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PLAYTHERAPY TM VOLUME 20, ISSUE 1 • MARCH 2025


IN EVERY ISSUE 2 Leadership


9 Book Review 28 News 30 Member Storytelling 31 Play Therapy™ Magazine Reviewers 32 Credentials


FEATURES 4 Meeting Yourself to Meet Them:How Therapist Congruence and Unconditional Positive Regard


Deepen the Relationship KIMBERLY AUTREY, PHD, LMHC, RPT™, NCC Play therapist self-awareness is foundational to the provision of unconditional positive regard and congruence.


10 Meeting the Autistic Child Where They Are: A


Journey in Child-Centered Play Therapy REGINE CHUNG, PHD, LMHC, RPT™, CAS & ELIZABETH AGUILAR, PHD, LPC, NCC


Child-Centered Play Therapy provides a nuerodiversity


 spectrum.


16 Permission to Play: Utilizing Dungeons and


Dragons in the Play Room ERIKA WALKER, LSCSW, LCSW, LICSW, RPT-S™, CADPT-A


 gives role-playing clients a chance to fully embody themselves, as well as to experience new ways of being.


20 Whole Body Play: Inviting More Movement Into


Play Therapy JAYNE DEAN, LMFT, LADC, RPT-S™ Including somatic interventions that promote physical movements and sensory exploration enable play therapists


 child in their own developmental space.


24 The Ethical Frontier of AI in Play Therapy:


Challenges and Opportunities MARGARET L. HINDMAN, PHD, LPC, RPT™, & KURT W. OSTER, LICSW-S, LCSW-QS, RPT™





 consideration of ethics and alignment with the core values of therapy.


CLINICAL EDITORCLINICAL EDITOR


Mistie Barnes, Ed.D., LPC-S, RPT-S, is an assistant professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Psychology at Delta State University in Cleveland, MS. She supervises the three-tier review process observed by Play TerapyTM mistiebarnes@yahoo.com


magazine.


Mandi Meléndez, LMFT-S, LPC-S, RPT-S™, co-owns Nurture Family Counseling, serving children and families with locations around Austin, Texas. She has served as President of the local chapter and the Texas state branch of APT. She continues to support the   therapy supervision, writing and training. mmelendez@nrtfc.com


www.a4pt.org | March 2025 | PLAYTHERAPY | 1


SPECIAL SECTIONS 3 Thank you Foundation For Play Therapy


Contributors


15 Scholarship Recipients Share their Conference Experiences


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