Who We Are

Who We Are?

Play Therapy Australia specializes in Child Centered Play Therapy training, clinical supervision, consultancy and mentoring. We are very fortunate to have a number of the Australian and world leaders in Child Centered Play Therapy, involved with Play Therapy Australia training and supervision.

Jill Janan (formerly Pagotto):

BEd, CertRebal, DipChildPsych, PGradDipArtTherapy, MAArtTherapy

Director of Play Therapy Australia

Jill is a Child Therapist and Play Therapist and is the Founder and Director of Play Therapy Australia. Jill offers professional training, clinical supervision, consultancy and mentoring in Play Therapy and has developed an internationally renowned Play Therapy training program.

Jill’s qualifications include a Bachelor of Education, Certificate of Rebalancing Bodywork, Diploma of Child Psychotherapy (Play Therapy) and a Masters of Arts in Art Therapy. She is a founding member and the president of the Australian Play Therapists Association (APTA).

Jill trained in Play Therapy in Australia and has also attended the Summer Institute Program & Intensive Supervision Process at the Center for Play Therapy, University of North Texas - the world’s largest Play Therapy training center. She also attended the first Experiential Play Therapy Conference and workshop series in California.

Jill has had over 25 years experience working in a range of roles with children, adults and families in schools, education, child protection, residential and foster care settings. This has included working with the Education Department of Western Australia, Mercy Community Services and the Department for Child Protection.

Jill is registered with the Psychotherapy & Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA Reg. 21334), is a Clinical Member of the Psychotherapists and Counsellors Association of Western Australia (PACAWA) a member of the Australian Play Therapists Association (APTA), an International Member of the Association for Play Therapy USA and a Member of the Association for Pre & Perinatal Psychology & Health.

Jill has a special interest in the power of the relationship and Child Centered Play Therapy for healing and growth in children who have experienced pre birth and birth trauma, and in healing, spirituality and writing.

Play Therapy Australia Specialist Play Therapy Trainers and Clinical Supervisors

There are a number of leading Play Therapy trainers from Australia and America involved in presenting training sessions and seminars for Play Therapy Australia and offering Clinical Supervision for those in the Play Therapy Clinical Training Programs.

Play Therapy Australia provides those in the training programs with the opportunity to work with some of the world leaders in Child Centered Play Therapy.

Play Therapy Australia is now moving into offering some online and distance learning seminars and workshops with Play Therapy experts from Australia and America which is a very exciting development!

Details of Trainers and Clinical Supervisors:

Bill Nordling, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist, is the Chair of the Department of Psychology at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences in Arlington, Virginia (USA) where he teaches courses in in Child-Centered play therapy (CCPT) and Filial therapy.

For the past 20 years, he has served as the Director of Certification Programs in CCPT and Filial therapy at the National Institute of Relationship - an institute founded by Drs. Bernard and Louise Guerney. Dr. Nordling is Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor through the Association for Play Therapy.

He was a founding Board member of the Maryland Association for Play Therapy, and a founding Board member and first President of the Association of Filial Therapy and Relationship Enhancement methods. He previously served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Play Therapy (USA) as its President. Dr. Nordling has conducted over 150 training workshops throughout the U.S. and internationally in the areas of play and Filial therapy.

He has authored a number of publications in these areas including the book Child-Centered Play Therapy: A Practical Guide to Developing Therapeutic Relationships with Children (co-authored with Nancy and Jeff Cochran) published by John Wiley & Sons in August 2010.

Jodi Mullen PhD, LMHC, NCC, RPT-S, is the Director of Integrative Counseling Services, PLLC and an Associate Professor at the State University of New York College at Oswego, School of Education, , Counseling and Psychological Services Department.

She is the coordinator of the Mental Health Counseling Program and the Graduate Certificate Program in Play Therapy. Dr Mullen’s play therapy certifications include that of Registered Play Therapist – Supervisor (RPT-S) through the Association for Play Therapy and Certified Play Therapist (CCPT-S) through the National Institute for Relationship Enhancement (NIRE).

She is the author, co-author, or co-editor of several books including: Counseling Children & Adolescents through Grief & Loss (2006), Play Therapy Basic Training: A Guide to Learning and Living Child-Centered Play Therapy Philosophy (2007), Supervision Can be Playful: Techniques for Child and Play Therapist Supervisors (2008), and Counseling Children: A Core Issues Approach (2011).

Nancy Cochran MA, CAS, LMHC, is a supervisor, educator and therapist focused in child-centered play therapy (CCPT) and related interventions. She is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling at the University of Tennessee. Nancy is also a faculty member with the National Institute for Relationship Enhancement (NIRE).

