Denise K. Filley, MA

Director and Founder of KC Play Therapy Training Institute

Denise is the founder and Director of KC Play Therapy Institute. She has provided services using play at community mental health centers, churches and private practices for over 18 years. She has served on the KS APT board as President, Past President and Secretary as well as the national APT Membership Committee Chair and member of the APT Key Awards Committee. She is a 2007 graduate of the APT Leadership Academy and graduate of the Leadership 2000 program in Kansas.

She has worked in private practice, schools, community mental health centers, residential treatment, runaway shelters, hospitals and churches. She has spoken to groups all the over the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean as well as appearing on television, radio and in newspaper interviews.

She has a Master’s degree in Counseling from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and was granted Registered Play Therapist status in 1999 through 2005. Denise has completed Introduction and Intermediate training in Theraplay™ and received some supervision in Theraplay™ from Dr. Evangeline Munns.

In 2005, Denise started the Play Therapy Certificate Program through KC Play Therapy. In 2004, she started the Play Therapy Training Cruises (Play N Cruise) through the KC Play Therapy Institute. She currently has several publications in the field of play therapy. She has also been honored with several awards in the field of play therapy, including the APT membership campaign winner award for five years and the 2nd place award for 2 years.

In 2009 Denise Filley was the recipient of two awards from the Association of Play Therapy (APT) for Professional Education and Training and Public Education and Promotion.

Elizabeth Caselman, LSCSW, RPT-S

Instructor (Infant/Toddler/Neurosensory and Drumming/Bal-Vis-X )

Elizabeth graduated from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. She then attended the University of Kansas Social Welfare Program and earned her Master of Social Work degree (MSW).

Elizabeth has spent the last 10 years working with USD 305 Heartland Programs. In her current role, she provides play based therapy services to children and their families. She works with early childhood classrooms developing intervention plans and assessing the mental health needs of children birth to 5 years old. She provides mental health consultation to Head Start, Early Head Start, At-Risk Preschool, and Parents as Teachers programs. She provides the clinical and administrative supervision to the therapeutic preschool program in Saline County.

Elizabeth is a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S) and provides RPT supervision and consultation.

Dr. Robert Jason Grant, Ed.D, LPC, RPT-S

Instructor

Dr. Grant completed his education from Missouri State University receiving a B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Counseling. Dr. Grant further received his doctorate degree in Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Grant is a member of the American Counseling Association, Association for Play Therapy, Missouri Association for Play therapy, and the Autism Society of America.

Dr. Grant conducts various presentations and workshops on topics such as play therapy, career development, and autism spectrum disorder treatments and is an adjunct instructor at Forest Institute of Professional Psychology.

Kristin Mills, LPC, RPT

Carmeline Cessor, LMSW, RPT

St. Louis Workshops