About Dr. Emily Keller

I’m a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (CA 10821), Registered Play Therapist Supervisor (RPT-S), and Registered Sand Therapist Consultant/Trainer. Also, I am licensed in North Carolina and Washington State. I bring experience as a trainer, educator, and yoga practitioner to my work. In my practice, I offer play therapy, sand tray, expressive arts counseling, and yoga-based healing practices. These modalities support growth at every level: emotional, relational, physical, and spiritual. It’s a delight to serve the play therapy community on the board of the California Association for Play Therapy.

My Clinical Work: Therapy with Children and Families

My clinical focus is on helping children and families develop emotional regulation, process trauma, and discover their authentic selves. I also work with families to help shift intergenerational patterns of shame, competition, and disconnection into ones of cooperation, compassion, and joy. My goal is to help people reconnect with a sense of wonder—and to help parents reconnect with their own capacity for self-compassion, clarity, and connection. I welcome clients from all religious and spiritual backgrounds. 

I offer:

• Play therapy
• Individual therapy
• Sandtray therapy
• Group therapy
• Expressive arts counseling
• Exposure Response Prevention Therapy
• Family therapy
• EMDR
• Brainspotting
• Advanced Integrative Therapy (AIT) — Energy Psychotherapy using the chakras
• Spiritually-Integrated Therapy
• Online Therapy 
• Redecision therapy, gestalt therapy, transactional analysis
• Trauma-informed support for grief, loss, anxiety, and behavior challenges

My approach is integrative and grounded in a belief that healing happens within a relationship. I blend redecision therapy, gestalt therapy, attachment theory, play therapy, expressive arts, and sand tray to create individualized care.

Supporting the Therapists Who Support Children

In addition to clinical work, I provide training, supervision, and consultation for mental health professionals working with children and families. I supervise therapists pursuing their Registered Play Therapist credentials and offer clinical guidance to help them deepen their understanding of how children express themselves through metaphor and play.

I provide continuing education workshops for therapists and I offer advanced play therapy workshops on topics such as emotional regulation, grief and loss, metaphor in therapy, and integrating play therapy with family systems. My aim is to help therapists engage children’s natural sense of wonder so they can shift false narratives and access healing.

My Professional Journey

Before moving to Livermore, I served as Vice President and Co-Director of the Southeast Institute for Group and Family Therapy. There, I co-led postgraduate training programs in family therapy, couples therapy, and play therapy. I helped facilitate intensive couples retreats, group therapy for clinicians, and training workshops across a range of therapeutic approaches.

My experience also includes working in a pediatric inpatient mental health setting, a children’s bereavement center supporting grieving children and parents, and in private practice. Across all these roles, I have been committed to helping children and families heal, grow, and relate from a place of authenticity.

I hold a dual master’s degree and a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, with post-graduate training in couples therapy, family therapy, and play therapy. I’ve presented locally, nationally, and internationally on topics related to child development, emotional regulation, and therapeutic metaphor.

Publications & Yoga-Informed Healing

I am also a Registered Yoga Teacher with a special interest in Yoga Nidra—a practice that supports deep rest, nervous system regulation, and emotional healing. I integrate this into my work when appropriate and offer regular Yoga Nidra classes.

My most recent publication is a chapter in Disenfranchised Grief (Routledge, 2024): Keller, E. R. (2024). Our Bodies: Holders of Unspoken Grief. This chapter explores the body response to grief and how yoga offers a direct path to presence, safety, and healing.

Read my article in Play Therapy Magazine — Wonder: The Key to Being in an Authentic Relationship with Children