PRESIDENT

Katie Brammer (She, Her, Hers), PhD, LPC, RPT™ is a Counselor Educator with a background in Mental Health Counseling, Play Therapy, and School Counseling. She tailors transformational approaches into her work with the anticipation that the needs of each student and client are met. She is intentional about advocating for systemic change and providing trauma-informed spaces focused on cultural humility—valuing and affirming those who have been historically marginalized, traumatized, and impacted by ecological systems and cultural hegemony. Katie aims to facilitate culturally responsive learning spaces that create future counselors who are change agents able to effectively advocate for clients and support making improvements to the counseling field on local, national, and global levels. As a white cisgender woman, she continues to critically evaluate her privilege and unlearn her own socialized biases, unknown objectives, and stereotypical beliefs. Specifically, Katie’s work with Transgender and Gender Expansive Folx and those whose affectional orientation or romantic attraction defy heteronormativity continues to influence her own personal and professional development as an antiracist, culturally responsive counselor educator, scholar, counselor, play therapist, and supervisor.

VICE-PRESIDENT

Tyler is a licensed professional counselor and supervisor (LPC-S), Registered Play Therapist (RPT), and a certified AutPlay® Therapist and approved supervisor for AutPlay Therapy. He is currently working on his PhD in Counseling Education at University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL).

Tyler specializes working with individuals who are neurodivergent (Autistic, ADHD, OCD, gifted, etc.) and integrates AutPlay® Therapy by utilizing technology, including video and computer games, iPads, and virtual reality (VR) into sessions. Tyler conducts research offers several trainings internationally.

Tyler serves as an Advisory Board Member for AutPlay® Therapy, where he provides strategic advice and assistance regarding management, operations, marketing, and the overall direction of programs. Tyler is the Vice-President & Technology Officer for the Missouri Association for Play Therapy and serves on the Committee for Continuing Education at the International Association for Play Therapy (APT).

PAST PRESIDENT & SECRETARY

I believe that EVERYONE has the ability to be successful no matter your past or present. I had many struggles growing up. Growing up, loss and death was a common occurrence in my life and as a result, I struggled with my emotions. It was in high school that I began working with a counselor. It was my work with her that I felt heard and validated. That is when I decided that I wanted to give that to others. In learning about WHY play works with individuals, I found my passion in Play Therapy. Play Therapy is an amazing approach to work with individuals and help them define their success and then feel it.

Marie is the owner of Ways of Play Counseling Services LLC and the Co-Founder of the Playhouse Collaborative.

TREASURER

Elizabeth Ernest, LMFT, LCSW is a child and family therapist at the Center for Mindfulness and CBT. Elizabeth works with children and families struggling with anxiety and anxiety related disorders, OCD, trauma, and behavioral concerns. She also specializes in working with young athletes.

BOARD MEMBER

Description goes hereDr. Janice “Jan” Ward is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, a National Certified Counselor and an Approved Clinical Supervisor. She is a Professor at Southeast Missouri State University and Director of the Approved Center for Play Therapy Education at Southeast. Jan is in private practice  as a therapist with Great Oak Counseling in Cape Girardeau, where she sees clients of all ages with a wide variety of issues. She received her Master’s degree in Community Counseling from Southeast and her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Illinois.

Jan enjoys spending time with her family and the family pets. She also enjoys reading and watching movies.

BOARD MEMBER

Amber began her journey as a therapist in community/agency work in which her primarily population were children in school-based services.

She also co-facilitated a batterer intervention program. Her passion for working with children inspired her to gain more training and skills in play therapy and she is currently working towards her RPT.

She began private practice in 2018 providing trauma informed therapy including TF-CBT, ITCT, and EMDR as well as utilizing CBT and play therapy interventions to individuals, couples, and families. She often works closely with families who have child protective services involvement and provides therapeutic visits. Amber has been in a leadership position with MAPT since 2020. She is a collector of board and card games for both professional and personal use. Outside of her career, she spends time with her two sons, soon to be daughter-in-law, grandson and other loved ones. She is an animal lover and currently has a dog, three cats, and a bearded dragon. Amber loves the outdoors, including walking, hiking, camping, and exploring and plans to do more traveling in the future.

BOARD MEMBER

Teresa is a licensed clinical professional counselor and a registered play therapist supervisor.  She owns Embark Counseling Services, a group practice in the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area, specializing in working with children and teens, from an attachment informed, family systems lens.  She has extensive experience providing trauma competent clinical services, as well as a board approved clinical supervisor in Missouri and Kansas.  She has completed specialized training in working with children and adolescents, complex trauma, developmental trauma, autism spectrum disorders and anxiety.  She utilizes Play Therapy, Internal Family Systems, EMDR and Psychodynamic approaches in her clinical work.  She is a certified EMDR therapist and an EMDRIA approved consultant-in-training, and a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor.  She is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, where she enjoys training and supervising emerging mental health professionals.

BOARD MEMBER

Dr. Emily Brown is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, and a National Certified Counselor. She is an Associate Professor at University of Missouri - St. Louis and Director of the Play Therapy Institute @ UMSL, which is an Approved Center for Play Therapy Education by the Association for Play Therapy as well as an Approved Provider of Continuing Education. Her scholarship focuses on counselor training and response for children and adolescents with loss, crisis, and trauma. She received her Master’s degree in School Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and her PhD in Counselor Education from the University Tennessee, Knoxville. Emily enjoys travel, reading, hiking, and spending time with friends and family.

BOARD MEMBER

Lee Ann Roberts, LCSW, RPT, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist with extensive experience providing trauma-informed care to children, adolescents, and families. Lee has delivered play-therapy-informed treatment to hundreds of clients, addressing emotional regulation, anxiety, trauma, self-harm, and family-system challenges.

Lee Ann integrates evidence-based play therapy, using CBT- and DBT-informed interventions to improve engagement, safety, and emotional functioning in youth. In addition to direct clinical work, Lee Ann has led structured clinical programming and provided formal supervision to LMSW clinicians, supporting ethical practice, documentation excellence, and licensure readiness.

Lee brings a systems-focused perspective to professional governance, emphasizing ethical oversight, clinical integrity, and advancing Registered Play Therapy standards through education, clarity, and accountability.