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The Louisiana Association for Play Therapy

Board of Directors

2021-22 Board of Directors

The Board of Directors consists of the officers who are elected at the annual meeting each year, along with the chairpersons of the various committees. See our By-Laws adopted in December 2017 for a complete description.

Here is a list of the 2021-22 Board Members. Click on a name to see a short bio and photo for each board member.

President

Kenneth Schmitt, LPC, NCC, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor

Kenneth Schmitt, LPC-S, NCC, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor earned his Masters in Counselor Education at The University of New Orleans in 2011. He is a 2013 graduate of APT's Leadership Academy and has served on several committees for LAPT since 2015. He has presented at national and state conferences on play therapy, children and working with the LGBTQ+ population.

Kenneth is currently the Director of Counseling at a New Orleans Charter School as well as serving children, families and adults in his private practice since 2014.


President-Elect

Deatrice Green, Ph.D., NCC, LPC-S, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, Workshop Site Coordinator

Deatrice Green, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor specializing in children and adolescents, couples therapy and with BIPOC. As an adjunct professor at University of Holy Cross she enjoys teaching and providing clinical supervision. Dr. Green Her research interest is a graduate of both the Louisiana Counseling Association and Association for Play Therapy Leadership Academies. She is currently a member of APT, ACA, LCA, LAPT, LAMCD, LMHCA, LACES and LACGS. Dr. Green also currently serving as President Elect of both the Louisiana Association for Play Therapy (LAPT) and the Louisiana Mental Health Counselors Association (LMHCA) and as Committee at Large Supervisor for the Louisiana Association for Counselor Educators and Supervisors.


Past-President

Krystal Vaughn, Ph.D., LPC- S, NCC, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor

Krystal Vaughn, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC is serving Louisiana Association for Play Therapy as Past President. Professionally, she is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor specializing in children ages 2-12. As an Associate Professor at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – New Orleans she enjoys teaching as well as providing clinical services. Her research interests are supervision, play therapy, and mental health consultation.


Secretary

Nicole Bartlett, LPC-S

Nicole Bartlett is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor. She received a Bachelor's degree from Spring Hill College and a Master's degree in Counselor Education, with specializations in Marriage and Family Therapy and Play Therapy, from The University of Alabama. She has been a member of the Association for Play Therapy for more than 25 years, and has served on the LAPT Board of Directors since 2009, currently as Secretary. Nicole has worked in residential treatment with children and adolescents, as a school counselor, and as a therapist with children, adolescents, families, and adults. She worked at Family Service of Greater New Orleans for over 12 years as a Clinician, Clinical Director, Senior Clinical Supervisor, and coordinator of student placements for the agency. As an LPC Supervisor, she has provided clinical supervision to Masters' level counselors working toward state licensure.


Treasurer

Amanda H. Chapoton, LPC-S, LMFT, Registered Play Therapist

Amanda Chapoton is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor (LPC-S) and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Amanda joined Brandon P. Romano, Psy.D. & Associates in 2010. Amanda earned her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1997. She earned a Master of Education in Counseling from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2001. In addition to her LPC-S and LMFT, Amanda earned her certification as a Registered Play Therapist in 2005. Her diverse career includes time as an adjunct professor at Southeastern Louisiana University teaching courses in career planning, child development and marriage and family studies. Her career also has been devoted to the treatment of children, youth and families affected by physical and sexual abuse.

Her extensive experience in counseling includes treatment of high-risk youth and those with mental health disorders as part of the Louisiana Judicial System. In 2007, Amanda began providing treatment to juveniles who were adjudicated for sexual offenses. In her work with Brandon P. Romano and Associates, her practice has focused on the treatment of both the victims and perpetrators of sexual offenses. She is a trained forensic interviewer who has assisted law enforcement and child protection services in over seven parishes with child sexual abuse investigations, including testifying in open court. She has been qualified to testify as an expert in the field of counseling in the courts of Louisiana. She has provided training on a local, state and national level. Amanda currently provides services at the Main Clinic (Baton Rouge) and provides community-based services in Hammond and Amite.


