We recently had the chance to connect with Kristen Sandine LPC, RPT-S and have shared our conversation below.
Kristen, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day for me involves training my awesome student interns, returning referral emails and calls, holding consultation calls for prospective clients, and seeing my own clients! I see mostly children, teens, and families, and love the modality of play therapy to help those that come to see me. In between all of that, I’m taking care that each of our offices and all play therapy materials and art supplies are in good order and ready for everyone! I’m also taking a Sandtray therapy intensive so that I can continue to specialize in that type of therapy.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, Licensed Professional Counselor and owner of Courageous Counseling Colorado PLLC. I provide play therapy to children and families, parent support, and supervise interns so that they can begin their play therapy careers! I also connect families with therapists who work as independent contractors with Courageous Counseling Colorado! We serve those seeking therapy in person in Olde Town Arvada, Westminster, and across Colorado via Telehealth.
The Registered Play Therapist credential is meaningful and important to me, as I believe the training for this credential and experience needed helps therapists to understand children and families best and provides guidelines for developmental and appropriate care for children. With over 10 years of experience in play therapy and even more experience working with children as a teacher and caregiver, I find that finding the best way to connect with and heal others involves playfulness, humor, and flexibility.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
In my experience as a therapist, I find that betrayal, dishonesty, and unpredictability breaks the bonds between people. We first bond with caregivers and our families and we learn to take those experiences into all of our subsequent relationships – romantic, friend, neighborly, and professional relationships. When we don’t know what to expect from others or when others break our trust, the bond is broken. We all desire healthy relationships, but we haven’t all had the opportunity to learn what is healthy. Most people are taught how to keep our bodies healthy from a young age, but not how to keep their minds and relationships healthy.
Honesty, accountability, and commitment to learn and grow restores bonds. People don’t need to be perfect to repair a relationship, but need to show they will put in the work when it is needed. I help those in therapy explore what keeps them from being honest or accountable and learn skills that help promote healthy relationships, many times within parent-child relationships and between family members!
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
Throughout my life, I often felt that my feelings and thoughts were dismissed or unimportant. I continuously work on healing this wound through my own inner reflective work, in my own therapy, and by making people feel heard in (and outside of) therapy.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I think there are many smart people who are defensive, protective, and individualistic. What they’re missing is that community, relationships, and what we give back to the world is what makes us healthy, happy, and human!
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace with one of my cats on my lap at the end of the day. They take care of me so that I can care for others!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://denverplaytherapist.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/denverplaytherapist
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/courageouscounselingcolorado
