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Individual and Family Mental Health and Play Therapy Services

Growing stronger to achieve change.

Meet The Owner / Therapist

Hello, I am Sandy Richter, MSW, LEAD, LCSW, RPT ™. I am the owner and therapist at Creative Counseling, PLLC in Minot, ND. I am a clinical mental health therapist, a nationally accredited Registered Play Therapist, AutPlay Therapist, and master level certified Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) provider. I was born and raised in western Montana until I was a sophomore in high school when my family relocated to North Dakota. I have lived in North Dakota for the last 42 years.

My journey to becoming a therapist:

I would like to say that my journey to becoming a therapist was a clear path, but it was not. After high school, I completed Emergency Services First Responder, CPR and First Aid training. I volunteered for my local ambulance services for a year, and then off and on for about another year when I was home from college. During the summer before college and during my first year of college I worked for a private security agency. While in college, I studied Criminal Justice and graduated with an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice. I attended and graduated from the North Dakota Law Enforcement Training Academy and worked in law enforcement for two years before seeking reserve statue to continue training and certification following a personal tragedy. I maintained licensure for a few years until I determined that personal circumstances would require me to pivot professions. However, having the unique opportunity to obtain a Criminal Justice Degree, and training and certification, along with brief experience working in law enforcement provided me with unique insight and understanding into the lives of our law enforcement officers and their families. That experience, along with having relatives working in law enforcement, provided me with knowledge and experience that I carried with me throughout my professional career as a crisis intervention worker and a social worker for over 15 years working in Domestic Violence Offender Educational Treatment programming, Domestic and Sexual Assault policy and programming, Child Welfare services and Child Welfare supervision. However, what I also discovered while working with children and families in crisis was that there were not enough therapy services available to help individuals, children and families recover and heal.

That led me to return to college to obtain an advanced degree to become a therapist. I graduated in 2013 with a master’s degree in clinical social work (MSW) and a master specialty practice certificate in Leadership in Executive and Administrative Development (LEAD). I began providing therapy services in 2016. While providing therapy services to individuals of all ages, I determined that although some training was provided during course work and on the job training, I desired more advanced knowledge and training for working with children, teens, and families. While seeking continuing education credits for license renewal, I was introduced to the specialty practice of play therapy. In 2019, before the Covid pandemic, I began pursuing formal education, training, and supervision to become a nationally accredited Registered Play Therapist ™. After the pandemic concluded, I was able to resume attending in-person trainings, which is a requirement, to complete my national certification and become the first nationally accredited Registered Play Therapist in Minot, ND.

Most recently, I sought and completed Cultural Competency training to expand therapy services for working with the medical and first responder community. This includes medical staff, EMTs, law enforcement officers, firefighters, dispatchers, and correctional officers. In addition to that training, as a clinical therapist, I have completed several trainings in treating acute stress incidents and trauma and have worked with adults, teens and children experiencing trauma for over ten years.

As a therapist, I desired to continue growing my knowledge and skills to help individuals in need. In 2024, I completed basic training in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), and in 2026, I completed the advanced master’s level certification in Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART).

At Creative Counseling, PLLC, I value both the mental health and play therapy professions. I maintain advanced professional practice credentials in these treatment areas. I strive to ensure each person and family I work with receives quality personalized care.

At Creative Counseling, PLLC, you are not just a number, you are a valued partner in your therapy treatment services.

About Creative Counseling, PLLC

Philosophy

In 2024, I opened Creative Counseling, PLLC in Minot, ND because I believe everyone deserves access to and the opportunity to participate in quality mental health and play therapy services. At that time, the waitlist for mental health services was three to six months long, and there was no specially trained accredited Play Therapists in Minot, ND. I believe good mental health is not just the absence of, or management of symptoms. It is a state of mental, emotional, and social well-being. At Creative Counseling, PLLC, I strive to provide personalize, evidence-based, quality therapy services, in person, in a welcoming, safe, nonjudgmental and supportive environment to help you grow and build strength to achieve desired change.

services

What services does Creative Counseling, PLLC offer?

Creative Counseling, PLLC offers individual and family mental health and play therapy services.

I am trained in and use Psychotherapy (talk therapy), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques, Motivational Interviewing techniques, Trauma Informed therapy techniques, Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)-Master level certified, Play Therapy, Family Play Therapy, AutPlay Therapy, Structural Family Therapy, and Solution Focused Brief Therapy to address the needs of children, youth and adults.

Individuals Therapy

Adults:

I use only evidence-based therapies in traditional talk therapy (psychotherapy) with adults that I have been trained in. Models include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). ART is recognized as evidence-based by the Society of Clinical Psychology, Div. 12 of the American Psychological Association (APA).

ART is a unique approach to psychotherapy. ART is unique because the ART Therapist guides the client to replace negative images in the mind that cause symptoms of acute distress, anxiety, and Post-Traumatic Stress with positive images of the client’s choosing. Along with guided eye movement to help soothe the brain and body, negative images and sensations are replaced with pleasant ones. An advantage of this therapy is that individuals don’t need to talk to the therapist about specific details of the stressful or traumatic experience for it to be effective. This results in sessions being easier on the individual and therapist. Once the negative images and sensations are replaced by positive ones, usually in a few sessions, the physical triggers and unpleasant sensations will be gone. For more information about ART visit https://acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com/what-is-art/.

Some Reasons Adults seek therapy:

Phase of life stressors (newly married, birth of a child, recently divorced, retirement, etc.)

