Friday Night Consultation Group with Eliana Gil
Friday, May 1, 2026 | DoubleTree by Hilton Nashua
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. | Main Conference Ballroom | NO CE Offered
Dr. Gil will provide an opportunity for play therapists to raise clinical questions and/or concerns about their therapeutic work with children and/or families. Play therapy participants will have a chance to discuss assessment, treatment planning, course of treatment, playful interventions, and/or pose specific questions. Play therapists are encouraged to bring in slides of sand trays, art, or to provide thematic material within play therapy sequences. Each person who is interested in presenting should contact Dr. Gil ahead of time (elianagi@me.com) and send along slides they wish to show and discuss. Only two cases will be selected.
After this consultation group, play therapists will be able to:
- List two concerns that play therapist might face during the course of treatment;
- Think about the presenter’s questions and concerns and provide at least two interventions that might be helpful;
- Name two issues most relevant during the play therapy assessment phase;
- List two clinical issues that are likely to arise in longer-term treatment with children and their families.
Eliana Gil, PhD, LMFT, RPT-S™ is a Founding Partner of Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery & Education, LLC, a group private practice in Fairfax, VA, where she currently works as a Senior Clinical Consultant. She is an Approved AAMFT Supervisor as well as a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor™, a Registered Art Therapist, a Registered Sand Therapist-Teacher/Consultant, and a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist. She is also a Circle of Security Certified Parent Educator, a Level II Theraplay provider, and participated and completed a two-year Individual Certification process with Dr. Bruce Perry on the Neurosequential Model of Therapy. Dr. Gil provides specialized trainings on an array of topics involving trauma, attachment, and treatment options, with an integration of expressive therapies (art, sand, play). Eliana has directed two child sexual abuse treatment programs in Northern Virginia and continues her work in the field of child abuse prevention and treatment. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who received her doctorate in family therapy from the California Graduate School of Family Psychology in San Rafael, California. She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Professional Society on the Abused of Children and the National Resource Center on Child Sexual Abuse. She received APT’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.
Dr. Gil has written numerous chapters, journal articles, and books on child abuse and related topics and has participated in educational videotapes that feature her work through Guilford Press, as well as a self-published DVD on Family Play Therapy. Her most recent books include Post-Traumatic Play: What Clinicians Should Know and the second edition of Play in Family Therapy. She also co-authored a book with Dr. David Crenshaw on Termination Challenges in Psychotherapy. Her classic book Outgrowing the Pain, has been translated into many languages. Dr. Gil is a well-known international lecturer, author, and clinician. She is bilingual and bicultural with Ecuadorian parents. Since 2014, she has been semi-retired and continues to supervise, consult and teach. Dr. Gil conducts specialized, unique trainings in Fairfax, VA through Starbright Training Institute. She provides trainings across the country on a regular basis, although greatly reduced from previous years.
Eliana has dreamed of being a grandmother since she was a young child and cherished her relationship to her own grandmothers, Emilia and Teresa. She now has four grandchildren under the age of 18 and looks forward to being closer to them geographically and continuing to be a part of their lives. She loves watching her adult children, Eric and Teresa as they have grown into loving, smart, patient, and creative parents.
PARKING: Complimentary parking is available at the hotel for participants.
HEALTH AND SAFETY: At NEAPT, your safety is a priority. As NEAPT moves forward with producing live meetings and conferences, we will continue to monitor the continually evolving guidance released by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as all federal, state, and local government mandates, to provide an environment that is as safe as possible for all event participants. By participating in person, I agree to follow the meeting’s health and safety policies. Attendees of NEAPT events voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to Covid-19 and its variants, and are advised to undertake precautions deemed necessary, to include those recommended by the CDC and the State of Connecticut. NEAPT will provide hand sanitizers and will allow for social distancing. Let us know if you need something to make you feel more comfortable.
PHOTO RELEASE: By registering for this conference, you are giving permission for NEAPT to use any photographs that are taken at the event containing your likeness for as long as NEAPT deems appropriate and desirable. Photographs may be used on the NEAPT website, social media pages, and/or newsletter for any purpose. By completing the registration, you are also consenting to waive any rights to the photographs indefinitely. If you do not wish to have your photo used, it is your responsibility to notify registration of your request to be omitted.
CANCELLATION POLICY: All cancellations must be requested in writing and received no later than April 11, 2026. Cancellations are subject to $10 processing fee. No refunds after April 11, 2026. Substitutions (allowing another person to attend in your place) may be made in writing for no additional cost. No refunds are given due to inclement weather.
HOTEL INFORMATION: DoubleTree by Hilton Nashua, 2 Somerset Parkway, Nashua, NH 03063. Attendees are responsible to make hotel reservations. The hotel number is 866-245-2153. Click here for the direct booking link. Limited quantity of rooms available in the room block.
New England Association for Play Therapy: NEAPT is a professional organization striving to advance the theory and practice of play therapy through activities such as conferences, seminars, and networking in order to serve the mental health needs of New England children, families, schools and communities. For more information on the Conference visit our website at www.newenglandplaytherapy.org.
