NVAPT

Nevada Association for Play Therapy

March 2005 Newsletter

Vol. 5, No. 1

 

President’s Message

Hello everyone!  We are now rolling along and NVAPT has a great year planned.  We have re-elected some board members and are excited to add some new members.  This year we are excited to have a new Vice president, Bill Lepkowski, Secretary, Becky Rudd, Website & Newsletter, Laure'l Santos, Student Representative, Katie Cruttenden, Public Relations & Membership Committee, Elizabeth Dear, Megan Evans, & Ashley Rose, and our Southern Representative, Melissa Kaladner! 

This year, we plan to meet every other month on Wednesday evenings (usually the third Wednesday of the month).  We will hold our 4th annual conference on May 6th and that will be an al day event. 

We are looking to incorporate the ideas that you have given us!  We look forward to a great year with NVAPT!

Tina R. Paone, MA, NCC

President- NVAPT

 

Meet the New NVAPT Board Members

President:  Tina Paone, MA, NCC   tpaone@washoe.k12.nv.us

Vice-president:  Bill Lepkowski, MS lepkowski72@sbcglobal.net

Treasurer:  Tom Panian   panian@usamedia.tv

Secretary:  Becky Rudd  be_ducky@yahoo.com

Website & Newsletter:  Laure'l Santos, MA  l1212s@earthlink.net

Student Representative: Katie Cruttenden  knerelli@peoplepc.com

Public Relations & Membership:

Elizabeth Dear  elizdear@sbcglobal.net

Megan Evans megfitz33@hotmail.com

Ashley Rose 

Southern Representative: 

Melissa Kalodner, Psy.D., RPT                                              pmctdoc@yahoo.com                                          

 

NVAPT Board Member’s Biographies

President:  Tina Paone MA, NCC

My name is Tina Paone and I have been a member of NVAPT/APT for the past 2 years.  I am the newly elected president of the NVAPT. I am in my third year of doctoral studies at UNR and plan to graduate in the Spring of 2006. I am also a school counselor at Wooster High School, where I have been working on incorporating play therapy at the high school level.  My focus is adolescents and play therapy, particularly in the schools.  I have presented at the APT conference on the topic of adolescent play therapy and have also presented at the Washoe County School District’s Elementary School Counselor’s Training on play therapy.  My dissertation focus is on the effectiveness of group activity therapy with high school students and how it affects their moral reasoning skills.  My plans include continuing to work on expanding the research area on adolescents and play therapy.  As president of NVAPT, I’m looking forward to a wonderful year and providing you with as much information as possible. 

Vice-president:  Bill Lepkowski, MS

My name is Bill Lepkowski and I am a recent member of the NVAPT and APT organizations and newly elected vice president of the NVAPT. I am in my third year of doctoral studies at UNR and plan to graduate in the Spring of 2006. I have been a school counselor, working with children in grades K-12, prior to entering the doctoral program at UNR. I was introduced to play therapy at UNR and have found it a very valuable way to work with children to help them heal and grow. As vice president, I hope to continue the work of spreading the word about play therapy to all those who work with and want to help children.

 

Treasurer:  Tom Panian  

Tom is a third year graduate student in school counseling in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology at the University of Nevada Reno. For the past two years Tom has been providing play therapy for children at the Downing Counseling Clinic at UNR. Currently, Tom is interning at a California elementary school where he provides individual play therapy and activity counseling as well as small group counseling. Tom will graduate in May 2006. Tom believes strongly in the power of play therapy as a respectful way of fostering resiliency and emotional literacy in the lives of children who may not otherwise have an opportunity to process what goes on inside them. As such, Tom sees play therapy as a significant contribution to school counseling programs, particularly at the elementary school level.

Secretary:  Becky Rudd 

My name is Becky Rudd and this is my first year as a member of NVAPT and APT. I am currently the secretary of the Nevada Association and look forward to this coming year. I am a graduate student at UNR working towards a Masters in Counseling with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy. My future career goal is to work with people who have eating disorders with a strong focus on middle to high school aged clientele.  I am excited to use play therapy and enjoy learning more about it at our branch meetings

Website & Newsletter:  Laure'l Santos, MA

My name is Laure’l Santos, and this is my first year as a member of the NVAPT and APT.  This is also my first experience as a webmaster, and I am excited to be able to carry on the great work of the previous webmaster, Leslie Harmon.  