Work stressors (new job, job stress, job dissatisfaction, lay off, retirement, etc.)

Relationship stressors

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Inattentive, hyper, and combined presentations)

Anxiety

Depression

Grief and Loss

Exposure to a crisis incident

Medical, Emergency Responders, Crisis workers

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

And other mental health care needs.

Children and Teens:

Individual Therapy for children and teens when the child or teen is the primary client and who are being seen to address symptoms and concerns. Children may be seen alone in sessions, and at times, caregivers may be included in the child’s therapy sessions to provide opportunities for them to observe and participate in learning skills that can be used at home. Involving caregivers in a child’s therapy session helps support parent-child attachment, helps decrease caregiver stressors related to the child’s mental health and behavioral needs, and assists the child and caregiver to implement learned skills in the home environment. One question I receive often is, how is that different from family therapy? The difference is that the focus is on the child and the caregivers have a supporting role.

In a child therapy session, several models are used including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy, Play Therapy, Theraplay, and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

Often, I am asked about why children’s therapy sessions look different, perhaps, just like playing in the session. Children’s brains are still growing, and they do not have the same set of skills as older teenagers and adults to think through and talk through events the same way. Gary L. Landreth said it best, “Toys are children's words and play is their language." However, Play Therapy by trained and accredited Registered Play Therapists, is more than just play. The Association for Play Therapy defines Play Therapy as “the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained Play Therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development." “Play Therapy should only be provided by licensed clinical mental health professionals with a graduate mental health degree and extensive specialized play therapy education, training and supervised experience.”

Traditional Psychotherapy (talk therapy) is often used with teens; however, they also respond well to the use of age-appropriate Play Therapy. They are not often playing with toys in session; however, play therapy includes the use of many different creative and expressive activities including art, sensory activities, movement activities, and use of music. Board games and card games are also available in session. Engaging in an activity of their choice provides opportunities for teens to express emotions, process experiences, and build coping skills in a way that feels less intimidating than traditional talk therapy.

Some reasons caregivers seek therapy for children and Teens include:

Emotional and behavioral regulation difficulties.

Adjustment to a new a new daycare, school, or home which is not resolving.

Entering a new developmental stage

Parental separation or divorce.

Witnessing verbal, emotional, or physical violence in the home

Acute stress/trauma from an experienced event

Peer-Relationship issues

Dating Relationship issues

Youth-Parent conflict

Anxiety

Depression

Autism

Oppositional behavior

Grief and Loss, and

Other mental health needs

Family:

I use evidence-based models that I am trained in including:

Structural Family Therapy:

This model addresses the organization and structure of the family; identifies roles and responsibilities, sets boundaries, and focuses on respectful communication, negotiation, and compromise to promote healthy relationships and family functioning.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy:

This model focuses on identifying strengths in the family, resources the family has or can access, identifying potential solutions, and specific steps toward that solution to create positive change. While it is necessary to identify problems and barriers that the family has been experiencing, the focus is placed on what each individual family member is willing and able to do differently to help reduce and eliminate the problem. Each member of the family has an active role in participating in the therapy session, and complete tasks outside of the therapy session to help decrease conflict and improve family relationships.

Family Play Therapy Models:

As a nationally accredited Registered Play Therapist, I completed trainings in several family play therapy models including:

Parent-Child Centered Play Therapy/Filial Therapy: The child’s caregivers attend and only observe in the child's therapy sessions, then they meet one-on-one with the therapist for teaching and coaching, then the caregiver attends and participates in therapy sessions with the child and therapist. The caregivers continue meeting one-on-one with the therapist for education and coaching. Ideally, if there are enough individuals, caregivers also participate in group meetings. This therapy is for children ages 3-12, ideal ages are 4-10, and their caregivers to strengthen their bond, improve communication, and decreases frustration in both the child and caregiver which in turn improves behaviors and the relationship.
Play Therapy with Siblings: Focuses on improving relationships and resolving conflicts among siblings through guided play.
Family Play Therapy: This can include activities using expressive art, movement therapy, roleplaying, and engaging in planned games and activities that have a therapeutic focus. The primary goal is to assist families to identify roles, connections between family members, improve communication, increase negotiation and compromise, and build teamwork by working together to achieve a goal.
Family Sand Tray Therapy: Allows family members to express thoughts and emotions about events that have happened at home in the sand tray. It helps members facilitating communication and exploration of family dynamics. They can also use Sand Tray Miniatures to create family genograms or to engage in role-paly during therapy sessions. Sometimes family members engage in creating their own individual Sand Tray and other times they work in cooperation together to build a family Sand Tray.

If you have participated in family therapy in the past and you are looking for a creative and fun way to work on family issues, or if you have never participated in family therapy before and you would like to try something different, I encourage you to give me a call to arrange a meeting to discuss how family play therapy is both a fun and effective treatment.

Creative Counseling, PLLC

Creative Counseling, PLLC

Individual and Family Mental Health and Play Therapy Services

Meet The Owner / Therapist

About Creative Counseling, PLLC

Philosophy

services

Payment Options

Contact Us

Drop us a line!

Office hours are by appointment only. Please call to schedule an appointment.

Creative Counseling, PLLC

Creative Counseling, PLLC

Individual and Family Mental Health and Play Therapy Services

Meet The Owner / Therapist

About Creative Counseling, PLLC

Philosophy

services

Payment Options

Contact Us

Drop us a line!

Office hours are by appointment only. Please call to schedule an appointment.

Creative Counseling, PLLC

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