Communications Committee

Emily Prevot, LPC, NCC, RPT

Emily Prevot is a Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor and Registered Play Therapist serving LAPT on the Communications Committee. She works as a Mental Health Specialist, working with young boys ages 8 through 18, at the organization Son of a Saint in New Orleans. Emily works with these young fatherless boys through the therapeutic power of play in addition to working with their caregivers and family members.



Jordan Anderson, LPC, Registered Play Therapist

Jordan Anderson is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist. She is currently serving on LAPT's Communication Committee. She is a school counselor in the Greater New Orleans area and works with children ages 2 through 13. Jordan also provides counseling services to children, adolescents, and families through her private practice.





Laura Fazio-GriffithSpeaker Coordinator Committee

Laura Fazio-Griffith, Ph.D., NCC, LPC-S., LMFT, Registered Play Therapist - Supervisor

Dr. Laura Fazio-Griffith is an Assistant Professor in the Counseling Department at Southeastern Louisiana University and serves as the Play Therapy Certification Program Coordinator for the Counseling program. She is currently on the executive board for the Louisiana Association for Play Therapy having served in the the position of Treasurer and is now the Past-President. She serves on the National Association for Play Therapy Registration and Credentialing committee, past president for the Louisiana Career Development Association, and Past President for the Louisiana Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, past member of the Louisiana Counseling Association Executive Committee, and Chi Sigma Iota chapter faculty advisor.

She is a member of APT, LAPT, ACA, LCA, and LCDA. Dr. Fazio-Griffith participates in several interdisciplinary committees at her university. She is a member of the faculty senate, serves on the executive council for the faculty senate, a member of the college curriculum committee, and several departmental committees. She has published two book chapters, scholarly articles, and an edited book, as well as presenting at state and national conferences. Dr. Fazio-Griffith was the recipient of a grant funded by the Louisiana Board of Regents to establish a play therapy resource room for students, mental health clinicians, and school counselors


Gold Branch / Historian

Marcia Cox, LCSW, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor

Marcia Abrams Cox has been working with children and families since she graduated from the LSU School of Social Work in 1974. While working at the Baton Rouge Mental Health Clinic as part of their Children's Services in the 1970's, she developed the first play room used exclusively for children for mental health services there. While working at St. Joseph's Children's Home located in Baton Rouge in the 1980's, she served as the primary therapist for 20 latency-aged and adolescent residential females. It was here that she brought her doll house with a few other toys to turn her office into a playroom again. During this time, she opened her private practice in Baton Rouge and began working with children, adolescents, adults, and families. However, it was not until the late 1980's that she discovered her first workshop focused on play therapy. She came away with a renewed enthusiasm for reaching children through their own medium of conversation, PLAY!

In 1996, Marcia met with a few mental health professionals from around Louisiana and became a charter member of the Louisiana Association for Play Therapy and joined the Association for Play Therapy. Since that time, she has served continuously on the LAPT board as secretary and then was elected president-elect of LAPT in 2003. From June, 2005-June, 2007, she served as president of LAPT and later served as Past-President until 2009. Currently, Marcia is chairperson of the Gold Branch Committee.

"Being associated with play therapists and LAPT and APT has been the most rewarding experience for me! Not only has this association given me the skills and tools to work with children, but I have met some of the most enthusiastic, sincere, and compassionate professionals who truly care about the well-being of children and their families. I know that the future of the world will be changed by the efforts of play therapists who have helped children realize their value and reach for their potential! No matter where I go to attend conferences, play therapists are eager to share their expertise with others like no other segment of the mental health field. LAPT and APT have been the avenues for all of us to gain knowledge about the techniques of play therapy and to show the value of play as a therapeutic tool. This is why I am so proud to be a part of such a dynamic and growing organization as Louisiana Association for Play Therapy and the Association for Play Therapy!"
  - Marcia Cox

Legislative, Ethics & Bylaws Committee Members

Carolyn Ellender, LCSW-BACS, LPC, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor

Carolyn Ponder Ellender currently works in private practice specializing in play therapy with children and adolescents as well as providing family therapy and focusing on family and school related issues. She holds BS, M.Ed. and MSW degrees from Louisiana State University. She has over fifty years of professional experience including working as a classroom teacher, an elementary school counselor, co-owner of a tutoring business, Director of The Parenting Center of Family Service of Great Baton Rouge, as well as having clinical practices in different settings - the Family Service Agency, child/psychiatrist office and currently shares an office practice with four other therapists. In addition, she has served as a supervisor for student interns and currently with therapists working on the Registered Play Therapy certification or licensure as a social worker.

