Today we’d like to introduce you to LaSaundria Walker.
LaSaundria, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always been someone who wonders about people. Even as a kid, I would notice strangers on the street or classmates who seemed withdrawn and find myself thinking, What happened in their lives? How did they get here? That curiosity was less about judging and more about wanting to understand the stories behind people’s eyes.
As I got older, that instinct only grew. When I became a mentor in a youth program, I expected to help kids set goals and stay motivated. Instead, I found myself meeting children who were hurting — kids who didn’t have the words to explain their anxiety, trauma, or confusion. I could see their struggles, but I also saw their potential. That experience shifted something in me. I wanted to learn how to support them in a deeper way.
That path led me to the counseling field. In graduate school, I discovered play therapy, and it felt like everything finally made sense. Children don’t just tell their stories — they show them through play. Toy figures, messy art, sand worlds, imaginary rescues — all of it is communication. Becoming a Registered Play Therapist gave me the tools to hear those stories and help children work through them safely.
Today, as the founder of Beyond Play Counseling & Wellness Center, I get to do exactly what drew me in years ago — listen to children, notice what’s beneath the surface, and help families heal. I still believe every behavior carries a story, and I still wonder how people got to where they are. But now I also get to be part of what helps them move forward — one session, one connection, and one brave moment of play at a time.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of my first challenges was learning how to hold children’s pain without absorbing it. When you sit with kids who have experienced loss, instability, or trauma, it’s easy to take their stories home. Developing healthy boundaries, supervision support, and emotional regulation became essential.
But one of the biggest challenges was realizing how undervalued play therapy and child mental health can be. I often found myself advocating not only for children, but for the legitimacy and necessity of the profession itself. Whether speaking to educators, medical providers, caregivers, or policymakers, I learned to make the case for play therapy, trauma-informed care, and early intervention. Advocacy became part of my role — ensuring that people understood this work isn’t “just play” it’s clinically powerful and life-changing.
Building a private practice added its own layer of struggle. There’s no manual handed to you on how to balance clinical work with entrepreneurship — billing, policy, branding, advocacy, and community relationships all had to be learned through trial, error, humility, and growth.
We’ve been impressed with Beyond Play Counseling and Wellness Center , but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Beyond Play was created to give children access to developmentally-appropriate mental health care—a place where they can be understood even before they have the words for their feelings. We support emotional healing and growth through play therapy, a therapeutic model where toys, stories, creativity, and relationship become tools for processing experiences, expressing emotions, and building coping skills.
We specialize in Child-Centered Play Therapy, trauma-responsive treatment, attachment work, and caregiver involvement. What makes us different is our commitment to the whole family system: we don’t only meet with the child—we coach parents, collaborate with schools, and advocate for families navigating behavioral and emotional challenges.
Families often say, “It feels safe here,” and that matters deeply to us. Safety is the foundation for regulation, trust, and meaningful mental health change.
Our services include:
• Play therapy for children
• Parent coaching and consultation
• Mental health workshops for schools and community organizations
• Emotional wellness groups
• Supervision and mentorship for clinicians in training
At Beyond Play, we want the world to know that this type of work isn’t “just play”—it is intentional mental health treatment that helps children make sense of their experiences, strengthen relationships, and grow into confident, connected, and resilient versions of themselves.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Curiosity paired with empathy has been a key to my success.
Curiosity pushes me to look beyond what I see on the surface and wonder about the story beneath a child’s behavior, a parent’s frustration, or a family’s dynamic. Empathy gives me the capacity to receive those stories with compassion instead of judgment.
Together, they help me listen deeply, attune to what isn’t being said, and build trust with children and caregivers. I think those qualities have shaped how I connect, how I advocate, and how I show up — not just as a clinician, but as a human being in this work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.beyondplaytherapy.com
- Instagram: @beyondplaycounseling
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beyondplaycounseling/
