Going to Court - Ethical Considerations and Practical Guidance in Play Therapy

It is the worst fear of every play therapist . . receiving a subpoena. It is rarely anyone’s first choice to have to go to court, but sometimes it is unavoidable. Many times our voices are needed to advocate for justice for our play therapy clients, when due to societal influences and personal traumas our clients’ voices have been silenced. As play therapists, we need to understand how to ethically support our clients in these difficult situations. In this course, we will discuss ethical considerations around court testimony, how to speak to attorneys and our clients about court, and how to...Read more prepare and build your confidence before testifying.

8:00-9:00 - Networking and breakfast
9:00-12:00 - Workshop

*You can park in the parking lot (Terry Hershey Park) next to the office building, walk over and enter through the main doors. You will sign in at the front desk and use the elevators to the 5th floor. Less...

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Learning Objectives

  • 1.) Identify and assess 3 ethical considerations regarding subpoenas and court testimony for clients in play therapy
  • 2.) Discuss how to navigate conversations with play therapy clients and attorneys around court testimony
  • 3.) Prepare a clinical record for release to attorneys for play therapy clients
  • 4.) Identify and apply strategies for effective court testimony when working with children in play therapy

Saturday, August 15, 2026

Ashford on the Bayou Office Building
1001 S. Dairy Ashford Rd, Houston, TX, 77077

08:00 AM CDT - 12:00 PM CDT

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$30.00 - $50.00
EARN 3 CE Credit Hours
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About the speaker

Karen Sullivan, MSW, LCSW-S, RPT-S™

Karen Sullivan, MSW, LCSW-S, RPT-S™

Therapist
Karen Sullivan is a graduate of UH – GCSW. She began her career as a caseworker and supervisor at CPS in Sexual Abuse units where she frequently testified in family and criminal courts. Since that time, she has worked as a therapist at advocacy centers in both Harris and Fort Bend Counties. In her private practice, Karen continues to specialize in trauma, sexual assault, grief and attachment. She frequently provides expert testimony on these matters in both civil and criminal courts.

Agenda

8:00am Networking and Breakfast
9:00am Begin presentation
10-15 minute break in the middle
12:00 Conclude

CE Information - Earn 3 CE Credit Hours

CE Approvals

APT Approved Provider
Texas APT is an Approved Provider of Play Therapy Continuing Education. This event is structured to be in compliance with all Approved Provider Criteria and Standards for the Association for Play Therapy.

CE Process Info

3 Contact CE Awarded

APT Approved Provider 98-043

In-Person Event CE- Process information

Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by his/her licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend "live" (in real-time) for the duration of the training to earn CE credits.

After the event, you will receive access to your evaluation and continuing education certificate via a personalized "attendee dashboard" link, hosted on the CE-Go website. This link will be sent to the email account you used to register for the event.

Upon accessing the CE-Go "attendee dashboard", you will be able to:

    Complete evaluation forms for the event
    Download your continuing education certificate in a PDF format

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE-Go platform, please contact CE-Go at 888-498-5578 or by email at support@ce-go.com Please Note: Emails for this event will come from "support@ce-go.com".

If you have any continuing education related questions, please contact your event organizer.

Please make sure to check your spam/junk folder in case those emails get "stuck". We'd also suggest "Allowlisting" support@ce-go.com. This tells your email client that you know this sender and trust them, which will keep emails from this contact at the top of your inbox and out of the junk folder.


Virtual Event CE- Process information

Before the event, you will receive an email from CE-Go with access to the virtual event. After the event, you will receive access to your evaluation and continuing education certificate via a personalized "attendee dashboard" link, hosted on the CE-Go website. This link and access to the virtual event will be sent to the email account you used to register for the event.

Upon accessing the CE-Go "attendee dashboard", you will be able to:

  • Complete evaluation forms for the event
  • Download your continuing education certificate in a PDF format

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE-Go platform, please contact CE-Go at 888-498-5578 or by email at support@ce-go.com Please Note: Emails for this event will come from "support@ce-go.com".

If you have any continuing education related questions, please contact your event organizer.

Please make sure to check your spam/junk folder in case those emails get "stuck". We'd also suggest "Allowlisting" support@ce-go.com. This tells your email client that you know this sender and trust them, which will keep emails from this contact at the top of your inbox and out of the junk folder.
Register for this event