Director
Daniel Sweeney is the founder and director of the Northwest Center for Play Therapy Studies. He is also a tenured professor of counseling and program director for the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program in the Graduate Department of Counseling at George Fox University.
Dr. Sweeney is a former member of the board of directors and past-president of the Association for Play Therapy, a registered play therapist-supervisor (RPT-S), and maintains a small private practice.
He has extensive experience in working with children, couples, and families in a variety of settings, including therapeutic foster care, community mental health, private practice, and pastoral counseling. He has presented at regional, national and international conferences on the topics of play therapy, sandtray therapy, filial therapy, and trauma interventions.
Dr. Sweeney received his doctorate in counseling from the University of North Texas, where he also served as an assistant director of UNT's Center for Play Therapy. He has a master's degree in marital and family therapy, holds licenses as a professional counselor (LPC) and marital & family therapist (LMFT), and is an Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS).
He has given professional presentations throughout the United States. His international speaking includes the Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada, South Africa, Argentina, and Australia.
Dr. Sweeney has published articles and book chapters on child counseling, play therapy issues, families and parenting. He is also author or co-author of several books, including Play Therapy Interventions With Children's Problems, Counseling Children Through the World of Play, Sandtray Therapy: A Practical Manual, The Handbook of Group Play Therapy, and the upcoming Group Play Therapy: A Dynamic Approach. His books have been translated into Chinese, Korean, and Russian.
Dr. Sweeney is available for consultation and speaking engagements, and can be contacted at dsweeney@georgefox.edu.
*LPC (State of Oregon), LMFT (State of California), RPT-S (Association for Play Therapy)
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