about pathways play therapy services

Mission

Pathways Play Therapy Services is committed to supporting children’s mental and emotional wellbeing, strengthening their attachments, and increasing their connection to self.

Services
Pathways Play Therapy Services provides three main services:

Play Therapy for children
Parenting Support for parenting adults
Supervision and Consultation for play therapists and child counsellors

Alongside offering these services, Pathways works at an individual level to advocate for inclusive strategies and supports for children and families in the education, healthcare, and mental health systems. Pathways also works at the systemic level to support change in policies and practices related to play therapy and child mental health support services (please see the Anti-Racism Statement page for more information).

About Kiilea

Kiilea Saunders Mason, MEd, CCC & CCS, BCRPT

Hi! My name is Kiilea (pronounced the same as “Kylie”; she/her/hers pronouns), the play therapist who runs Pathways Play Therapy Services. I am a white, neurodivergent, cisgender, able-bodied Mom, child and play therapist, organic veggie and fruit farmer, and settler, currently practicing on the stolen lands of the Syilx Nation in what has been briefly known as Vernon, BC.

I have a love of dogs, puzzles, walking in the forest, growing food, herbs and flowers, and being in nature. Some of the ways I like to regulate include listening to the rain, being outside on cold mornings, chewing gum, cuddling my dog (when he is up for it), using a heavy, super soft lap blanket, wearing tight socks, digging in the soil, and using play-doh.

My Values and Beliefs

I adamantly believe that kids (and all parenting adults) do well if they can. I view all forms of behavior as an attempt at regulation, and as based in our human need for connection and felt safety.

I also believe that all children, parenting adults, and families are worthy of dignity, respect, and support.

This includes:

families of all neurotypes, including Autistic families and ADHDers
families of all races, including Black, Indigenous and families of color
gender expansive and trans families
immigrant and refugee families
2SLGBTQ+ families
Kinship, adoptive, and foster families
families of all disabilities
families with and without diagnoses
families of all partnership types, including ethical non-monogamous and polyamorous families
families involved with child protection
single parent or multi-parent families
step and blended families
families involved with criminal justice
separated and divorced families

Education and Training

My initial play therapy and brain-body training was centered on the work of white researchers and therapists in play therapy, counselling, relational neuroscience, regulation, and developmental trauma. While these theories form the baseline of my practice, I strive to include and center diverse voices to move away from the eurocentrism that I learned and embodied throughout the first half of my career.

People I am grateful to have trained with and learned from over the last few years include Silvana Espinoza Lau, Natascha Lawrence, Schuyler Bailar, myisha t hill, Robert Jason Grant, Christena Cleveland and Renee Barreto, and Resmaa Menakem and Carlin Quinn.

I have also found that grounding my work in community is invaluable. Over the last few years, this community has included an Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppressive Peer Consultation group and the BC Play Therapy Association’s Anti-Racism Committee.

Credentials

BC Registered Play Therapist (BCRPT) with the BC Play Therapy Association (BCPTA)
Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) and Canadian Clinical Supervisor (CCS) with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA)
Certified Synergetic Play Therapist and Supervisor with the Synergetic Play Therapy Institute
Phase I Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics Certification (ChildTrauma Academy)
Master of Education (MEd) in Counselling Psychology from Simon Fraser University