Houston Play Therapy
NOW ACCEPTING APPOINTMENTS VIA TELEHEALTH
Houston Play Therapy
NOW ACCEPTING APPOINTMENTS VIA TELEHEALTH
Welcome to Houston Play Therapy
Thank you for your interest in Houston Play Therapy. Houston Play Therapy is a collaborative private practice created by Danielle Tschirhart, M.Ed., LPC-S, RPT-S with the idea of bringing together talented therapists of differing specialites to offer individual counseling, school assistance, and supportive parent training to enhance development of your child or adolescent’s well-being.
No child is too young to begin receiving the help they need and early intervention is the best way to help children overcome the struggles they face. Houston Play Therapy considers each child an individual and utilizes the strengths of each family to help them attain healthy goals.
Our Services
Our Services
Individual Therapy
Play is the natural language of young children. Play therapy is used as a means to provide a safe environment for children to manage stress, learn effective coping strategies, and maintain pro-social relationships.
Parent Support
Play therapy emphasizes building and maintaining a parent-child relationship that promotes communication, intimacy, and self-esteem. Houston Play Therapy gives guidance and tools to aid in parenting issues. Parents can also receive one-on-one instruction in their play interactions with their child.
Consultation with School and Daycare Programs
On-site visits to observe a child in their school or daycare environment. Recommendations can then be made to aid and support the teacher/student relationship with the goal of the student becoming more successful in their school or daycare. Consultations with teachers and program directors can also be arranged.
Supervision Services
Danielle Tschirhart, M.Ed., LPC-S, RPT-S provides supervised training to both Licensed Professional Counselor Interns and Registered Play Therapist Candidates who are interested in work with children and families.
About Us
About Us
Danielle Tschirhart, M.Ed., LPC-S, RPT-S
Danielle Tschirhart graduated from Texas A&M University in 2002 with a degree in Political Science. She received her Master’s degree of Education in Counseling from the University of St. Thomas in 2009. Prior to (and while) pursuing her Master’s degree, Danielle worked as a classroom teacher in middle school and high school settings in both the Dallas and Houston areas. Following her time as a teacher, Danielle served as the school counselor for St. Stephen’s Episcopal School for four years. After leaving the school setting, Danielle began working with Dr. Michelle M. Forrester in private practice for five years before deciding to begin her own practice.
Danielle has been working as Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor since 2015 and is a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor with the Association For Play Therapy. She enjoys training new professionals in the field of counseling. Danielle is originally from Corpus Christi, Texas but has been living in Houston with her family since 2005.
Danielle uses the individual needs and strengths of each family she works with to help parents and/or guardians develop strategies for stronger social, interpersonal and behavioral skills for their children.
Danielle is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Fielding University. Her field of study is in Infant and Early Childhood Developmental Psychology.
Christina Navarro, Ed.D., MS, MA, LPC
Dr. Christina Navarro holds advanced degrees in Counseling, Educational Leadership, and Training and Development. She has worked with adolescents for twenty five years in a variety of settings and roles such as: special needs advocate, parent / teacher educator, high school teacher, director of a therapeutic school for adolescents, trauma specialist, and mental health counselor. As a licensed professional therapist, she brings a wealth of knowledge of both private and public school settings in the Houston area, a deep understanding of the teen years, and parenting.
Dr. Christina primarily works with high school and transitional age adolescents who are having difficulties due to depression, anxiety, grief, trauma, social pressures, ADHD, or other challenges with transitions/adjustments. Additionally, she is an adoption competent specialist who works with youth and families with regard to family formation, adolescent adoptee identity formation, and trauma. She has particular interests in helping parents overcome their personal childhood developmental histories which impede parenting success. In therapy. Dr. Christina primarily utilizes the techniques of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, and Eye Movement, Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). She believes that when working with adolescents, a collaborative multi-disciplinary approach is often needed to best serve the client.
Sarah Martin, M.Ed., LPC
Sarah Martin graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2006 with a degree in Psychology. She completed her Master’s of Education in Counseling at The University of St. Thomas in 2010. Sarah has worked as a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2010 and has worked under the purview of Houston area psychologists, such as Dr. Maria Hammond and Dr. Lyle Cadenhead. Since 2007, Sarah has been affiliated with The Parish School in Houston, Texas, which specializes in educating children who have learning differences and communication delays, empowering them with the tools to succeed. She has served as the Director of Admissions and later as elementary counseling support. Sarah is excited to delve into private practice and begin the journey of helping children and their families in a different capacity.
Sarah believes in the innate power of children to take charge of their healing, growth and development through play and connection. The therapeutic experience can help children process their thoughts, feelings and actions in a way that validates and celebrates who they are. Sarah also significantly values the role of parents as change agents in their child’s experience and looks forward to partnering with parents through the therapeutic process.
Annette Y. Williams, Ph.D, M.Ed, LPC, RPT
Annette Williams is a licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist. Her work with families and children spans more than 20-years with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Tenure encompasses serving as the Training and Curriculum Development Director, Substitute Care Supervisor with emphasis on children in foster care and she served as an Adoption Preparatory Supervisor. To date, she is the Program Manager for Arms Wide Adoption Services where she is charged with providing weekly play therapy groups and individual sessions for children who are adopted or placed into permanent managing conservatorship with families residing in Fort Bend.
Annette's experience includes working with youth who have experienced physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; youth experiencing peer pressure or being bullied, self-esteem concerns, multi-cultural concerns, attachment and bonding issues; parent/child or partner relational problems, dating violence/abuse, non-suicidal self-harm behavior, obsessions and compulsions, mood disorders, personality, anxiety, conduct and oppositional defiant disorders.
Annette is eclectic and uses a mix of theories to meet client needs. Play therapy includes the use of sand tray, art, and psychoeducation to engage clients 2 years of age and up. A holistic approach is utilized by exploring with and educating clients about how mind, spirit and body are interconnected. Annette believes that when people have hope, they can replace irrational thinking with positive thinking.