She is certified as a Child-Centered Play Therapist and Supervisor by NIRE and has over 20 years experience serving children, adolescents, and families and supervising others in CCPT. She has worked in school and agency settings, as a school psychologist, child-centered play therapist and family therapist.

She has authored two major books. The first is The Heart of Counseling: A Guide to Developing Therapeutic Relationships (Cochran, J.L. & Cochran, N.H., 2006, Brooks/Cole). The second is a comprehensive guide to CCPT Child-Centered Play Therapy: A Practical Guide to Developing Therapeutic Relationships with Children (Cochran, N.H., Nordling, W.J., & Cochran, J.L., 2010, Wiley).

Emily Oe PhD, earned her PhD in Counseling at the University of North Texas. She is credentialed as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor.

Over 30 years as a counseling professional have provided Emily with a spectrum of experience: University professor (including establishment/facilitation of Masters' Level Play Therapy Training Program), Licensed Counselor/Sole Proprietor of private practice, Counselor in a large wrap-around mental health agency and a smaller agency, supervisor of professionals seeking credentialing as Licensed Counselor and/or Registered Play Therapist, and Consultant. Emily also has done extensive Play Therapy training in the United States and internationally.

Helen Kershaw has an Advanced Diploma in Social work (Newcastle University, UK), a Masters Degree in Non Directive Play Therapy (York University, UK), and is a Clinical Member of the Australian Counselling Association. She trained in the United Kingdom where she worked both for Government organisations and in the Voluntary sector.

Helen has more than fifteen years of experience in child protection and therapeutic work with children and young people. Helen has undertaken post qualifying training in Filial Therapy. In Filial therapy the therapist trains the parent to be the “paratherapist” ie teaches basic non directive skills to the parent and then supervises the parents weekly play therapy sessions with the child. Filial Therapy empowers the parent and strengthens the parent/child relationship.

Helen has an immense commitment to empowering and strengthening children’s lives. Helen supervises professionals in areas of play therapy and child protection offering supervision to play therapists, social workers psychologists and counsellors.

Judith Morgan has over 30 years experience in working with children, and is a play therapist. She has a passionate interest in children, in play as a vital and wonderful exploration and expression of the child’s world, and in play therapy.

Judith works from Waterlily Garden Children’s Therapy Centre in Toowoomba, Queensland which was created as the result of a vision, shared by Judith and her husband Bill, to create a place especially for helping children to grow and develop. The centre was opened in 2003, and the focus there continues to be on working therapeutically with children. A further emphasis of the Waterlily Garden Children’s Therapy Centre is in helping parents to better understand their children, to develop healthy relationships, and to respond to them in ways that enhances healthy growth and development of the child and the parent and child relationship.

Judith has a number of university awards, and has studied play therapy in the United Kingdom and in France.

Dr Kathryn Hunt has a Masters degree in Guidance and Counselling (1989) and a PhD in Counselling (2004), both from the University of Durham in the UK. In addition she has a Postgraduate Certificate in Play Therapy (1997) and Diploma in Play Therapy (1999) from Roehampton University in the UK.

In 2011, Kathryn was the Program Director on the Masters of Counselling program at the University of Queensland in Australia. She has taught counselling on a Masters program from 1998 and was the program leader for the MA in Counselling at the University of Durham. She has been responsible for the design and development of counselling modules on the MA in Counselling program in the areas of theory, practice, self-development and research methods.

As a volunteer and part of a research project in East Africa, Kathryn co-designed and delivered a Certificate in Play Therapy for an NGO in Kenya East Africa for qualified Kenyan Counsellors wishing to adapt skills to work with children and young people both infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Since 1989 Kathryn has been involved in assessment, exam board preparation and building relationships with students in tutorials for both undergraduate and postgraduate studies in counselling, education, play therapy, social work and therapeutic childcare.

Kathryn has been involved in research programs and has published journal articles, reports, book chapters and other texts in both national and international journals and books.

She has presented her research at counselling and education conferences internationally and at other professional and community forums since 1993.

Consultants:

There are also a number of consultants who offer invaluable support and advice in relation to Play Therapy Australia & workshops and training programs.

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Thanks:

Many thanks go to all those who have contributed to the development of Play Therapy Australia and to those involved in Training sessions, in offering Clinical Supervision and Consultancy. I would like to express special thanks and deep gratitude to Dr William Nordling, Dr Sally Kester & Ean James for their support, faith & heartfulness in helping bring this vision into being & to Dr Garry Landreth for his inspiration, heart and passion for Child Centered Play Therapy.

Play Therapy Australia | Telephone: 0430 040 020 | PO Box 235 Fremantle WA 6959 Australia | info@playtherapyaustralia.com