Play Therapist of the Year

Kristina Sawetz-Glasener has been a member of the Virginia Association for Play Therapy (VAPT) since 2009, beginning her journey as a VCU graduate student and play therapist intern at ChildSavers in Richmond, VA. She became a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S) in 2014 and served as a VAPT committee member before stepping into her current role as Regional Co-Chair for the Virginia Play Therapy Association for Northern Virginia.

In 2016, Kristina opened her own private practice, Creative Counseling Center of Northern Virginia, LLC after providing mental health services to children and families across Virginia for over 15 years. Kristina has worked in public schools and outpatient settings for Richmond City, Hanover County, and Fairfax County CSBs. In addition to private practice, Kristina continues to work with grant-funded initiatives for local preschools and nonprofit organizations.

In addition to play therapy, Kristina specializes in Expressive Therapies, earning her doctorate from Lesley University in 2024. Her dissertation, “Stories in the Sand: The Use of Play and the Arts with Siblings of Children with Cancer,” utilized child-centered and creative research approaches to explore how sandtray and expressive arts may help siblings communicate their lived experiences in developmentally appropriate and emotionally safe ways. This work is rooted in over 20 years of volunteer service with Special Love, Inc. an organization supporting children with cancer and their families.

An active advocate for play therapy, Kristina frequently engages in community outreach through networking, speaking events, and media appearances, including DMV News Now. She is deeply invested in the growth of the profession and has provided clinical supervision to rising play therapists in her private practice and at The George Washington University.