Hawai'i Association for Play Therapy - HAPT

06/30/2026

Aloha HAPT friends!

I'm excited to offer a 2-day, in-person Foundations of Adlerian Play Therapy training on July 11–12 in Hilo.

If you've been curious about Adlerian Play Therapy or are looking to expand your play therapy skills, this training is designed to provide a practical introduction that you can immediately begin applying in your work with children and families.

Over two days, we'll explore:
✨ The foundations of Adlerian psychology
✨ The four phases of Adlerian Play Therapy
✨ The goals of children's behavior and the Crucial Cs
✨ Encouragement-based interventions that foster courage, connection, and belonging
✨ Practical play therapy techniques you can begin using right away

This is a beginner-level training and is appropriate for counselors, social workers, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, graduate students, and other helping professionals working with children.

📅 Dates: July 11–12, 2026
🕘 Time: 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. each day
📍 Location: 288 Kilauea Ave., Hilo, HI 96720
💲 Cost: $225
🎓 12 Contact APT CE Hours
APT Approved Provider #25-793

This training is intentionally limited in size to encourage discussion, experiential learning, and opportunities to ask questions throughout the weekend.

🔗 Training Information: https://sites.google.com/view/drjanessahenninger/upcoming-trainings?authuser=2

📝 Registration: https://forms.gle/WkgTA2kMFMBM9L7D6

Please note: Although I am sharing this opportunity with the HAPT community, this training is independently offered by me and is not sponsored by, endorsed by, or affiliated with the Hawaii Association for Play Therapy (HAPT).

I hope to see some familiar faces there! Feel free to comment or send me a message if you have any questions.
Janessa Henninger, Ph.D., LPC, RPT-S

Please complete the registration form in its entirety. Your registration is not considered complete until both the registration form and payment have been received. A confirmation email with additional training details will be sent after your registration is processed. Presented by: Dr. Janessa Henn...

05/14/2026

With both sadness and deep gratitude, we are sharing that the Association for Play Therapy (APT) has made the difficult decision to dissolve the Hawai‘i Association for Play Therapy (HAPT) as an official state branch.

While this marks the closing of an important chapter, we also want to pause and honor the incredible community that HAPT has represented over the years. HAPT was built through the dedication, mentorship, generosity, and aloha of play therapists, educators, supervisors, students, and advocates across the islands who believed deeply in the healing power of play.

We are profoundly grateful to everyone who helped create a professional home for play therapists in Hawai‘i. The relationships, mentorship, learning, and community fostered through HAPT will continue far beyond the life of the organization itself.

Though HAPT’s formal operations are coming to a close, this community is not disappearing. This page will transition into “Hawai‘i Play Therapists,” where we hope to continue sharing trainings, resources, announcements, and opportunities for local connection and collaboration.

We also hope you will join us for a special HAPT goodbye celebration on Saturday, June 27th, as we gather to honor the legacy and spirit of this community together. More details will be shared soon.

At HAPT, we have often gifted speakers an ʻumeke — a vessel symbolizing nourishment, gathering, and shared knowledge. In many ways, HAPT has been an ʻumeke for our community: a place where wisdom, encouragement, mentorship, and aloha were shared generously. Though this chapter is ending, we hope each of you carries forward what was gathered here.

Mahalo for being part of this journey and for the care you continue to bring to children, families, and one another through play therapy. 🤍

03/25/2026

Guess what's around the corner! Our 27th Annual HAPT Spring Conference! 🎉🌺 Have you registered yet???
The Hawaii Association for Play Therapy (HAPT) is thrilled to announce our 2026 Spring Conference: 🗓 April 9 & 10, 2026 ⏰ 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM 📍 AIA Honolulu 🎓 Earn 12 APT-Approved Contact Continuing Education Hours
This year’s theme: ✨ Expanding the Play Space: Playful, Ethical, and Culturally Responsive Integration of Digital Play Therapy ✨ We are honored to welcome Dr. Jessica Stone, PhD, RPT-S, a licensed psychologist, play therapy educator, and researcher with over 30 years of experience helping clinicians ethically and confidently integrate digital play into their work HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly… . 🌿
Why Attend? ✔ Playful, experiential learning (not lecture-heavy!) ✔ Concrete tools you can use immediately ✔ Ethical guidance for digital play therapy ✔ Culturally responsive and developmentally grounded practice ✔ A supportive space to connect with Hawaii’s vibrant play therapy community HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly… Across two engaging days, participants will explore how to meet children in digital spaces without losing the heart of play therapy. Through live demonstrations, case vignettes, small-group play, and reflective practice, you’ll leave with practical strategies you can implement right away HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly… . 💰 Registration Rates: • HAPT / APT Members: $300 • Non-Members: $425 • Students: $200 HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly… 🍽 Lunch provided for participants registered by March 26, 2026. 📝 Register today: http://www.hawaiiplaytherapy.net/ HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly… This program is offered by HAPT, an APT Approved Provider ( #99-053), and participants who attend the full conference will receive 12 APT-Approved Contact Continuing Education Hours HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly… . Come ready to play, reflect, and expand your practice in community. We can’t wait to see you in Honolulu!