I recently graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Master’s degree in Counseling and Educational Psychology with an emphasis in College Student Development in the Spring of 2005.  Also in the Spring of 2005, I passed the NCC exam, and I am currently awaiting my official certification.   I first became acquainted with Play Therapy about two years ago when NVAPT was just beginning in Reno.  At that time, I began attending the NVAPT meetings and was very encouraged to see the vast array of techniques and areas where Play Therapy can be integrated into the traditional counseling setting.  My future plans are to work in the area of disabilities, particularly at the university/college/vocational level, and I hope to integrate these techniques into my future counseling career. 

Student Representative: Katie Cruttenden 

My name is Katie Cruttenden and I am the student representative of NVAPT.  I

will be graduating from the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at UNR in December.  I was introduced to play therapy over the summer and was fascinated by the ideas and opportunities presented.  I am currently working with adolescent groups at a local high school, as well as practicing my play therapy skills with children at the Downing clinic on the UNR campus.  I look forward to expanding my knowledge in the field of play therapy and becoming more effective as an adolescent and child counselor.

Public Relations & Membership: Elizabeth Dear

Elizabeth Dear is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in both Nevada and California. She provides outpatient therapy at the Eating Recovery and Wellness

Center and leads the body image group and sees individuals at the Center for Hope of the Sierras, a residential treatment center for women with eating disorders. She also works with foster children and adolescents through Maple Star of Nevada. In each of these roles, Elizabeth draws upon play therapy techniques, using sand tray, art therapy, and a suitcase full of toys when making home visits.

Public Relations & Membership: Megan Evans

Hello!  My name is Megan Evans and I have been a member of the NVAPT for over a year now.  I am newly elected to the position of Public Relations and Membership for NVAPT.  I have a dual bachelor’s degree in both Elementary and Special Education and work with students with severe emotional and behavioral disabilities as well as cognitive disabilities.  I am finishing up my Graduate studies in Marriage and Family Therapy and plan to go on to earn my Doctorate in psychology.  I discovered play therapy at UNR and have found it very helpful in stimulating children to learn intrinsic motivation and become healthy and strong as they mature.  I will continue to practice play therapy in my future endeavors and bring it to the forefront as a valuable form of therapy for others who work with children. 

Membership

It’s fast and easy to join the NVAPT.  Dual membership in the Association for Play Therapy (national) and the Nevada Association for Play Therapy (state) is required.  Individuals can join the organizations either as a professional or as an affiliate.  APT members receive a quarterly newsletter that contains clinical articles and a semi-annual journal that presents research and case studies.  Professional insurance options, distance learning opportunities, and a free annual membership directory are among the many additional benefits offered to APT members.  Nevada branch members also receive NVAPT newsletters or e-newsletters containing information specifically related to play therapy in Nevada, such as meetings and conferences.  To join, go to:  www.nvapt.org/membership.htm.

 

Call for Submissions

Article, networking items, book reviews, comments to the editor about previous article/issues are all welcome.  Please send submissions in at least 10 font.  Articles need to be approximately 1000 words or less and book reviews 200 words or less.  For more information on submitting an article, please contact Laure’l Santos at l1212s@earthlink.net or Tina Paone at tpaone@washoe.k12.nv.us. 

 

 

NVAPT Financial Summary

NVAPT current account balance as of 9/28/05 was $2,787.91.  The September branch meeting generated $105.00 to the account, and there were no expenditures.

 

Meeting Schedule (Locations and Presenters TBA)

November 16, 2005 (6:30 pm)

January 18, 2006 (3:15 pm)

May 6, 2006 (8:30 am to 4:00 pm)

June 21, 2006 (6:30 pm) 

 

Contact us by mail, phone or fax

 Tina Paone, MA, NCC

NVAPT

c/o Counseling and Educational Psychology

Mailstop 281

University of Nevada, Reno

Reno, NV  89557

 (775)-232-7361 phone

(775) 784-1990 fax