WELCOME
Play Therapy Information for Therapists & Parents!||In-Person Workshops, Books, and Online Courses
Welcome to risevanfleet.com, home to the Family Enhancement & Play Therapy Center, Inc., Dr. Risë VanFleet, founder and president. Here you will find information about Play Therapy, Filial Therapy, Animal Assisted Play Therapy™ tailored for both parents and professionals, along with play therapy products, online courses, and workshops.

Play therapy products
In-Person Trainings
Training programs for play therapy professionials.
In-Person Trainings
Earn Continuing Education credits and take steps to become a certified professional therapist.
Online Courses
Complete coursework from the comfort of your own home!
Online Courses
Topics on child-centered play therapy, filial therapy, Animal Assisted Play Therapy™.
Books and Manuals
Books and manuals designed for child and family mental health professionals, for play therapists and filial therapists, and for the parents and families.
Books and Manuals
Don't miss the award-winning book, Animal Assisted Play Therapy™!
Conferences
Just released! Proceedings from the 2023 AAPT Virtual Conference!
Conferences
Virtual conferences and proceedings from past conferences.


Meet
Dr. Risë VanFleet, PhD, RPT-S, CDBC, CAEBI, is the President of the Family Enhancement & Play Therapy Center, Inc., in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, an organization specializing in the training and supervision of child, family, and play therapy professionals. She is the founder and president of the International Institute for Animal Assisted Play Therapy®. Dr. VanFleet is a Licensed Psychologist (PA), Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, and Certified Animal Ethology and Behavior Instructor with 48 years of clinical, supervisory, administrative, and teaching experience. Her specialties include Animal Assisted Play Therapy™, Filial Therapy, play therapy, chronic medical illness in families, disaster mental health, complex trauma and attachment issues, as well as animal welfare and behavior. She has trained and supervised thousands of clinicians internationally. She also provides behavior consultation with family dogs, and specializes in highly fearful, traumatized, unsocialized dogs.
Risë is the author of a number of ground-breaking and award-winning books, and she has authored dozens of articles, chapters, and manuals. Books include (but not limited to) Animal Assisted Play Therapy, Filial Therapy: Strengthening Parent-Child Relationships Through Play, Child-Centered Play Therapy, The Human Half of Dog Training: Collaborating with Clients to Get Results, and more. Her materials have been translated into several languages. She is also featured in several video-based online courses and the American Psychological Association’s DVD, Filial Play Therapy. She is on the editorial board of two major journals, and is a past president and board chair of the Association for Play Therapy.
Dr. VanFleet has been the recipient of 20 national and international awards, including the PPA’s Distinguished Contributions to the Science and Profession of Psychology Award, several awards for her education and training programs such as APT’s Play Therapy Professional Education and Training Award, 5 awards (Maxwell Awards and Special Awards from the DWAA) for her writing, and 2 awards for her wildlife photography.
Parents
What is
Play therapy is a type of mental health, educational, or developmental intervention that is designed to help children grow up as happy and well-adjusted as possible. It involves the use of play to communicate with children and to help children learn to solve problems and change their negative behaviors. Sometimes it involves the entire family. This section provides more information about topics of interest to parents
Professionals
Expand Your Skills
We have assembled a variety of ideas that might be of use to play therapists. Learn about the process of getting certified.
More at IIAAPT
Animal Assisted Play Therapy™ (AAPT) is a full integration of play therapy with animal-assisted therapy, ethology, and several other disciplines. It is primarily for mental health, allied health, and educational purposes. It is valuable in helping children, adolescents, and adults, and can be provided for individuals, groups, and families.
The International Institute for Animal Assisted Play Therapy® (IIAAPT) was founded to provide cutting-edge training, certification, and continuing professional development opportunities for mental health, allied health, education, and animal professionals interested in the integration of psychotherapy, play therapy, and animal assisted therapy, or in providing support services to therapists who wish to conduct AAPT. The practice of AAPT requires a complex set of skills for both therapists and the animals who assist them.
Dog Behavior Consults
Dr. VanFleet is also a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant and a Certified Animal Ethology and Behavior Instructor. She occasionally does in-home or virtual/video consults for dog behavior concerns. She works with a variety of issues, notably including those of adopted rescue dogs and extreme fear and trauma in several species. She uses only animal-friendly approaches. Contact her at info@iiaapt.org.

What do other professionals say about our courses and books?
I have known Risë for many years, and I can say wholeheartedly that she is a very caring, playful and talented person who is also generous in terms of sharing her knowledge with colleagues and supporting them in a genuine way. Her unique and gentle interest in animal and humankind is a precious gift for all of us who attend her trainings and benefit from her years of experience. I believe those who get the chance to meet with her and attend her trainings will also be able to learn and experience working with...
I have known Risë for many years, and I can say wholeheartedly that she is a very caring, playful and talented person who is also generous in terms of sharing her knowledge with colleagues and supporting them in a genuine way. Her unique and gentle interest in animal and humankind is a precious gift for all of us who attend her trainings and benefit from her years of experience. I believe those who get the chance to meet with her and attend her trainings will also be able to learn and experience working with children and families in a very clear and comprehensible way.
Risë's (Family Enhancement & Play Therapy Center) Intensive Filial Therapy (FT) training was honestly the best training that I have ever attended, with its focus on skills development, practice, feedback and theory all in one. It is offered in such a safe and supportive way that the learning over four days was immense. I immediately decided to pursue the Filial Therapy Certification Programme which helped develop my skills and knowledge in a similarly supportive and structured way. Supervision was key as there are many nuances and subtleties to the approach that make...
Risë's (Family Enhancement & Play Therapy Center) Intensive Filial Therapy (FT) training was honestly the best training that I have ever attended, with its focus on skills development, practice, feedback and theory all in one. It is offered in such a safe and supportive way that the learning over four days was immense. I immediately decided to pursue the Filial Therapy Certification Programme which helped develop my skills and knowledge in a similarly supportive and structured way. Supervision was key as there are many nuances and subtleties to the approach that make it so powerful. I am delighted to say that I am now a Certified Filial Therapy Instructor with the FEPTC - Filial Therapy really helps children and families in a way that I have not experienced before. If you're thinking about attending FT training - I would say: Go for it!
Get in touch
If you have questions for Risë about trainings, course pre-requisites, speaking engagements or other requests, please reach out.