TraumaPlay at CCD
What is TraumaPlay™
According to the TraumaPlay™ Institute, TraumaPlay™ is a flexibly sequential play therapy model for treating traumatized children by integrating several evidence-based treatments into a developmentally sensitive play-based treatment contiuum. To learn more about TraumaPlay™, please visit the TraumaPlay™ Institute’s website.
From Rebecca: “Play is the language of children, so it only makes sense that a trauma approach be rooted in play. TraumaPlay and EMDR pair nicely as they both use play therapy and expressive arts such as drawing, clay, and sand tray therapy to accomplish therapeutic goals. TraumaPlay is unique in that it is an attachment focused evidence-based treatment that is sequential but not rigid. Through trauma play, we focus on first the establishment of safety and security in the playroom as well as key components such as emotional regulation, emotional literacy, and augmenting coping skills. In TraumaPlay, the caregiver is established to be the “Safe Boss” and we work to educate caregivers on the neurobiology of trauma. After 12 years of providing outpatient therapy, I can honestly say that Trauma Play and EMDR have provided a much-needed new perspective and set of tools to utilize in the therapy space. I feel excited and hopeful once again about the possibility of healing that can occur for our children!
It is my hope that CCD will be a pioneer of trauma work in the use of TraumaPlay and EMDR for complex trauma in children. I aim to continue my training and growth in this area and to become a consultant/supervisor for both TraumaPlay and Playful EMDR in the near future.”
Our TraumaPlay™ Therapists
Rebecca Roebke, LCSW (Director of Staff & Community Support)
Rebecca has worked with trauma since the beginning of her social work career, from her time as a DFS child abuse investigator to her work for a state grant where she screened all of the children in foster care for PTSD and mental health needs. She obtained training in TFCBT in 2011 and was trained in EMDR therapy in 2019. From there, she began the journey into Playful EMDR (Annie Monaco and Anne Beckley-Forest), which integrated EMDR into the play therapy room. Beginning in 2021, Rebecca began training in Trauma Play and completed her certification by the end of 2022. In November 2022, Rebecca attended the first ever Playful EMDR Summit in Florida, where professionals and trainers gathered to learn and grow the area of integrating EMDR and play therapy with children. She is trained to work with dissociation that can sometimes accompany trauma in children and adults as well. She will complete her EMDR certification in 2023.
Sandra Lopez-Villicana, LCSW (Program Manager for Bilingual Services)
Sandra Lopez-Villicana is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker that has worked with children and families in a variety of settings for almost 10 years. Sandra became certified in TraumaPlay in January 2023 and has started the track to becoming a Registered Play Therapist. Sandra is trained in EMDR and Sand Tray therapy and uses both modalities often within the TraumaPlay model. Sandra employs child-centered play as well as directive interventions to support processing of trauma, understanding of child and adult regulation, and strengthening family relationships.
Kelly Lackey, MSW
Kelly is a graduate of the University of Delaware where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2004. After working directly with children and families for many years, she obtained her Masters in Social Work with an additional Trauma Certificate from Widener University in 2019. She has spent her career serving children and families touched by trauma. She has spent 18 years working in child welfare, striving to keep children safe, strengthening at-risk families, and supporting adoptive children and families. In 2021, Kelly began the process to become a certified TraumaPlay clinician. She has completed over 45 hours of TraumaPlay training, and is actively in supervision to receive her certification. Kelly believes in the power of helping clients explore and and process their trauma through play and other creative outlets. Kelly feels that true healing occurs within safe, supportive relationships. She believes in meeting each client where they are, and building upon every individual’s existing strengths. She has experience working with children, adolescents, and families and is currently working toward obtaining her Clinical Social Work license.
Rosanna Biondolillo, MSW
Rosanna received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Phoenix and later obtained her Master’s in Social Work from Delaware State University. She is working towards her licensure to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Rosanna enjoys working with children, adolescents, and adults dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression, C-PTSD, PTSD, and ADHD. She takes a person-centered approach, believing that to assist clients in reaching their goals, the clinician must meet them where they are. Rosanna combines a variety of evidence-based therapeutic modalities for treatment, such as Trauma Play Therapy (an attachment-based play therapy model for healing the wounds of trauma with children and families), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Rosanna began her TraumaPlay journey in May 2022.
Kimberly Boulden, LMSW
Kim has worked with various populations suffering from trauma since the beginning of her social work career. Kim started out her career working with children who witnessed domestic violence and/or suffered physical or sexual trauma and moved on to working with homeless children and adults who presented with a variety of basic, behavioral, and mental health needs. Kim has used child-focused play therapy with children since the beginning of her career in 2003. Kim worked with young children developing and implementing behavioral interventions and was trained in PCIT in 2012. Kim received her Child Advocacy Certification in 2013 and received her Strength-Based Family Worker Certification from Temple University in 2017. During the course of earning Kim’s graduate degree from Widener University, she received training in a variety of various treatment modalities including TF-CBT and Play Therapy. Kim was trained in EMDR in 2021 and began her Trauma Play Certification in 2022. Kim will complete her Trauma Play Certification in the summer of 2023. She has begun training in Playful EMDR and hopes to receive a Trauma Focused Art Therapy Certification in the future.