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Centering Play in Professional Development

through practical tools, innovative interventions, and community care.

Kids are complicated — get hands-on support in cultivating tools that take on unique challenges.

Book Sarah For Your Team

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.

Get support in overcoming school-based challenges by learning various play therapy interventions, how to identify treatment objectives for common presenting problems, and how to engage allies (i.e., teachers and parents) in the play therapy process.
Interested in bringing this workshop to your organization? We can tailor the session to meet your team’s specific needs. Reach out today to learn more!
Discover how effective supervision can influence and shape a play therapist’s growth and lead them to thrive in a high-stakes field.
Interested in bringing this workshop to your organization? We can tailor the session to meet your team’s specific needs. Reach out today to learn more!

Learn playful, age appropriate, interventions that encourage emotional regulation and adaptive coping skills at every level. This interactive workshop is designed to engage and reinvigorate established and aspirational play therapists alike.

Interested in bringing this workshop to your organization? We can tailor the session to meet your team’s specific needs. Reach out today to learn more!
Learn playful, teenage appropriate, interventions that encourage emotional regulation and adaptive coping skills at every level.
🧩 Good news! Sarah is offering this workshop in June.
Learn about a range of books, interventions, and resources that can help you harness the power of stories to facilitate therapeutic experiences for kids who worry.
Interested in bringing this workshop to your organization? We can tailor the session to meet your team’s specific needs. Reach out today to learn more!
Designed explicitly for clinicians, this workshop will transform your consultation process as you learn how to help parents navigate the trials of caregiving and become more meaningful participants in the play therapy process.
Interested in bringing this workshop to your organization? We can tailor the session to meet your team’s specific needs. Reach out today to learn more!
Preparing our clients for the end of our time together can feel complicated, overwhelming, and downright sad. This workshop has got you covered! No more scrambling to figure out how you’re going to prepare for your termination sessions.
🧩 Good news! Sarah is offering this workshop in April.
Explore how play therapy interventions can help you interpret manifestations of grief and loss so that you may better identify goals to guide and optimize your treatment plan.
🧩 Good news! Sarah is offering this workshop in March.

Set down the lens of adulthood as you learn the unique ways of approaching your practice (and practices) through the eyes of the children you serve.

Interested in bringing this workshop to your organization? We can tailor the session to meet your team’s specific needs. Reach out today to learn more!
Learn how to apply and integrate common play therapy theories to the presenting problems of your clients.
🧩 Good news! Sarah is offering this workshop in May.
Learn how to support kids who are experiencing toxic stress and complex trauma through play-based connection while strategically making stakeholders an integral (and informed) part of the process.
Walk away with: A deeper understanding of theory, resources on how to build customized and impactful treament plan increase self-esteem, and and *new* innovative quality play therapy interventions.

“A big reason that we keep hiring Sarah for workshops is the level of absolute energy, rejuvenation and excitement we get not only from being in the workshop, but in all of the days that follow. So if you’re feeling stuck, if you’re feeling like there’s not enough joy in your day to day work, and you and your team could use some extra creativity, then consider hiring Sarah for a workshop. You won’t regret it.”

Lauren Waltermire, LCSW

“Sarah offers an enriching and engaging professional learning experience. She is an insightful and dynamic presenter, who naturally connects with her audience. She not only provides an opportunity to learn skills, she creates a space to practice and play with the learning. Sarah ensures that her audience leaves feeling inspired and empowered to enhance their own practice.”

Tracy Schmidt, LCSW

“I always leave Sarah’s workshops feeling inspired and excited to dive into play therapy! She injects fun and playfulness into every topic and she provides so many practical interventions. Sarah is an excellent resource on all things play therapy and the support she provides while presenting is unmatched. Sarah offers breaks, check- ins and makes her agendas flexible enough to pivot topics as needed. I highly recommend all things Sarah Scott Dooling!

Erin Devine, LMFT

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:

  1. Practitioners in this field are hugely committed to providing the absolute best care and support to the children they serve.
  2. It’s incredibly difficult for clinicians in the trenches to pursue professional development amid crippling caseloads, overwhelming bureaucracy, and restricted resources.
  3. 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. 

Connect. Learn. Transform.

“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.

Let’s Stay in Touch

Want to experience some of the growth and connection you can get from Heal with Play? Join my newsletter! Every week, I’ll deliver free tips and takeaways (and sometimes tools!) to help you and your team become more confident in your work and intentional with your self-care.