Hello there!

I’m Kate! Thanks so much for joining me here.

Do you believe that play and creativity can have a HUGE impact on child, teen, and adult mental health?

Awesome! Me too!! You’re in the right place 😊

My career as a therapist has focused on supporting children, teens, and adults of all ability levels through creativity, music, and play. As a certified EMDR therapist, my private practice focuses on supporting clients of all ages with trauma through creative and narrative based approaches. I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, and Board Certified Music Therapist.

Here at Creative Therapy Umbrella, we create courses and provide consultation around implementing creative modalities into therapy work! You’ll find us talking about everything from music, to sandtray, to anime, to D&D, to Stranger Things, and back again.

PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS

The Hero’s Journey: Combining D&D and EMDR for individuals in trauma treatment (Publication)
Therafolk Magazine
A published article on practical framework for using roleplay, narrative, and parts work to support EMDR preparation and processing with engaged clients.
Parents and Caregivers as Co-Therapists (Presentation)
Nazareth College Music Therapy Mini Conference. 2025
A presentation on connecting with caregivers to increase efficacy of mental health treatment for children
The Hero’s Journey: Combining D&D and EMDR for individuals in trauma treatment (Presentation)
Therapeutic and Applied Geek and Gaming Summit (TAGGS), 2025
A presentation on practical framework for using roleplay, narrative, and parts work to support EMDR preparation and processing with engaged clients.
Rolling with Emotions: Therapeutically Applied D&D (Experiential Workshop)
Roc Game Dev — 2025
A hands-on session where participants learned D&D by playing it—while experiencing how storytelling, character choices, and group dynamics can be used to support emotional growth and connection.
Dungeons & Dragons and Mental Health: An Introduction to Therapeutic Play (Presentation)
The Strong National Museum of Play — 2025
A beginner-friendly talk breaking down how D&D works and why it’s such a powerful tool for connection, creativity, and emotional growth—both in and outside the therapy room.
Wojdak C, Silvey PE, McIntosh S, Coykendall C, Lin YS, Bansal A, Shannon K, Wagner H, Block RC (In Press). Indicators of Self-Determination in Lyrics Created by Adults with High LDL Cholesterol. Journal of Music Therapy
Integrating Play Therapy Techniques and Relational Neurosciences in Music Therapy for Children
Mid-Western Regional Conference of Music Therapy, 2020

FUN FACTS

When I’m not reading the next child therapy related book or putting out another episode of the podcast, I am finding ways to create at home! Here are a few fun facts:

My latest rotation of hobbies includes stained glass making, reading,, cooking, and embroidery!

I play DND at least once a month with a super-duper bunch of friends and my brother!

Getting outside and moving is so important to me. I love hiking, walking, being on the water, or just sitting outside whenever I can!

I have a sweet toddler who amazes me every day and a doggo that definitely keeps me on my toes!

I LOOOVE learning!

About Creative Therapy Umbrella

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Creative Therapy Umbrella is to help therapists support the well-being and mental health of infants, children, teens, and young adults through the creative arts. This site provides resources, educational opportunities, and continuous connection for therapists looking to support their client’s in non-traditional ways within their scope of practice. We aim to honor every human as their unique selves and give therapists the tools to do just that.

OUR VALUES

Here at Creative Therapy Umbrella, we stand alongside marginalized community members. We stand against oppression of any kind including and not limited to: racism, ageism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, antisemitism, and sizeism. We are dedicated to using our platform to lift marginalized voices in the community and do better.

As part of our action plan, we donate to organizations quarterly that are focused on social justice within the mental health and creative arts fields. We also mute our social media and our podcast quarterly to uplift marginalized voices and identities.