 The Association for Play Therapy (APT) defines play therapy as "the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use...

02/12/2026

Join Us for the 27th Annual HAPT Spring Conference! 🎉🌺

The Hawaii Association for Play Therapy (HAPT) is thrilled to announce our 2026 Spring Conference:

🗓 April 9 & 10, 2026
⏰ 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
📍 AIA Honolulu
🎓 Earn 12 APT-Approved Contact Continuing Education Hours

This year’s theme:
✨ Expanding the Play Space: Playful, Ethical, and Culturally Responsive Integration of Digital Play Therapy ✨

We are honored to welcome Dr. Jessica Stone, PhD, RPT-S, a licensed psychologist, play therapy educator, and researcher with over 30 years of experience helping clinicians ethically and confidently integrate digital play into their work

HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly…


🌿 Why Attend?
✔ Playful, experiential learning (not lecture-heavy!)
✔ Concrete tools you can use immediately
✔ Ethical guidance for digital play therapy
✔ Culturally responsive and developmentally grounded practice
✔ A supportive space to connect with Hawaii’s vibrant play therapy community

HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly…

Across two engaging days, participants will explore how to meet children in digital spaces without losing the heart of play therapy. Through live demonstrations, case vignettes, small-group play, and reflective practice, you’ll leave with practical strategies you can implement right away

HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly…


💰 Registration Rates:
• HAPT / APT Members: $300
• Non-Members: $425
• Students: $200

HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly…

🍽 Lunch provided for participants registered by March 26, 2026.

📝 Register today:
http://www.hawaiiplaytherapy.net/


HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly…

This program is offered by HAPT, an APT Approved Provider ( #99-053), and participants who attend the full conference will receive 12 APT-Approved Contact Continuing Education Hours

HAPT 2026 Spring Conference Fly…


Come ready to play, reflect, and expand your practice in community. We can’t wait to see you in Honolulu!

 The Association for Play Therapy (APT) defines play therapy as "the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use...

02/04/2026

Happy International Play Therapy Week! This is the week to celebrate our play therapists, along with a great week to spread the word about what play therapy is! This week is dedicated to raising awareness of the healing and transformative power of play, spotlighting the important work of play therapy, and honoring the commitment and expertise of our play therapists and credentialed registrants who make an invaluable difference. I would love to see pictures of what play therapy represents to you! I also invite you to visit the A4pt.org website for videos promoting play therapy, as well as links to brochures for the community. Spread the word!

The Association for Play Therapy (APT) is a national professional society established in 1982 to foster contact among mental health professionals interested in exploring and, when developmentally appropriate, applying the therapeutic power of play to communicate with and treat clients, particularly....

01/20/2026

🎉 Registration is NOW OPEN! 🎉

The 2026 HAPT Spring Conference is officially open for registration, and we can’t wait to gather with you!

📅 April 9–10, 2026
📍 Hawaiʻi
🎤 Featured Presenter: Jessica Stone, Ph.D., RPT-S

Join the Hawaiʻi Association for Play Therapy for two days of connection, learning, and experiential play therapy practice. This conference will focus on innovative, creative, and developmentally responsive approaches you can bring directly into your clinical work.

✨ What to expect:
• Experiential and engaging training
• Practical tools for play therapy practice
• Community connection with play therapists across Hawaiʻi and beyond
• Continuing education opportunities

👉 Register now:
🌐 http://www.hawaiiplaytherapy.net/annual-conference.html

Spots are limited — we encourage you to register early! More details about the schedule, venue, and conference experience will be shared soon.

We can’t wait to learn, play, and grow together! 🌈🧸

Thursday & Friday | 🕘9:00 AM – 5:00 PMIncludes morning and afternoon breaks and a lunch break each day.🍽Lunch provided for participants registered by March 26, 2026.

10/28/2025

Happy Birthday to the Hawaiʻi Association for Play Therapy (HAPT)! 🎉

We’re celebrating another year of supporting play therapy across Hawaiʻi — keiki, teens, families, and the clinicians who show up for them. 🌈🧸

Why join HAPT?

