Workshop Descriptions
All presentations will be hosted in Denton, Texas.
Meet the Presenters
Terry Kottman
Title:
Day 1: Creative Adlerian Play Therapy Interventions
Day 2: Family Play Therapy—Adlerian Style
Terry Kottman developed Adlerian play therapy, an approach to working with children, families, and adults that combines the ideas and techniques of Individual Psychology and play therapy. She founded the League of Extraordinary Adlerian Play Therapists and created a certification program for Adlerian play therapy. Terry is a fun and engaging presenter and author who regularly teaches classes and writes about play therapy. She is co-author (with Kristin Meany-Walen) of Doing Play Therapy: From Building the Relationship to Facilitating Change and Partners in Play: An Adlerian Approach to Play Therapy, and the author of Play Therapy: Basics and Beyond and several other books. In 2014, she was granted a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Play Therapy; in 2017, she was given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Iowa Association for Play Therapy; and in 2020, she received a third Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Society for Adlerian Psychology. (She seems to be collecting them.) In 2024, Terry received the Innovation in Counseling: Practice and Clinical Service Award from the National Board of Certified Counselors. She has been married to her husband Rick for 46 years and has a delightful adult son, Jacob, of whom she is inordinately proud.
Kim Vander Dussen Psy.D., RPT-S
Professor The Chicago School, Anaheim
Licensed Psycholgoist and Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor
Title: Play Therapy Through a Neurosequential Lens
Dr. Vander Dussen is a Professor at the Chicago School in Anaheim She is the coordinator of the Child and Adolescent Concentration in the Clinical Psy.D. Program and teaches various child and adolescent courses. She is also a Licensed Psychologist in private practice in Placentia, Orange County, California who specializes in the treatment of children and their families. She holds certificates in Infant and Toddler Mental Health and Play Therapy. Dr. Vander Dussen is a Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor and is certified in EMDR, the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, and the Circle of Security Parenting Program She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Association for Play Therapy serving in 2024 as chair. She has served on the faculty on the Play Therapy Certificate Program at UCSD Extension. Dr. Vander Dussen’s area of expertise includes the treatment of trauma, attachment, and the mental health needs of neurodivergent youth. She is an international speaker presenting on various child and adolescent topics.
PJ Blanco PhD, LPC-S, RPT-S, CHST
Title: To Play or Not to Play: Delivering Developmentally Supportive Counseling to Preadolescents through Play Therapy and Expressive Arts
Dr. Blanco is an Associate Professor at Tarleton State University with over fifteen years of experience in counselor education at multiple CACREP-accredited programs. He has specialized training and extensive experience in providing play therapy to children in both community agencies and school settings. Dr. Blanco's primary teaching areas include Play Therapy, Counseling Skill Development, Child and Adolescent Counseling, Expressive Arts, and Group Counseling. He holds certifications as a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor, Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, and Certified Humanistic Sandtray Therapist. In addition to his teaching, Dr. Blanco maintains a small counseling supervision practice.
As both a therapist and educator, Dr. Blanco is deeply committed to offering developmentally appropriate treatment. Throughout his career, he has delivered over fifty conference presentations and published more than twenty peer-reviewed articles in the field of play therapy. His research interests include exploring the connection between play therapy and academic achievement.
Linda Homeyer
Title: Going Deeper in Sand Play Therapy: Expanding Skills for Effective Client Change
Dr. Homeyer semi-retired after over 30 years of work as a play therapist, sandtray therapist, and university professor. She continues to write, provide professional consultations and trainings, and plays in the clay in Canyon Lake, Texas.
In addition to keynotes and conference presentations in the United States, Linda continues to enjoy traveling the globe and teaching play therapy, sandtray therapy, and clinical supervision. She has worked in Slovakia, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Taiwan, Denmark, China, Italy, and even on a cruise ship! Her co-authored books include her recent ones of The Guide to Play Therapy Documentation and Parent Consultations (with Mary Bennett); Sandtray Therapy: A Practical Manual (4th ed.) (with Daniel Sweeney); Advanced Sandtray Therapy: Digging Deeper into Clinical Practice (with Marshall Lyles); and others; also, numerous book chapters and journal articles. Her work is translated into Turkish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, and Spanish.
She currently represents APT as their representative on the Board of Directors of the International Consortium of Play Therapy Associations (IC-PTA). She is also the Editor of the World Journal for Sand Therapy Practice®.
Linda is a Distinguished Professor Emerita of Professional Counseling at Texas State University. The Association for Play Therapy named Linda as a Director Emerita and awarded her their Lifetime Achievement Award.
MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON
Bundle registration opens TBD
Individual registration opens TBD
Registration closes TBD or when capacity is filled
Due to the confidentiality and nature of topics presented, children (of any age) will not be permitted to any conference workshops.