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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.

Risë VanFleet, Ph.D., RPT-S, Founder and President of the Family Enhancement & Play Therapy Center, Inc.

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.


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