Reigniting the Professional Spark in Child and Play Therapists through Clinical Supervision

April 15, 2026
12:00 – 1:30 pm via Zoom
1.5 Category I CEUs
(Meets Supervision Requirements) 

Presenter:
Vanessa Kellner, LCPC, NCC, RPT-S, CCPT
Licensed Clinical Counselor and Owner, Wholesome Healing

Workshop Description

Professionals working with children and families—whether as clinicians or supervisors—are deeply invested in the emotional well-being of others. Over time, this meaningful work can increase vulnerability to compassion fatigue, emotional depletion, and diminished professional satisfaction.

This training introduces child therapists, play therapists, and clinical supervisors to the concept of compassion inequity and its role in the development of compassion fatigue. Participants will explore common triggers, early warning signs, and practical, informed strategies to prevent burnout and restore balance.

In addition to individual clinician awareness, this training highlights the supervisory role in recognizing, assessing, and addressing compassion fatigue in supervisees. Supervisors will learn how to integrate compassion-informed assessment and supportive dialogue into supervision to promote ethical practice, sustainability, and professional vitality.

Learning Objectives

As a result of this training, participants will be able to:

  • Define compassion inequity and explain how it contributes to compassion fatigue.

  • Describe how compassion inequity develops and identify indicators of its presence in oneself and others.

  • Identify strategies clinicians and supervisors can use to prevent compassion fatigue and promote professional sustainability.

  • Distinguish between self-care and informed self-care, and understand the clinical and supervisory implications of each.

  • Utilize at least two reflective or practical practices to personally assess for compassion inequity.

Register Now!
Vanessa Kellner

Vanessa Kellner, LCPC, NCC, RPT-S, CCPT is a licensed clinical counselor and the owner of Wholesome Healing, a private practice specializing in Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT), located in Severna Park, MD. She is an author, play therapist, and play therapy supervisor, credentialed as a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S) through the Association for Play Therapy (APT), and certified as a Child-Centered Play Therapist (CCPT) through the University of North Texas Center for Play Therapy (UNT) and a Child-Centered Play Therapist Supervisor (CCPT-S) through the National Institute of Relationship Enhancement (NIRE). Vanessa was honored to receive the 2024 Play Therapist of the Year Award from the MD/DC Association for Play Therapy branch.

Vanessa has over 10 years in the field of counseling. She has co-authored a book chapter on how supervisors can recognize and address compassion fatigue in play therapists. She is also a registered yoga teacher, bringing her expertise and experience in yoga, breathwork, and mindfulness to her clinical work.

She is passionate about her roles as a play therapist, supervisor, and practice owner, but most importantly in her role as a mom of 3.

Workshop Fees

  • General Professional Community: $37.50
  • Jewish Day School Educators, JCS Retirees, NJHSA Members: $30
  • Current JCS Staff, Board, Advisory Council & Staff of Agencies Funded by The Associated*: Free with Code.
Register Now!

*To request your code and see a list of eligible agencies funded by The Associated, click here. 

Jewish Community Services is approved by the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners to provide
Continuing Education Units.

 

The Rosa J. Kolker Professional Development series is made possible with funding from Kolker-Saxon-Hallock Family Foundation, Inc.,
a supporting foundation of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.