The Graduate Department of Counseling (GDC) in the School of Education is pleased to be the home of the Northwest Center for Play Therapy Studies (NWCPTS). This past November, the NWCPTS sponsored its sixth annual Fall Play Therapy Conference. The featured speaker was Dr. Sue Bratton, director of the Center for Play Therapy at the University of North Texas. On Nov. 14, 2008, Dr. Bratton presented a workshop entitled "Play Therapy with Interpersonal Trauma and Attachment Disruption." Conference attendees included current GDC students and alumni, and mental health professionals from across the country.
Under the direction of Dr. Daniel Sweeney, the NWCPTS is the only university-based center focused on the study and promotion of play therapy in the northwest United States. The mission of the NWCPTS is to "promote the healthy development and welfare of children and families through the process of play and filial therapy. In support of the relational, psychological, and spiritual wholeness of children and families, the center seeks to fulfill this objective through the provision of play therapy, training, supervision, and learning resources for students and mental health professionals in the community."
In addition to directing the center, Dr. Sweeney is a professor of counseling and director of the counseling program in the GDC. He is also a nationally-recognized expert in the field of play therapy, having presented internationally and published several books on various play therapy topics. In addition to maintaining a private mental health practice and his work at George Fox University, Dr. Sweeney is currently the president of the Association for Play Therapy.