Janet A. Courtney, PhD, LCSW

 Janet A. Courtney, PhD, LCSW is Founder of FirstPlay Therapy® [an Infant Mental Health & Developmental Play Therapy model] and Founder and Editor of FirstPlay® Café: An e-magazine for parents (womb to six Years). She is Director of Developmental Play & Attachment Therapies, Inc. She is a Registered Play Therapy-Supervisor, TEDx Speaker and past Chair of the Association for Play Therapy Ethics and Practice Committee and past President of the Florida Association for Play Therapy and former Chair of the Viola Brody Award Committee. Awarded Third Place overall in the Best Practices Showcase for FirstPlay Therapy at the First 1000 Days Infant Mental Health Summit (Sept, 2018) along with the Children’s Healing Institute.

She is author of “Healing Child and Family Trauma through Expressive and Play Therapies: Art, Nature, Storytelling Body and Mindfulness,” and Editor of “Infant Play Therapy: Foundations, Models, Programs and Practice.”  and “Nature-based Play Therapy & Expressive Therapies: Interventions for Children, Teens and Families, “Touch in Child Counseling and Play Therapy: An Ethical and Clinical Guide. Her research into practitioner experiences of training in touch and Developmental Play Therapy is published in the American Journal of Art Therapy and the International Journal of Play Therapy. She is a contributing author for the chapter, “Touching Autism through Developmental Play Therapy” in the book, “Play-based Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders;” and has a chapter in the book, Environmental Expressive Therapies (2017), titled: “The Art of Utilizing the Metaphorical Elements of Nature as ‘Co-Therapist’ in Ecopsychology Play Therapy.” She is also published in the Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture.

Dr. Courtney offers a Certification in FirstPlay Therapy® including FirstPlay® Developmental Infant Play Therapy Massage Storytelling (ages birth to 36 Months) and for FirstPlay Kinesthetic Storytelling® (ages 3 yrs and up). She provides training to professionals in the Ethical and Clinical Competencies of Touch, FirstPlay® Therapy, Infant Play Therapy, Expressive Therapies, and Nature-based Ecopsychology Play Therapy. She has been invited to speak nationally and internationally including the Cayman Islands, England, Ireland, Morocco, Bali, Russia and the Ukraine. She is a provider through the Florida state boards of Mental Health and Massage Therapy, and an approved provider through the Association for Play Therapy. She specializes in Infant Mental Health and Infant Play Therapy, Attachment, and Trauma related issues. Dr. Courtney’s new form of Kinesthetic Storytelling® can be found in her children’s book, The Magic Rainbow. Website: www.FirstPlayTherapy.com and www.FirstPlaycafe.com, www.firstplayinfantmassage.com  

Dr. Courtney is licensed through the State of Florida as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (SW2329) and is an approved educational provider for the following entities:

See also Janet’s Websites:

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To Learn More About the Certified FirstPlay® Supervisors and Practitioners Visit: 

https://firstplayinfantmassage.com/our-story/