Office Location

1701 48th Street
West Des Moines, IA 50219
Video Conferencing Available

Contact Information

Phone: (515) 971-1153
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.heartland-christiancounseling.com

Jill Thomas, LISW, PMH-C, RPT-S

Education:

Jill completed her Masters in Social Work from the University of Northern Iowa in 2010.  Her Masters Thesis was in Resiliency Factors of Children raised in Abusive Homes.

Jill began play therapy in 2010 under the supervision of Nicole Pauli, RPT-S and Terry Kottman, RPT-S and became well-versed in Adlerian Play therapy.  Adlerian Play Therapy is her main mode of play therapy since it uses both non-directive and directive interventions, can meet a wealth of needs for the child, it can be used in-office or at school and can be empowering and healing for children with many types of issues and struggles.

Jill is also trained as a Level 1 MIM/TheraPlay provider and has used TheraPlay often with children and parents.

Jill received her RPT-S in 2018 when she began to have interest in helping other play therapist gain RPT status.  She states, “I had great supervision from Nikole Pauli and Terry Kottman and feel excited to be able to pass that on.”

Other trainings that Jill has completed include Sand Tray therapy, Using TableTop Games, Telehealth, Family Therapy, Trauma Informed Care, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Emotion-Focused therapy.

Jill is also certified in treating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMH-C) and have an ongoing caseloads of pregnant and postpartum women struggling with anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD and occasional psychosis.

Experience:

Jill has worked at counseling agencies for over 10 years doing mostly play therapy, but also family, individual and couples counseling.  She enjoys it all!  These past few years, Jill has worked in a group clinical practice.  She has also been hired for many speaking engagements on topics of parenting anxiety, family relationships, growing in spirituality, incorporating play therapy with the family and more.

Play therapy is her main focus in counseling and I use mainly Adlerian and TheraPlay, with some others added in when it seem beneficial.  Jill sees all ages, but most commonly age 4 through 10 for play therapy.

Jill has spent 5 years leading group therapy for pregnant and postpartum mothers who are struggling with mental illness and sees a high value in the benefits of group therapy.  In 2019, Jill became certified in nationally in treating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and help to raise awareness of PMADs.

Additional Information:
Jill is a Christian and her faith is what drives her passion for counseling and helping others heal, so if faith-based counseling is of interest, I can definitely help with how to integrate that into evidence-based therapy practice.

Jill is married and a mom of 4.  She is a foster parent, adoptive parent and biological parent so she has a lot of experience in the area of foster care and raising kids from hard places.

Play Therapy Supervision Sites:
Office in Des Moines, Iowa Region
Video Conference from Any Location

Play Therapy Supervision Meeting Times:
Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8:00 am to Noon.
Saturday 9:00 am to Noon.

Play Therapy Supervision Fees:
$90/hour for individual supervision
$40/hour per student for group supervision.

Clinical Supervision:
Jill offers simultaneous clinical supervision for individuals seeking clinical licensure in the state of Iowa.
Fees: $40/hour per student for group, $90/hour for individual