Play Therapy Treatment Planning and Interventions

Kevin John O'Connor, PhD, RPT-S, is a Clinical Psychologist and Distinguished Professor in Clinical PsyD and PhD programs at the California School of Professional Psychology in Fresno, California where he is also the Coordinator of the Ecosystemic Clinical Child Psychology Emphasis and Director of the Ecosystemic Play Therapy Training Center. He is the cofounder and a Director Emeritus of the Association for Play Therapy. He also maintains a small private practice treating children and adults recovering from childhood trauma. Dr. O'Connor is the coeditor of the Handbook of Play Therapy, Volumes I & II and Play Therapy Theory and Practice, Second Edition, and the author of the Play Therapy Primer, Second Edition as well as numerous articles on child psychotherapy and professional practice. Dr. O'Connor is also currently researching both the Marschak Interation Method Rating System (MIMRS), a clinical tool for rating the quality of caregiver-child interactions and the personal and professional issues and struggles faced by gay and lesbian psychotherapists who choose to work with children and families. He presents regularly such topics as Play Therapy Assessment and Treatment Planning, Increasing Children's Verbalizations in Play Therapy, the Use of Interpretation in Play Therapy, Structured Group Play Therapy, and others, across the United States and abroad.

Sue Ammen, PhD, RPT-S, is a Clinical Psychologist, Professor and Director of the Infant Preschooler Mental Health Certificates Program at Alliant International University in California and an instructor with the Harris Infant Mental Health Post-Graduate Program at the University of Colorado. She is endorsed as an early childhood mental health specialist and reflective facilitator mentor in California and was a member of the California workgroup that developed guidelines for training in Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health. She is also an early childhood mental health consultant/trainer in Colorado. Dr. Ammen frequently presents workshops and classes on ecosystemic play therapy and early childhood mental health, parent-child relationship assessment, and play-based assessments. She has authored several chapters and professional articles on play therapy and assessment, including Play Therapy with Preschoolers using the Ecosystemic Model, Ecosystemic Play Therapy with Infants, Toddlers, and their Families, and A Play-Based Teen Parenting Program to Facilitate Parent-Child Attachment. She is a co-developer of the Marschak Interaction Method Rating System.