Carolyn has presented parenting education classes for over four decades including local television appearances, radio broadcasts, and writing local newspaper / magazine articles on various parenting articles. She has held numerous leadership positions in LAPT including having served two terms as President and was recognized with the LAPT Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. In 2018, she was voted by Baton Rouge Parents Magazine readers as the year's favorite children's therapist in the Baton Rouge area. Carolyn has been married since 1968, has three daughters, five grandsons and one granddaughter.

Laura Fazio-Griffith, Ph.D., LPC-S, LMFT, NCC, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor
[See Speaker Coordinator Committee Committee for Bio.]


Membership Committee Members

Kathryn (Kati) Hill, MHS, LPC-S, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor

Kati Hill received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of New Orleans (2005) and a Master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from LSU Health Sciences Center (2007). In her graduate program she was honored with the graduate faculty award for demonstrating excellence as a colleague. Ms. Hill is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor, a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, and owner of Bloom In NOLA, LLC which is a private counseling practice. Her primary concentrations are Play Therapy, Filial Therapy and Parent Coaching. With over a decade of experience working with children and families, Ms. Hill treats clients with a variety of presenting issues including, depression, anxiety, attention deficit/hyperactive behaviors, social difficulties, adjustment difficulties, behavior difficulties, anger, grief, and divorce. Ms. Hill has also worked as an adjunct instructor at the graduate level teaching child and adolescent diagnosis courses and currently serves on the board for the Louisiana Association for Play Therapy.

Adrianne Frischertz, Ph.D., LPC-S, Registered Play Therapist

Adrianne Frischhertz, Ph.D. is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor. She has been a board member of the Louisiana Association for Play Therapy (LAPT) since 2009 and currently serves as President. Dr. Frischhertz has published and presented on both local and national levels to educate others about counseling and play therapy. She is a graduate of both the Louisiana Counseling Association and Association for Play Therapy Leadership Academies. Currently, she is an adjunct professor in the Play Therapy Specialist degree program at the University of Mississippi. Clinically, she specializes in providing services to children ages 3-12 and their caregivers, as well as clinical supervision to those seeking licensure as a professional counselor (LPC) and certification as a Registered Play Therapist.


Publicity and Outreach Committee

Maria R. Hebrock, M.S., PLPC, NCC

Maria originally hails from the wonderful city of New Orleans; however, she spent many years living in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. In 2014, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Appalachian State University and by 2018, she was able to move back to her Louisiana roots. Maria is also a proud 2021 graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University's Counseling master's program. As an Option's Program therapist, she is currently working for the Youth Service Bureau agency of St. Tammany Parish. In Maria's therapeutic work, she loves utilizing play therapy and gentle-expressive methods of: music, art, and play-based modalities with teens and their families. She believes in working with clients via a systemic approach to encourage healing and a safe space for generational-positive changes. In addition to her agency work, Maria has also worked in some amazing private practice settings, with the adoption triad, providing parent education and community-based support, and has a background working in Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy with kiddos on the autism spectrum.

Maria has been volunteering for the LAPT conference for the past couple of years and enjoys assisting in donation-gathering and outreach projects associated with LAPT. She is thrilled to be invited as a new member of the LAPT board serving in the role of Publicity and Outreach Chair and looks forward to continuing efforts recruiting new members, advocating, providing education on play therapy, outreach, gathering amazing conference donations, and giving back to the community!


Workshops & Conferences Committee

Wendy Q. Durant, LPC-S, Registered Play Therapist Supervisor

*Employed at DuraCARE Counseling & Consulting Services
*15 years working in the field of counseling and play therapy
*LAPT Conference Chair
"Play therapy is an excellent way for counselors to connect with children and families to Hep them communicate feelings, cope, heal, and grow into awesome adults!"



Contact us today!

Louisiana Association for Play Therapy
9618 Jefferson Highway, Suite D-126
Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Email: president@la4pt.org


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