned her Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University and her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from George Mason University.
Mrs. Goldin received specialized post-graduate training in the field of trauma, attachment, and the expressive therapies (art, sand, and play therapy). She is a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor (RPT-S), a Certified Parent Educator in Circle of Security Parenting Groups, and a Certified Theraplay Practitioner and Supervisor, an attachment-based family therapy approach. She has worked in various clinical and educational settings in the Northern Virginia area supporting bilingual and bi-cultural children experiencing socio-emotional and educational challenges as well as traumatic histories. Her career has focused on providing reparative experiences for high-risk youth.
Mrs. Goldin was a contributing author for the book, Working with Children to Heal Interpersonal Trauma (2010), and co-authored a chapter on Integrated Play Therapy for a book edited by Crenshaw and Stewart. Mrs. Goldin has presented workshops on the issue of trauma and its impact on learning locally, nationally, and internationally. She was an Adjunct Professor at the graduate school of Social Work at the Northern Virginia Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.
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is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Michigan and Certified Theraplay Therapist and Trainer. Lydia has a private practice in South East Michigan. She provides outpatient treatment for children, families, parents and adults who struggle with mood and anxiety and/or have a history of complex relational trauma with disrupted attachment. Lydia incorporates modalities such as Theraplay, DDP strategies, EMDR, and mindfulness practices. Lydia earned her Honors BA in Psychology from York University, her Bachelor of Social Work from University of Windsor and Master of Social Work degree from Wayne State University. She began her career as a family service worker for the Children’s Aid Society in 2004. The following year she joined the outpatient treatment team at Windsor Regional Hospital as a crisis intervention worker providing emergency room assessments, single session and brief therapy services. She was liaison for the community adolescent mental health beds and provided therapeutic intervention for adolescents discharging from the mental health bed assessment program. Prior to moving exclusively to her current private practice Lydia joined the specialized treatment team at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare Regional Children’s Centre, serving families and their children with complex needs. Lydia can be reached at [email protected]
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Donna is a Certified Theraplay® Practitioner and Trainer, formerly in private practice at David L. Gates and Associates in Illinois, but now living in Bluffton, SC near Hilton Head Island. For 18 years she did individual, couples, and family therapy as well as domestic violence treatment, anger management treatment for adults and children, and parenting training and consultation. Since 2015, she has focused on doing training and supervision for The Theraplay Institute, as well as providing parenting workshops. In the past she has worked as a youth and family counselor with Warren Township Youth Commission, developed a children’s program for Families in Touch/Teen Moms in Waukegan, and supervised college students as they worked in that program. She also worked with the teen moms in the FIT program, teaching parenting skills, life skills, and issues of domestic violence. Donna obtained her BA in Theology from Berkshire Christian College in Massachusetts before working with Campus Life/Youth for Christ in New York City. She then went on to obtain her MA in Counseling Psychology from Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL. In the past, she has presented at the Theraplay International Conference and has written an article for the Theraplay Newsletter on the use of Theraplay in domestic violence treatment groups. More recently she authored a chapter on use of “Theraplay with Families Affected by Domestic Violence” in the book “Theraplay: Theory, Applications and Implementation” (ed. by Sandra Lindaman & Rana Hong). Donna is the mother of two daughters and has eight grandchildren, all of whom enjoy helping her practice Theraplay activities.
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