through practical tools, innovative interventions, and community care.
Centering Play in Professional Development
Kids are complicated — get hands-on support in cultivating tools that take on unique challenges.
APT approved provider #18-553
Check out some teams that have played with us:
You’re not in the business of “fixing” kids.
When a child enters your office, they’re carrying the weight of so much — social injustice, trauma, complicated family dynamics, complex peer relationships and so much more. Those burdens often manifest themselves in massively complex and unpredictable ways — taking your job of assessing and treating far from the path of the straight and narrow. Each workshop will provide you with the tools and resources you need to become the best provider possible.
Designed to enhance your play therapy toolkit, these creative, playful, and hands-on workshops support that need. They’re the key to reenergizing and building up the confidence of your team. Every workshop will provide you all with the tools, resources, and training you need to become the best providers possible. By sharing the wisdom I’ve gained from my experience, I intend to support, celebrate, and inspire you because I want you all to know that even when it feels like you’re in the trenches alone, I’ve got you.
Heal with Play Workshops
Are you an organization looking to reignite your team with fresh, effective approaches to play therapy? Are you a solo play therapist looking for new ways to tackle complex challenges? No matter which, these workshops offer the tools and insights to optimize your practice, bring clarity to your work, and deepen your impact with every client.
Designed for clinical supervisors, this workshop shares play therapy–aligned tools to move supervision from stalled to inspired. Enhance reflection, creativity, and decision-making in the supervisory process.
Friday, September 19th, 2025 | 9–12pm EST | Live Virtual
Adolescents often resist traditional therapy, but play can open the door to connection and growth. Learn adaptable interventions that support coping, resilience, and genuine engagement with teens in the playroom.
Grief shows up differently for every child, often in ways that are hard to name. This workshop explores play therapy interventions that create space for loss, foster emotional expression, and support children in carrying grief with care.
Saturday, November 15th, 2025 | 9–12pm EST | Live Virtual
Strengthen parent collaboration to improve outcomes in play therapy. Learn how to clarify caregiver roles, empower parents with tools, and create safe feedback channels for more effective treatment.
Help children who worry by pairing carefully chosen books with directive play therapy interventions. Gain practical strategies for building emotional literacy, supporting regulation, and collaborating with caregivers.
Help children who worry by pairing carefully chosen books with directive play therapy interventions. Gain practical strategies for building emotional literacy, supporting regulation, and collaborating with caregivers.
A clinician-friendly overview of the 10 seminal play therapy theories. Learn key contributors, compare directive vs. nondirective frameworks, and clarify your own theoretical home base for practice.
Explore how the Therapeutic Powers of Play come to life through hands-on activities and clinical reflection. This workshop introduces the framework developed by Schaefer & Drewes and helps you connect it directly to your own therapeutic practice.
The Heal with Play Guarantee.
This work is heavy. On any given day, your team is advocating, empathizing, creating, collaborating, consulting, case-managing, and crisis-intervening. They’re doing awesomely restorative work. And they are exhausted.
It’s my guarantee that every workshop you or your team attends will provide the connection and compassion they need to reinvigorate them. Because deep in my bones, I know that the best, most effective, and sustainable self-care and professional growth happens in community.
“Sarah is a dynamic presenter who we have had the privilege of having with us for a couple PDs and she will remain on my list of annual PDs for my team of Wellness Counselors. Sarah’s professional development cadence and sequence is very much in alignment with the current needs of school-based mental health therapists and her insight, wealth of experiences, and candor make her one of the dopest trainers I’ve learned from. My team is always so excited to have her with us and it is because Sarah “gets it”. She knows what it is like to often be the lone ranger doing mental health and counseling work at schools.”
– Dr. Jaime Mendoza-Williams
– Rocketship Public Schools
Hey Fam!
I’m Sarah Scott Dooling.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor
APT-approved Provider #18-553
Founder, Heal With Play
Over the years, I have come to several realizations about our work:
- Practitioners in this field are hugely committed to providing the absolute best care and support to the children they serve.
- It’s incredibly difficult for clinicians in the trenches to pursue professional development amid crippling caseloads, overwhelming bureaucracy, and restricted resources.
- Burnout and compassion fatigue are all too common thanks to near-constant exposure to high-trauma situations and toxic stress.
That’s why every workshop is designed to provide comfort, kinship, and professional development. Jam-packed with tips, tools, and takeaways, they help improve the quality of services you provide to the humans you serve. Stellar networking and hearty belly laughs are also included.
Much Love,
Cultivate Connection & Fuel Professional Growth
You’re operating within an intense environment. You’re constantly protecting, advocating, counseling, case-managing, and crisis-intervening. You’re dealing with high-stakes scenarios and high-trauma situations all day long. It can drain you. It’s my mission to use these workshops to fill you right back up.
Because let’s never forget that you and your team are doing restorative work. And some days, you all will loathe this work far more than you’ll love it. But in these workshops, I’ll help you rebalance the scales. I’ll help your team remember why those really good days make the overwhelming ones so worth it.
“Sarah provided an incredibly fun and helpful workshop on Treatment Planning for a large group of Mending Matters therapists. Even though she was virtual, and the therapists were all in person, Sarah skillfully engaged the room and encouraged participation and discussion. She had all the therapists laughing and involved throughout the presentation, and provided space and time for us to practice interventions with one another. I would highly recommend Sarah for any type of virtual training!”
– Caitlin Flewelling, LCSW
Mending Matters
Questions? Here are some answers!
Workshop FAQ
Are workshops only for teams or organizations?
Not at all! These workshops are ideal for both teams and individual kid therapists. While organizational topics offer creative and engaging ways for teams to grow professionally and together, solo workshops are designed to be highly beneficial for individual therapists seeking to enhance their skills and gain a professional edge.
How much does each workshop cost?
For teams or organizations of up to 50 people, the cost is $1,200 per workshop. For individual pricing, please click on any upcoming workshop listed above. Note: Added hours and participants are subject to an additional fee.
How long are the workshops?
Each workshop lasts between 2-3 hours. Note: Added hours and participants are subject to an additional fee.
If my team purchases a workshop, how many people are included?
Each booked workshop covers teams or organizations of up to 50 people. Note: Added participants are subject to an additional fee.
Are these workshops APT-approved for credentialing or renewal hours?
All workshops are hosted virtually by Heal with Play, an APT-approved provider (provider #18-553) — ensuring you have the autonomy to choose dates and times that work best for you. Interested in an in-person event? Click here.
Are there any take-home materials with these workshops?
In addition to hearty belly laughs and lasting connection, every workshop attendee will leave with take-home materials that help solidify the knowledge they learned and easily integrate the tools, tips, and interventions into their practice.
I need a workshop that is not listed here. What do I do?
Reach out to me! No organization or team is quite the same – I get that. I’m happy to customize a workshop (or build an entirely new one) that fits the needs of your team. Click here, and let’s set it up.