About A Time for Play Therapy Training

A group of nine people, including men and women, standing indoors in front of a colorful banner for a play therapy training series. The people are smiling and posing together.

The mission of A Time for Play is to promote access to effective mental health services within the community, primarily by educating mental health professionals on the theories, benefits, techniques, and skills of Play Therapy and ethical clinical practice. A Time for Play delivers mental health training services to local, state, national, and international audiences. The nonprofit expands access by providing continuing education workshops in-person, virtually, by request, and on-demand. A Time for Play is actively diversifying the profession of Play Therapy and expanding access to Play Therapy services through scholarship opportunities.

Our Story

Children's colorful drawing spelling 'A to F' with various objects and figures.

Our story traces back to Hurricane Harvey, which decimated Houston and particularly the city’s Jewish community. In the wake of the devastation, the community recognized the need to develop a children’s mental health program to address the flood related trauma which had impacted the community. Our Executive Director Steven Parks was brought on to the behavioral health team to bring trauma-focused treatment interventions for children to the community. He brought with him a heart full of Play Therapy.

In 2018, Steven was promoted to manager of the children’s mental health program and began assembling a team of clinicians. Despite having a training budget, there were very few Play Therapy training opportunities. Faced with the choice of sending clinicians to Austin or Dallas for substantial Play Therapy training, the team was forced to rethink their limited budgetary funds.

Steven elected to go through the credentialing process to become an APT Approved Provider of Continuing Education to create more local Play Therapy training opportunities. Steven was initially credentialed as an APT Approved Provider in 2019! Steven then developed a short 2-hour CE presentation. Steven was challenged to make it bigger! So, Steven returned with a half-day training, and was again asked to make it bigger. So, Steven came back with a full day training, and as you can imagine, was told to make it bigger! After months of research and development, he created a 150-hour curriculum based on essential Play Therapy theory, skills, and methods.

  • Season 1 of A Time for Play launched in the Fall 2019. It consisted of 15 eight-hour training days and a list of homework assignments. Our first cohort was a diverse blend of 7 clinicians. Our first BIPOC scholarship was awarded to Jasmine Major, a clinical social work student intern at the time.

  • For Season 2, the program was restructured into 20 six-hour trainings offered on Fridays. Season 2, (Fall 2020 – Spring 2021), welcomed a dedicated cohort of 5 clinicians. This season was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the program to pivot to virtual training for the safety of participants. Steven redesigned the curriculum to fit within a virtual learning environment.  The A Time for Play Team also compiled telehealth resources and provided a Telehealth and Play Therapy workshop numerous times throughout the pandemic to support the community.

  • Season 3 was offered completely virtually with a cohort of 11 clinicians from across the United States. Providing the series virtually allowed us to welcome clinicians from New York to Hawaii. Season 3 was the first year we were able to offer a non-profit discount, in addition to the annual BIPOC Scholarship. Also in Season 3, we created our official logo launched a website, with support from Baysanet Solutions.

  • For Season 4, (Fall 2022 – Spring 2023), and in response to the Association for Play Therapy’s determination of contact versus non-contact CE hours, we chose to offer the program in two tracks. The full season, with a 150-hours of CE, became an in-person only training opportunity to comply with APTs credentialing requirements. For Season 4 we welcomed a cohort of 8 clinicians. Additionally, we continued to offer an abridged virtual track of trainings to promote accessibility to Play Therapy theories, skills, and methods. In Season 4 we outgrew the boardroom and transitioned to offering trainings at Congregation Emanu El. It was also this year that we adopted Unicorn Jo as our official mascot and began selling branded merchandise to fundraise program scholarships.

  • Season 5, Fall 2023 – Spring 2024, we welcomed our largest cohort ever of 19 clinicians including three scholarship recipients. We also transitioned to our current training location at United Way of Greater Houston. Summer 2024, we launched our A Time for Play Louisiana program – a week of in-person Play Therapy workshops in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

  • Season 6, Fall 2024 – Spring 2025, supported a cohort of 8 clinicians through the full program. Additionally, we welcomed clinicians from all over the greater Houston area and beyond to our in-person workshops and from all over the country and world into our virtual workshops. A Time for Play has settled into its training location at United Way Houston. Besides a website, the program has developed a registration portal through the platform CE-Go and continues to expand programming. In 2025, A Time for Play restructured itself into an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization.

  • A Time for Play added a Merch Store to help with fundraising for our scholarships.

  • Great Things Coming Soon!

A man standing and speaking at a presentation titled 'LGBTQ* and Gender Affirmative Play Therapy' to an audience in a conference room, with various rainbow-themed pride flags and decorations on the tables.

What makes A Time for Play Different?

Group of diverse women and a young man sitting at tables, engaged in conversation, with educational or craft supplies on the table, in a bright, casual indoor setting.
A smiling man with a beard, wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans, kneeling next to a display board with various photographs, notes, and colorful paper hands, in a conference or event setting.
A group of diverse women sitting in a classroom, holding up drawings. They are smiling, and there are tables with papers, drinks, and personal items in front of them. The classroom has posters on the walls and fluorescent lighting on the ceiling.
A man in a green shirt giving a presentation on intersection of play therapists and LGBTQIA+ community, with slides on a TV screen behind him and an audience of mostly women seated at tables with colorful playdough and rainbow-themed decorations.

A Time for Play Therapy delivers specialized, play therapy–focused training grounded in strong ethical practice, designed for real-world clinical application, and driven by a commitment to accessibility and meaningful representation. We are a an independent 501c3 nonprofit organization.

Meet Our Executive Director/Lead Trainer

Person wearing a black T-shirt with colorful unicorn and text artwork, standing against a plain gray background.

Steven L. Parks, LCSW-S, MBA, RPT-S

Steven L. Parks is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Board Approved Supervisor and serves in the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work as a full-time clinical Senior Lecturing Faculty professor. Steven is a Registered Play Therapist & Supervisor (RPT-S) and the Executive Director of the A Time for Play nonprofit organization based in Houston, TX. He also maintains a private practice in Sugar Land, Texas and specializes in working with children, adolescents, and adults experiencing trauma symptoms, depression, anxiety, and externalizing behaviors. Steven has a Bachelor’s of Arts degree of Psychology from Texas Tech University, a Master’s of Business Administration degree from University of Houston Bauer College of Business, and a Master’s of Social Work degree from the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. Steven volunteers regularly with the National Association of Social Workers Texas (NASWTx), and serves as the Board Chair of Tony's Place, a local LGBTQ+ Community Organization.

Board Members of A Time for Play

Karen Sullivan, LCSW-S, RPT-S, EMDRIA Approved Consultant - Chair

Anthony Schrock, Jr. - Vice Chair

Bob Hergenroeder, LCSW-S - Treasurer

Sarah Garay, LPC-S, LMFT-S - Secretary

David K. Parks - Board Member (Technology)

Janet Pozmantier - Board Member

Jeff Moore, DND, APRN, PMHNP-BC - Board Member

Caryn Darwin, PhD, LPC, RPT - Board Member

Cindy Hammonds - Board Member

Lynn Mclean - Board Member

Charlene Smith, LPC-S, RPT-S - Board Member

A gold shield with a monarch butterfly and the words "Sanctuary Space" on it. To the right, a paragraph explaining the space's purpose as a safe, respectful environment for all individuals, emphasizing confidentiality and non-harmful communication.