Hi, I'm Sara (she/her)
I am a play therapist and single mom to two young boys. I have over 20 years of experience (post graduate school) working with kids, families and adults and specialize in play therapy for children of all ages, parent coaching, trauma, supporting teens, young adults and single parents.
As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, I knew early on that I wanted to work with children and I spent the early part of my career focused on child trauma and learning as much as I could about play therapy. Play therapy felt like coming home as a way to connect and engage with children and it made sense to me that play is a universal language that is spoken by all children, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion.
I attended trainings, sought supervision and consultation and after completing 150 hours of play therapy training and 50 hours of play therapy supervision, I became a Registered Play Therapist (RPT) in 2013. I loved having the ability to train and supervise other clinicians to become play therapists and after another 3000 hours of experience, and 30 hours of supervisor training, I became one of 6 therapists in the area to acquire the Registered Play Supervisor (RPT-S) credential in 2018.
I also have a deep commitment to working with children who have experienced trauma and their caregivers. This is an area that I remain passionate about as I believe that children of trauma deserve a safe space to process and explore healing. I operate from a trauma informed foundation that incorporates the neuroscience of play therapy to heal.
I am honored to be an Approved Provider of Continuing Education through the Association for Play Therapy and our practice provides training for clinicians around areas of play therapy.
I am currently no longer seeing clients for clinical work however do provide teaching, training, supervision and consultation for clinicians within our practice.
Population Served
Techniques Utilized
Areas of Expertise
Some of My Training Includes
Level 1 and Level 2 advanced training in Theraplay®, an Evidence Based intervention which is an attachment based therapy. Theraplay is a fun and engaging technique which involves both parent and child and helps to improve the parent/child bond while also restructuring the parent/child relationship. Theraplay is utilized for behavior issues in children including aggression and defiance and is also effective for children who have experienced trauma or who have been adopted.
Level 1 and Level 2 of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) by its founder, Dan Hughes and Dafna Lender, expert DDP and Theraplay trainer. DDP incorporates attachment, neurobiology and trauma and provides a powerful framework for healing the parent/child relationship through its tenets of Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy (PACE).
Synergetic Play Therapy® (SPT) I have completed the 6 month Intro course and the 10 month intensive process of becoming a Certified Synergetic Play Therapist®. SPT is a way of incorporating ones own regulatory nervous system into the process of play therapy with children to assist in emotional regulation. This revolutionary technique incorporates interpersonal neurobiology, attachment, nervous system regulation and mindfulness into the play therapy process.
How I work with parents
I have found that by supporting and holding space for parents, we can access early childhood experiences of being parented which can directly affect how we parent. I help parents to understand how their early experiences can affect their current relationship with their child and how to heal from these childhood wounds. This work has proved to be more transformative to the parent/child relationship than traditional ‘behavior therapy’ or techniques that focus on punishment or discipline.
My Journey as a Therapist
In 2007, I created Oak City Counseling with the goal of providing a teaching/mentoring space for clinicians to learn and grow as play therapists and to provide the community with knowledgeable and competent child therapists.
I provide ongoing training and support to therapists within the practice in addition to professionals within the community in the fields of child mental health, parenting and play therapy.
Additionally, I have been honored to speak and present various topics to agencies and university undergraduate and graduate classes on play therapy and child trauma.
I have the pleasure of providing clinical supervision to new therapists in the field and am qualified to supervise Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associates (LCSWA) pursuing licensure, those pursuing the Registered Play Therapist (RPT) credential and as a qualified supervisor I can provide supervision to Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associates (LCMHCA) in the state of NC.
Education
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of Michigan
Master of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Licenses, Certifications & Awards