🌺 Community & Connection
Play therapy can be beautiful work — and it can also feel isolating. HAPT gives you a local ‘ohana of clinicians who get it. You’re not practicing alone.

🎓 Training & Continuing Education
Members get access to high-quality, culturally responsive trainings in play therapy and child mental health, including opportunities to earn APT-approved continuing education hours toward/maintaining your RPT, RPT-S, or School-Based-Registered Play Therapist credentials.

🌱 Professional Growth
Whether you’re brand new to play therapy or already credentialed, HAPT helps you grow your skills: case consultation, supervision support, and guidance through the RPT / RPT-S process.

🌐 Advocacy for Children & Play
We believe play is not “just play.” Play is how children communicate, process trauma, and heal. By being a member, you’re helping increase awareness and access to developmentally appropriate mental health care for Hawaiʻi’s keiki.

🌊 Local Voice, Local Values
We center aloha, relationship, safety, and cultural humility in our work with children and families here in Hawaiʻi. Membership supports trainings and outreach that reflect our communities — not mainland templates.

If you care about mental health for children and teens in Hawaiʻi, we would love to have you with us this year. 💙

Hauʻoli Lā Hānau, HAPT — and mahalo to every member, past and present, who has helped us grow. 🥳

09/19/2025

Check out this training available, happening in Hawaii! Registration for this training is open to Hawaii residents only until October 1st. We are also offering early bird discounts for this training with $100 off for anyone who registers before October 19th, 2025.

If you are able to share the attached graphic on social media please include the link for registration https://community.theraplay.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1986853&group= or the following text: To register please visit www.theraplay.org and click on calendar

Thank you so much and please let me know if you have any questions,

Jodi Kelloff
The Theraplay Institute
Community Outreach Manager
224 414 3550 x 134 | www.theraplay.org | [email protected]

05/16/2025

Have you registered for the training on May 25 on the Big Island yet??? Come learn about incorporating cultural inclusivity into your practice and navigating legal and ethical concerns with families. Incorporating elements of playful pedagogy, the training will be playful and engaging!
🎨🧸 Calling All Play Therapists & Mental Health Professionals! 🌺📚

Join us in beautiful Hilo, Hawai‘i for a unique in-person training:

Rules & Reflections: A Two-Part Training on Ethics & Cultural Sensitivity in Play Therapy
🗓 Sunday, May 25, 2025
📍 Hilo, HI
🧠 Earn 6 APT CE credits (NBCC CEUs available for HCA members)
🌈 Presented by: Dr. Janessa Henninger, LPC, RPT-S & guest facilitator Mekaila Pasco, M.A.

✨ Morning Session (9AM–12PM):
Integrating Cultural Sensitivity in Play Therapy
Explore culturally rooted, community-centered strategies grounded in Hawai‘i’s values. Participate in reflective, experiential activities designed to grow your cultural humility and inclusive practice.

✨ Afternoon Session (1PM–4PM):
Legal & Ethical Responsibilities in Play Therapy
Build confidence in navigating complex legal and ethical scenarios through engaging case studies and practical frameworks.

💵 Rates:

HAPT/HCA Members: $125 full day | $65 half day

Non-Members: $175 full day | $90 half day

Students: $100 full day | $50 half day

🎟 Register now: www.hawaiiplaytherapy.net

Have questions? Email us at [email protected]

🌿 This is a beginner-to-intermediate level training, and space is limited—don’t miss this opportunity to grow with the local play therapy community!

 The Association for Play Therapy (APT) defines play therapy as "the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use...

05/07/2025

***Date change to May 25th, register now!
Aloha Colleagues,

The Hawai‘i Association for Play Therapy and the Hawai‘i Counseling Association are excited to invite you to an engaging two-part training:

Rules & Reflections: Ethics and Cultural Sensitivity in Play Therapy
Presented by Janessa Henninger, Ph.D., LPC, RPT-S

This interactive training will explore the ethical foundations of play therapy while weaving in culturally responsive practices rooted in Hawai‘i’s values. Whether you're new to play therapy or a seasoned clinician, this training offers practical tools, real-world case discussions, and space for reflection—all in the spirit of growth and connection.

What to Expect:

Part 1: Culturally Sensitive Play Therapy Grounded in Aloha, Lōkahi & Mālama with additional speaker Mekaila Pasco, MA.

Part 2: Legal & Ethical Essentials in the Playroom

The training will take place in-person on Sunday May 25, 2025, Hilo, HI. Address provided post registration. Register at www.hawaiiplaytherapy.net.