FeaturedClinical Psychologist
Kevin O’Connor, PhD, ABPP, RPT-S is a Clinical Psychologist. He is a Distinguished Professor, Coordinator of the Ecosystemic Clinical Child Psychology Emphasis and Director of the Ecosystemic Play Therapy Training Center at Alliant International University – Fresno. He is the author of numerous books including The Play Therapy Primer, 2nd Edition and co-author of Play Therapy Treatment Planning and Interventions, 2nd Edition, and co-editor and Play Therapy Theory and Practice, 2nd Edition. He regularly presents workshops across the United States and abroad having presented in Canada, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Mexico, Portugal, Singapore, and South Africa. Dr. O’Connor is a Board Certified Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychologist and Fellow of the American Psychological Association who maintains a small private practice treating children and adults.
Dr. O’Connor’s primary area of research and clinical interest is the ecosystemic context of the practice of psychology. This includes two elements. One is the conceptualization of the impact of a person’s entire personal and ecological experience on his or her ability or inability to cope at any given point in time. The other is the need for psychology to consider those ecosystemic variables in all aspects of case conceptualization, treatment planning and implementation in order to be effective.
His areas of specialization include: 1) Ecosystemic Play Therapy, 2) treatment planning, 3) Attachment Disorders, 4) the use of interpretation, 5) conducting structured groups and 6) the treatment of medically ill children.
Dr. O’Connor’s clinical specialization is the treatment of children using play therapy. He is the cofounder and now Director Emeritus of the Association for Play Therapy. He is the author of the The Play Therapy Primer, Second Edition and numerous articles on child psychotherapy and professional practice. He is the co-author of Play Therapy Treatment Planning and Interventions. He is the co-editor of the Handbook of Play Therapy, Volumes I & II and Play Therapy Theory and Practice, 2nd Ed. His work has been translated into Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, Japanese and German.
Dr. O’Connor is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association through Divisions 12, Society of Clinical Psychology; 29, Psychotherapy and 53, Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.