Dr. Mia Garcia works with clients who are working through a variety of concerns, including but not limited to: trauma, identity development, depression, anxiety, behavioral concerns, adjustment issues, life transitions, relationship issues, and school success. She pursued and earned her PhD in Counselor Education and supervision to provide a higher level of training and care. A focus of her work is providing Child-Centered Play Therapy to children as young as 2 to increase self-esteem, emotion regulation, and coping skills. She believes working within the family as a system is the best approach in creating a safe space for children to heal. Mia specializes in suicidal ideation and behavior in elementary school children. Mia also used Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to assist individuals in working through trauma. Mia focuses on personal identity development for all ages. She values the role identity development plays in trauma and the majority of wellness journeys.
Before coming to Tabonuco, Mia worked as a school-based play therapist. She worked as a school counselor for 2 years and is extensively familiar with the NC school system and supporting school related concerns. She has completed two international internships, providing mental health support groups to traumatized and vulnerable populations in Uganda and Nepal. Mia’s approach to therapy is to collaborate with clients as they strive to reach their personal goals. She believes in sharing expertise, following where the client needs to be, and endowing empathy, unconditional positive regard, and authenticity into the counseling relationship. Mia works from a multiculturally competent framework and strives to create safe spaces for clients of all cultures and backgrounds, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, sexuality, religion, and political views.
Credentials
Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate (LMHCA)
National Certified Counselor (NCC)
Licensed Professional School Counselor
Currently Pursuing Registered Play Therapist (RPT)
Trained in EMDR - working towards certification
Education
Ph.D in Counselor Education and Supervision
M.A. in Counseling
B.S. in Health Psychology
To contact Mia, please reach out to her.
miaalgarcia@gmail.com
704-833-8548
Responding to Suicide Risk in Young Children: A Play Therapy Framework for Assessment and Intervention
This presentation explores play therapy as a developmentally appropriate approach to suicide risk assessment and intervention with children under age 12. Participants will be introduced to Dr. Mia Garcia's empirically supported suicide risk assessment tool and gain practical, evidence-informed strategies for early identification, assessment, and therapeutic intervention. Less...
Learning Objectives
- List at least six current trends in child suicide.
- Identify risk factors and symptoms of suicide in children ages 5–11, and apply play therapy techniques to facilitate developmentally appropriate emotional expression, and intervention with children at risk for suicide.
- Describe signs of suicide between children and individuals ages 12 and older.
- Utilize developmentally appropriate, play therapy–based assessment and intervention strategies to identify and respond to suicidality in children, incorporating structured screening tools such as the SADCID and the Child Suicide Risk Inventory to support clinical decision-making and treatment planning.
- Recite manifestations of suicidality through the major themes and subthemes of child-centered play therapy.
- Discuss child-centered play therapy skills that target suicide risk.
- Create a plan to work with parents of suicidal children to provide education and support in play therapy.
Target Audience
This educational activity is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, and MFT's.
Learning Levels
- Intermediate - Target Audience: Practicing mental health professionals who already possess solid, foundational play therapy training and clinical experience.Focus: Expanding, enhancing, and building upon existing foundational learning. Content aims to deepen clinical application, treatment planning, case conceptualization, or specific modality skills.
- Advanced - Target Audience: Seasoned professionals, typically credentialed play therapists (such as Registered Play Therapists [RPT], RPT-Supervisors [RPT-S], or School-Based RPTs) often with 200–300+ hours of specific play therapy training and substantial clinical experience. Focus: Highly specialized content areas designed to elevate expertise, refine complex interventions, or address nuanced, high-level clinical challenges
Saturday, November 07, 2026
UNCW
601 South College Road,, Wilmington, NC, 28403
601 South College Road,, Wilmington, NC, 28403
09:00 AM EST - 04:30 PM EST
Agenda
What is the problem- Current trends
- Risk factors and symptoms
- Disparities
Prevention Efforts
Establishing a protocol
- Identifying suicide risk
- Conducting a suicide assessment
Suicide in the Playroom
- Manifestations of suicide through child-centered play therapy themes
- Using CCPT interventions to target suicidality
Collaborating with parents
CE Information - Earn 6 CE Credit Hours
CE Approvals
Joint Accreditation
In support of improving patient care, CE Learning Systems is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
American Psychological Association
Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
New York Education Department's State Board for Social Work
CE Learning Systems, LLC (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers. #0060.
New York Education Department Board of Creative Arts Therapy
CE Learning Systems, LLC (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board of Creative Arts Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists. #CAT-0008
New York Education Department for Licensed Mental Health Counselors
CE Learning Systems, LLC (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0072.
New York Education Department Board for Licensed Psychoanalysts
CE Learning Systems, LLC (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychoanalysts as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts. #P-0031.
New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology
CE Learning Systems, LLC (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists. #PSY-0016.
New York Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy
CE Learning Systems, LLC (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists. #MFT-0045.
CE Process Info
NCAPT is approved for the following and maintains responsibility for all aspects of the program: NCAPT is an APT Approved Provider (03-125). This training is approved for 6.0 APT contact hours. Play therapy credit is only awarded to mental health professionals.
Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by his/her licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend "live" (in real-time) for the duration of the training to earn CE credits.
After the event, you will receive access to your evaluation and continuing education certificate via a personalized "attendee dashboard" link, hosted on the CE-Go website. This link will be sent to the email account you used to register for the event.
Upon accessing the CE-Go "attendee dashboard", you will be able to:
- Complete evaluation forms for the event
- Download your continuing education certificate in a PDF format
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE-Go platform, please contact CE-Go at 888-498-5578 or by email at support@ce-go.com Please Note: Emails for this event will come from "support@ceactivities.com".
If you have any continuing education related questions, please contact your event organizer.
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