The Beech Street Program, LLC, is an affiliate of the Family Enhancement and Play Therapy Center.  Located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, this program offers a wide range of educational, counseling, family therapy, and play therapy services to children, adolescents, and families.  Details are listed below, including contact information.
Click here to download a brochure (PDF) of the Beech Street Program.

In addition to the professional training programs and the dissemination of information via videotapes and books, the Family Enhancement and Play Therapy Center has an affiliate, the Beech Street Program, that offers direct counseling and educational services to children and families in southcentral Pennsylvania.  Carlisle is located approximately 25 miles southwest of Harrisburg and within about 30-40 miles of York, Gettysburg, and many smaller communities.  This webpage describes those services that are offered through our affiliated Beech Street Program.

The Beech Street Program offers comprehensive mental health services to children, adolescents, and families.  We use a down-to-earth, collaborative approach that recognizes parents and other caregivers as the most important people in children's lives.  Our services range from educational, "enhancement" programs for families without major difficulties who wish to strengthen their relationships and prevent problems, to services geared to the needs of seriously distressed children and families.  In all cases, we respect the families with whom we work and involve parents as partners in the process whenever possible.

The first step in the process is a phone call.  The therapist will ask for a brief description of your concerns and share information about the services we offer.  If we cannot help meet your needs, we will gladly refer you to someone who can.  Otherwise, we will arrange an "intake" appointment with you where you will share your concerns in greater detail, and we will make a recommendation to you about possible options.

We use a variety of therapy methods that have been shown to be the most effective with child, adolescent, and family problems.  These include play therapy, filial (parent-child) play therapy, behavior management, parent consultation/training, cognitive-behavioral therapies, and expressive therapies.  Our programs and therapy sessions are offered in several formats:  individual, family, and group.

We are also happy to receive referrals from educational, medical, and mental health professionals.

Our services are confidential, as permitted within Pennsylvania law.  We will fully explain confidentiality and its limits at the first visit.

The Beech Street Program, in conjunction with the Family Enhancement and Play Therapy Center, is also a research and training organization.  Our goal is to ensure that our services are the highest quality possible, and this is accomplished by research, clinical supervision and/or consultation, and training programs.  At all times, the confidentiality and privacy of children and families in our services are guarded.  We will explain these aspects of our organization to you during your first meeting.

We are committed to making our services accessible.  Please inform us if you have special needs.

Cynthia Sniscak, LPC Cynthia Caparosa Sniscak, LPC is the President and Senior Clinician of the Beech Street Program. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (PA), a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, and a Certified Filial Therapist-Instructor. Ms. Sniscak specializes in the use of play therapy, filial therapy, parent consultation, behavior management, and other interventions with children and families with a wide range of problems. She has many years of experience with school problems, anxiety, depression, divorce-related difficulties, oppositional behavior and other behavior problems, and AD/HD. She has also worked extensively with children who have experienced medical problems, trauma, abuse, foster placement, or attachment difficulties.

She works closely with parents throughout the therapy process and coordinates her work with school, medical, and other mental health professionals (when indicated and approved by parents). In addition, she provides training for child-related community organizations, and has been a featured speaker at state, national, and international conferences. Cindy is also an accomplished potter who incorporates her artistic talents and skills with her child/family therapy work. She is the author of several book chapters on play therapy.

Risë VanFleet, Ph.D. Dr. Risë VanFleet is the Founder and President of the Family Enhancement & Play Therapy Center, Inc. in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, an organization specializing in the training and supervision of child, family, and play therapy professionals as well as the provision of mental health services for children and families. She holds degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and The Pennsylvania State University. A licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania, Dr. VanFleet is also a certified Filial Therapy therapist, supervisor, and instructor, and a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor.

She specializes in strengthening family relationships through play, and has subspecialties in chronic medical illness, disaster mental health, child/family trauma and attachment interventions using play therapy and filial therapy, and the use of canines in play therapy. Dr. VanFleet brings 35 years of clinical, supervisory, and leadership experience in community mental health, health care, education, and independent practice settings to her workshops. She has trained and supervised thousands of clinicians internationally. She is the author of Filial Therapy: Strengthening Parent-Child Relationships Through Play, A Parent’s Handbook of Filial Play Therapy, coeditor with Dr. Louise Guerney of the Casebook of Filial Therapy, and author/photographer of The Faces of Play. Another book, Canines in Play Therapy (working title) is expected in 2007. Her materials have been used by professionals and families in over 40 countries, and her writings have been or are being translated into Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Romanian, and Spanish. She is featured on three best-selling play therapy video workshops: Child-Centered Play Therapy, Overcoming Resistance: Engaging Parents in Play Therapy, and Introduction to Filial Play Therapy. She is featured with Dr. Heidi Kaduson on the forthcoming video workshop, Play Therapy for Traumatic Events. Dr. VanFleet has been honored with the inaugural Bernard G. and Louise F. Guerney Award for Outstanding Contributions to Practice and Training in Filial Therapy (The Association for Filial and Relationship Enhancement Methods) and the Play Therapy Professional Education and Training Award (The Association for Play Therapy). She is a cofounder of the International Collaborative on Play Therapy and a Past President/Board Chair of the Association for Play Therapy. She is also involved in the research and use of animals in play therapy, and uses one of her dogs as a play therapy dog. She is an Approved Evaluator for the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen Program ®. In addition to her work in the play/family therapy field, Dr. VanFleet is President of VanFleet Associates, an organizational development and training firm, an accomplished pianist, and an award-winning nature photographer specializing in Alaskan wildlife.

Please contact the Beech Street Program staff with questions or concerns: 
717-245-2404.

©2007 Family Enhancement and Play Therapy Center. Photos courtesy Risë VanFleet. All rights reserved.