Play Therapy is a therapeutic modality used with children, adolescents, adults, families, and groups in different settings to address various psychosocial issues. In this webinar, participants will learn about the benefits of integrating play therapy into clinical practice. Participants will also learn about the therapeutic powers of play and basic play therapy concepts, including toy selection and setup. During this overview of play therapy, we will discuss the historically significant play therapy theories and new emerging theories.

Christina Watts-Figueroa, MA, LMFT-S, LPC, is a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor™ and EMDRIA Approved Consultant. Christina co-owns a private practice (Yellow Ribbon Counseling PLLC) in Killeen, Texas, where she treats children as young as two years old and up, adults, and families. Christina also provides clinical supervision and consultation to other mental health professionals. Christina's primary treatment approaches include play therapy, sand tray therapy, trauma and sensory-informed practices, family therapy, and EMDR therapy. She has a passion for serving the military and veteran community due to her experiences growing up as a child to a US Airman and later marrying a US Army Soldier. Christina's experiences growing up in different countries influenced her clinical work's humanistic, systemic, and culturally sensitive lens.

Christina completed her undergraduate degree in Sociology at a Historically Black University(HBCU) in Fayetteville, IN, and later received her master's degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling from the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor (UMHB) in Belton, Texas. Christina is a third-year doctoral student at Walden University in the Counselor Education and Supervision program.

Christina is a co-founding member and current president of the Central Texas Chapter of the Texas Association for Play Therapy. She is also a leadership academy graduate from the Association for Play Therapy and serves on the CE and registration committee. Christina recently finished serving as the Secretary of the Texas Association for Play Therapy.