Heather F-D, LICSW, RPT-S STFC
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-Children ages 3-8
-Tweens
-Parenting
-ADHD
-Trauma
-anxiety
-Foster and adoption
-Boundaries
-Self-esteem
-developmental challenges
-Neurodivergent relationships
-Family Therapy
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Heather sees clients at The Real Work on Mondays and Fridays
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Initial intake (60 minutes): $200
Individual play therapy (45-50 minutes): $180
Parent consultation (30 minutes): $90
Get to Know Heather!
Heather FD brings over 16 years of experience as a play therapist and clinical supervisor to The Real Work. She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW), a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S), a Certified Synergetic Play Therapy Supervisor, and holds her foundational certificate in Sand Therapy.
Heather’s work centers on helping children ages 2–14 and their families navigate life’s most tender challenges. She specializes in:
Relational play therapy that strengthens connections between parents and children.
Supporting children and families experiencing grief and complex loss.
Helping parents break free from intergenerational trauma cycles.
Building lasting, affirming relationships with neurodivergent children and families.
In Therapy, Heather Works With:
Children Experiencing Grief and Complex Loss
Grief in children often looks different than in adults—it may show up as play themes, big emotions, or quiet withdrawal. Heather specializes in supporting children through loss of loved ones, divorce, or other life transitions, using play therapy to give them a safe way to process and heal.
ADHD
Children with ADHD often experience fast-moving thoughts, big feelings, and difficulty with focus or impulse control. Heather using play-based and science-backed strategies that support kids' sensory needs, build frustration tolerance, and increase self-awareness in developmentally appropriate ways. Parents receive guidance to reduce power struggles and strengthen connection.
Parents Breaking Intergenerational Trauma Cycles
Many parents come to therapy with a deep desire to parent differently than they were parented. Heather helps families identify and shift patterns rooted in intergenerational trauma, offering tools for attuned parenting, co-regulation, and lasting connection.
Neurodivergent Children and Their Families
Neurodivergent kids thrive when they feel understood and accepted for who they are. Heather creates affirming, playful spaces for children with autism, ADHD, and sensory differences, while guiding parents in strategies that nurture confidence, regulation, and joy.
Parent–Child Relational Healing
Heather’s approach centers on the relational magic between parents and children. Through play-based therapy, she helps strengthen attachment, reduce power struggles, and foster resilience in family systems.
Anxiety in Young Children
Young kids with anxiety often don’t have the words to describe what’s happening in their bodies. Their fear might show up as clinginess, meltdowns, or tummy aches. Through play-based therapy for anxiety, Heather helps children make sense of their fears and gain tools for calming their bodies and brains. Her gentle, somatic approach supports co-regulation and strengthens a child’s sense of felt safety at home and school.
Therapist Supervision and Professional Growth
As a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S) and Certified Synergetic Play Therapy Supervisor, Heather also supports clinicians in developing their skills and confidence. She offers supervision, consultation, and training to therapists who want to deepen their work with children and families.
Heather believes that therapy with children works best when it includes parents as partners, focusing on healing relationships, not just behaviors. Her presence with both kids and adults is warm, attuned, and deeply playful. Families and clinicians alike describe her as a guide who brings both expertise and compassion to every session.
Clinical Supervision, Case Consultation, and Education with Heather
Heather provides clinical supervision, consultation, and professional training for therapists who want to deepen their skills in play therapy, trauma-informed care, and child development.
If you’re a therapist curious about training opportunities at The Real Work, please contact us today!
Parent Support with Heather
What is Parent Consultation?
Many parents benefit from a consultation model, where we meet together to learn about your family, unpack your questions about your child and your needs, and provide you with the resources you need right now. I do this from a Synergetic Play Therapy perspective, rooted in our understanding of the human nervous system and how it works to protect us and support us.
If your child is struggling with regulation at home or school, if you’re working to understand their sensitivities, neurodiversity, and individual needs, you already know that the world is a tough place for your child to feel safe. It’s often up to you as the parent to be their safe place, yet it can feel completely overwhelming to understand what’s going on. Just imagine if you had a person you knew you could go to with your questions and fears, someone who could provide you with resources and reassurances at every turn. In parent consultation with Playful Integration, that's exactly what you get. You get 6-10 sessions with me to fully explore your child's unique needs and strengths and to get to the heart of what's causing dysregulation in your family.
Who is Heather FD & Playful Integration?
I have been a play therapist for 16 years working with children ages 2-13. I obtained my RPT-S credential in 2019. My primary theoretical orientation is Synergetic Play Therapy and all of my work is from this perspective. My specialty areas include creating relational magic with parents and children, working with children who are grieving complex losses of all kinds, supporting parents who are breaking I have trained and worked extensively in the areas of neurodivergence, especially AuDHD, grief and loss, developmental trauma, aggression, attachment issues, parent-child relational issues, and the nervous system and how it impacts human relationships. I incorporate art, sand therapy, sensory experience, and creative intervention into my work with families. I also do play therapy consultation, education, and supervision for play therapists. I love children, and I love their parents. Parent work is a special interest of mine and I have been developing my approach with parents since 2019 when I became a Certified Synergetic Play Therapist.
What is Heather’s Lived Experience?
I am proudly and openly (and deeply!) neurodivergent. I am Autistic (PDA) and have ADHD, as well as significant differences in sensory processing, including visual, auditory, and interoceptive differences, such as synesthesia. I identify as a queer cis White woman and am a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. I have an ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) score of 7 out of 10.
I am grateful to be able to bring my lived experience to the work that I do. My priorities in sharing my lived experience are as follows: to connect openly with neurodivergent clients, parents, and families in sharing the joys and challenges of being neurodivergent in a largely neurotypical world, to promote accessibility for neurodivergent folks throughout the play therapy community, to speak as a voice for neurodivergent people when needed or called upon, and to provide support, context, and creativity around the practice of Trauma-Informed Care through my lens as a person with a high ACES score.
What is Parent Support with Heather Like?
We will usually start with some education about the nervous system and some aspect of how the nervous system works in family relationships. The rest of the consultation session will be led by you according to your specific questions and concerns for your child. I offer authentic, congruent, attuned, and regulated presence. My style of parent consultation is to be direct but respectful. I am not afraid to offer a challenge if I believe it will help you to more deeply connect with and understand your child and find your authentic and congruent self as a parent. Despite my ability to be direct and challenge when needed, I have a warm, open, and gentle presence and folks often feel very held by me. I offer a sense of felt safety for you to explore and get curious about the challenges happening within your family system.
Sample Topics for Parent Support Sessions:
Nervous System 101
Mapping Family Nervous Systems
Applying the Nervous System Framework to the Family
Mindful Awareness of the Nervous System
The Role of the Parental NS in Relationship with Children
Strengthening Ourselves as External Regulators
Family of Origin/Intergenerational Issues
Parental Self-Compassion
Cycle Breaking in Dark Times
And many more!
I would love to meet you and get to know your family. Our first meeting would be a parent
consultation intake (1 hour) so that I can ask some questions and begin to familiarize myself
with the uniqueness that makes up your family.
I look forward to meeting you!