15 CE Hours
Each workshop provides you with 15 CE hours of instruction.
How it all began:
Our love for Play Therapy
Heartland Play is owned and operated by 3 Registered Play Therapists who have worked together for many years as therapists at a victim service agency in the Kansas City area.
Growing from 1 location to 7 convenient Midwest locations
Heartland Play offers play therapy trainings to help mental health professionals feel more confident in their work, complete the training requirements to become a Registered Play Therapist or School Based-Registered Play Therapist and increase the number of skilled play therapists in our community. Heartland Play offers workshops in Kansas City, Wichita, Omaha, Columbia, St. Louis, Des Moines and NW Arkansas.
Approved Provider by the Association for Play Therapy (APT) and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
Heartland Play Therapy Institute, Inc. has been approved by APT as an Approved Provider of play therapy continuing education. APT Approved Provider 15-424.
Heartland Play Therapy Institute, Inc. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6774. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Heartland Play Therapy Institute, Inc. is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
What every single one of our workshops offers you
Available in Multiple Cities
Workshops available in seven Midwest locations and by Live Webinar.
Secure Payment
Pay in total confidence with Paypal or by Credit Card secured by Authorize.Net.
Networking
Connect with other like-minded therapists while obtaining continuing education credits.
Meet the Owners
Carmy Goodwin
LSCSW, LCSW, RPT-S™, RST-C/T
Carmy is passionate about helping children, families, and communities heal through connection and creativity. As co-owner of the Heartland Play Therapy Institute, she blends deep clinical expertise with a heartfelt commitment to making mental health care more accessible—especially within the Latino community.
Fluent in Spanish, Carmy began her career in the public school system as an interpreter and Family School Liaison, where she quickly discovered her calling to help children and families navigate life’s challenges. Over the years, her journey has taken her from early childhood behavioral and psychological assessments to working as a bilingual therapist at SAFEHOME, Inc., the Child Abuse Prevention Association, and currently in her co-owned private practice, Creative Connections, LLC.
Carmy is a Licensed Specialized Clinical Social Worker in Kansas, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Missouri, a Registered Play Therapist–Supervisor™, and a Registered Sand Therapist – Consultant/Trainer. She also supervises clinicians working toward social work clinical licensure in Kansas and Missouri and toward their registered play therapy credential nationwide.
A dedicated educator, Carmy loves teaching play therapy workshops and mentoring future therapists. She has served as President of the Kansas Association for Play Therapy and is a graduate of the Association for Play Therapy’s Leadership Academy. Her belief is simple: Play Therapy is essential for understanding and processing trauma through the eyes of a child.
When she’s not in the therapy room or teaching, you’ll likely find Carmy spending time with her family—especially with her active sons, Drew and Noah—cheering on the Chiefs, and watching anything that brings a good laugh or cry.
Amber Johnson
LCPC, RPT-S™
Amber is co-owner of the Heartland Play Therapy Institute. Amber obtained her Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology from John Brown University, her Master’s degree in Counseling from Mid America Nazarene University and her Play Therapy Certification from KC Play Therapy Institute.
Amber began working with children and teenagers in high school, dedicating summers to being a camp counselor with inner city children, Christian youth camps and adolescent girl camps. Amber continued her work with children as a tutor and substitute teacher. During her graduate program in Counseling, Amber completed her internship at SAFEHOME, providing therapy to victims of domestic violence. Shortly after completing her graduate degree, Amber was hired by SAFEHOME as a full time Clinical Therapist providing individual, family and group therapy for adults and children. Amber was the Clinical Director at SAFEHOME prior to transitioning to Creative Connections. She now sees adults, children and adolescents at Creative Connections. Amber has expanded her experience by teaching workshops for Heartland Play Institute, providing Play Therapy supervision and Clinical Supervision for individuals pursuing clinical licensure.
Lori Peterson
LSCSW, LCSW, RPT-S™
Lori is co-owner of Heartland Play Therapy Institute. Lori obtained her Bachelors of Arts degree in Social Work with a secondary major in Women’s Studies from Kansas State University in 1999, her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Kansas in 2002 and her Play Therapy Certification from KC Play Therapy Institute in 2006.
Lori began her career as a case manager for a residential children’s home in Wichita, Kansas, gaining valuable experience and insight into the field of foster care and child protective services. Upon moving to the Kansas City area in 2000, Lori was given the opportunity to work in her field of passion at SAFEHOME, serving victims of domestic violence. Over her sixteen years at SAFEHOME, Lori worked as an advocate, Shelter Director, Child and Family Therapist, Outreach Therapist and Clinical Director. In the position of Clinical Director, Lori was responsible for overseeing the agency’s counseling program, which served over 1,000 clients a year.
In 2015, Lori became the co-owner of Heartland Play Therapy Institute, Inc. and began teaching the Fundamentals of Play Therapy workshop. Lori also started a private practice in 2015, serving individuals in Overland Park, Kansas. Over the past fifteen years, Lori also expanded her experience through contract work, providing individual therapy for children in the Head Start Program, providing home study and post placement services for families adopting domestically or internationally, and facilitating trainings and providing play therapy supervision for the KC Play Therapy Institute PlayTalk program.
Throughout her career as a therapist, Lori has pursued training in a variety of therapeutic models including Play Therapy, Theraplay, Psychodrama, Emotional Transformation Therapy, Resonance Repatterning, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF CBT) and Art Therapy. Lori is passionate about working with children of all ages (including adults. She believes that the principles of play allow children to be seen and heard, which facilitates healing and growth. Lori is also passionate about teaching and supervising students to help them develop new skills. She believes that the therapeutic relationship has the power to be transformative and she enjoys working with clinicians to expand their skills.