Ann Beckley-Forest

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist Supervisor
(she/her)

Experienced trainer for my fellow clinicians in the areas of play therapy and trauma treatment in the USA and Asia, including at numerous EMDRIA conferences, EMDR Europe, EMDR Asia and EMDR Canada, and at the several Association for Play Therapy Conferences.
Clinical social worker in private practice -- specializing in treatment of children and trauma survivors of all ages
A Registered Play Therapist and Play Therapy Supervisor as well as an Approved Provider of Play Therapy Education through the Association For Play Therapy
Certified in EMDR Therapy, an evidence-based treatment for trauma, and an Approved Consultant for EMDRIA and trainer for EMDR Basic Training.
Faculty member of the Child Trauma Institute
Co founder of Playful EMDR LLC Training and Consulting
Published on the topic of play therapy and EMDR integration in Play Therapy and the and Go With That magazines, some book chapters
Co-editor of EMDR with Children in the Play Therapy Room: An Integrated Approach (2020) and several book chapters

Proud to be a founding member of the new non-profit Global Child EMDR Alliance
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What is Play Therapy?

Play therapy is a systematic approach to providing psychotherapy to children in a developmentally sensitive way through the use of play and toys. My approach to play therapy is drawn from many aspects of the play therapy tradition along the continuum from purely child-centered play to directive game-based approaches. I believe in tailoring the play therapy approach to the needs of the child and the stage of treatment. My play therapy is inspired by the work of the traditional founders of play therapy such as Gary Landreth, as well as more prescriptive approaches advocated by Eliana Gil, Joyce Mills, Helen Benedict and Paris Goodyear-Brown. I have also been trained in Theraplay and use game-based learning in building attachment capacity in many of my clients.
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Why Play Therapy Training?

My goal is to present both foundational and advanced skills for fellow clinicians which are the same kinds of trainings I like to attend – experiential as well as theoretical, research-informed and based on real life case material. In particular my goal is to help therapists develop a comprehensive approach to their child clients which is trauma-informed and developmentally sensitive.
If you are interested: click here to watch a free one-hour webinar on the Foundations of the Play Therapy Relationship.
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What is EMDR Therapy? How Does it Fit with Play Therapy?

EMDR Therapy is an evidence–based psychotherapy which is based on the healing of past traumatic and adverse experiences as the path to improved mental health. I became an EMDR therapist to help my clients to heal from trauma, and I am able to use EMDR therapy to benefit clients of all ages, including children. I am actively involved in developing an integrated model for Play Therapy and EMDR therapy, and published on this topic in Play Therapy magazine in 2015 and EMDRIA's Go With That magazine in 2019. I'm happy to be co-facilitating trainings around the country in this area with my colleague, EMDR trainer, Annie Monaco. We have recently co-edited a comprehensive book about this integration published by Springer in fall 2020: EMDR with Children in the Play Therapy Room: An Integrated Approach

EMDR with Children in the Play Therapy Room: An Integrated Approach

This pioneering guidebook fully integrates the theoretical foundations and practical applications of play therapy and EMDR in order to maximize healing in in children with trauma. By highlighting the work of innovative EMDR therapists and play and expressive art therapists and their pioneering clinical work, the authors provide a fully integrated approach to using EMDR in a play therapy context while being faithful to both play therapy principles and the 8 phases of the EMDR standard protocol.

Now available from Springer publishing or Amazon.

Order today

Playful EMDR LLC Training and Consulting

Check out the new training organization I have co-founded with Annie Monaco to raise the bar on Play Therapy and EMDR integration and quality training!. Our new website is here.
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Playful EMDR
Self-paced and Live Trainings