Who We Are
Carmy Goodwin, Co-Owner
LSCSW, LCSW, RPT-S
Carmy is a bilingual clinical therapist seeing adults, teens, children and families that have experienced trauma, grief and loss, relationship problems, depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. Carmy uses Play Therapy, Sandtray, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and TF-CBT (Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) as her primary therapeutic modalities, but is also skilled in utilizing Theraplay techniques, Psycho-drama, Group Therapy, and Expressive Art Therapies.
Carmy began her career working in the public education system, first in the Olathe School District as an interpreter and then in the Independence School District as a Family School Liaison. After gaining experience in early childhood behavioral, emotional and psychological evaluations and intensive in-home case management, Carmy’s interest in clinical social work blossomed and she began looking for opportunities to transition to a clinically focused practice. In 2011, Carmy was hired on at SAFEHOME, Inc. and became a full-time Bilingual Clinical Therapist for 7 years. In addition to her work at SAFEHOME, Carmy expanded her experience by working part-time as a Bilingual Clinical Therapist at the Child Abuse Prevention Association in Independence, MO and by facilitating play therapy workshops all across the Midwest.
Carmy supervises individuals pursuing their Kansas and Missouri clinical social work licensure and registered play therapy credential, as well as served on the Kansas Association for Play Therapy (KSAPT) board as Conference Chair and President. Carmy is co-owner of Heartland Play Therapy Institute and believes that Play Therapy is an essential tool for understanding and processing trauma through the eyes of the child.
Carmy obtained her undergraduate degree in Spanish from Kansas State University, her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and her Play Therapy Certification from KC Play Therapy Institute.
Amber Johnson, Co-Owner
LCPC, RPT-S
Amber obtained her Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology from John Brown University, her Master’s degree in Counseling from Mid America Nazarene University and her Play Therapy Certification from KC Play Therapy Institute.
Amber began a love of helping others in high school, dedicating summers to being a camp counselor with inner city children, youth camps and adolescent girl camps. During her graduate program in Counseling, Amber completed her internship at SAFEHOME, providing therapy to victims of domestic violence. Shortly after completing her graduate degree, Amber was hired as a full time Clinical Therapist providing individual, family and group therapy for adults and children. Amber was the Clinical Director at SAFEHOME prior to transitioning to Creative Connections. She now sees adults, children and adolescents at Creative Connections. Amber has expanded her experience by teaching workshops for Heartland Play Institute, providing Play Therapy supervision and providing Clinical Supervision for individuals pursuing clinical licensure.
Throughout her career as a therapist, Amber has pursued training in a variety of therapeutic models including Emotional Transformation Therapy, Resonance Repatterning, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Psychodrama, Play Therapy, Theraplay and Art Therapy. Amber especially enjoys working with adults and utilizing various techniques to explore inner child processing. She is dedicated to helping clients understand and overcome whatever is getting in their way of who they want to become. She believes that with the proper therapeutic relationship, hard work and counseling, healing can be achieved. She believes that the deeper you are willing to process into your struggle, the greater the change you will see!
Lori Peterson, Co-Owner
LSCSW, LCSW, RPT-S
Lori has been working with adults, teens, children and families for more than fifteen years to heal from trauma, overcome anxiety, conquer depression, understand unhealthy relationship patterns, walk through grief, integrate strategies to manage ADHD symptoms, strengthen families, develop insight, build self-esteem and achieve their life goals. Throughout her career as a therapist, Lori has pursued training and integrated a variety of therapeutic models into her practice including Play Therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF CBT), Expressive Art Therapy, Sandtray Therapy, Theraplay Attachment Therapy, Psychodrama, Emotional Transformation Therapy, and Resonance Repatterning. Lori is passionate about working with individuals of all ages and believes that the therapeutic relationship has the power to be transformative.
Lori obtained her Bachelors of Arts degree in Social Work with a secondary major in Women’s Studies from Kansas State University in 1999, her Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Kansas in 2002 and her Play Therapy Certification from KC Play Therapy Institute in 2006. Lori is licensed as a LSCSW in the state of Kansas and an LCSW in the state of Missouri. She also maintains the Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S) credential as provided by the Association for Play Therapy.
Favorite Therapy Quote: “Sometimes I must first struggle before I can discover a strength, and I may never discover that strength if I never have to struggle.” – Garry Landreth
Andrea Peck
LSCSW, LCSW, RPT
Andrea has 3 years of therapy experience partnering with adults, teens, children, and families that have experienced varying degrees of trauma, loss, connection hardships, managing strong feelings, depression, anxiety, and finding their “new normal” after hard experiences. Andrea uses Play Therapy, Sandtray, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), TF-CBT (Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), Theraplay, Expressive Art, and Pyscho-drama to support clients in meeting them where they are in their process.
Andrea began her career working at the Rose Brooks Center as a children and family therapist gaining experience working with children and families with complex trauma that were involved in domestic violence relationships. Andrea transitioned to Voices of Courage Children’s Advocacy Center as a counselor working with children and families that experienced trauma, supporting them increase capacity of healthy connections, and to move through trauma in a safe environment through the therapy process. Andrea currently sees adults, children, teens, and families at Creative Connections weaving in her skillset, experience, and passion to increase others capacity of courage, love, belonging, and safety.
Andrea looks forward to meeting you and helping you to find hope in hard times.
Andrea obtained her Bachelor degree in Social Work from Missouri Western State University, Master of Social Work from University of Kansas and Play Therapy Certification from Heartland Play Therapy Institute.
Fun Facts about Andrea: She enjoys YouTube painting tutorials, reading laffy taffy jokes, and trying to run a 5k without stopping.
Reanna Errebo
LMSW
Reanna is a Licensed Master level Social Worker, currently under clinical and play therapy supervision in Kansas. Reanna is also a Licensed Master level Social Worker in Missouri. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Greenville University in 2014, and a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Kansas in 2017.
Reanna began her career working with children and families in high conflict custody situations and with families who have had change in their relationship dynamics. She has focused on parent-child relational issues and helping children manage the stress, anxiety, and other emotions that come with a changing family dynamic, as well as helping parents to understand their child’s behaviors and needs and how to appropriately respond to them. Reanna has also taught individualized parent education courses for parents looking to better meet their child’s needs. Since joining Creative Connections in 2019, Reanna has worked with children, teens, adults, and families to heal from trauma, overcome anxiety and depression, work through grief and loss, build self esteem, learn and develop healthy attachments, and achieve goals.
In addition, Reanna completed the Play Therapy Certificate Program at Heartland Play Therapy Institute and utilizes those techniques both in individual play therapy work as well as with families. Reanna has also received training in Theraplay. Reanna uses a welcoming and supportive atmosphere and strives to provide an inclusive environment for clients. Reanna utilizes Play Therapy, Sandtray, Theraplay, and CBT to guide her practice.
In her free time, Reanna enjoys spending time with her family and two dogs, listening to audio books, and watching Kansas City sports.
Kat Cahill, Clinical Director
LCPC, LPC
Kat Cahill received her Bachelors degree in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Kansas, and holds a Masters degree in Community Counseling from Loyola University Chicago.
Kat is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Kansas and a Licensed Professional Counselor in Missouri, and has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in the individual, group, family, and residential setting. She believes in approaching each client individually and tailors treatment to meet each client and family where they are from the first session. Kat adapts with her clients as they grow and make progress toward their goals.
Kat uses a combination of therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solutions-Focused Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Play Therapy, and the Attachment Regulation Competency (ARC) framework of trauma treatment. Kat was extensively trained in this modality by the director of the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute in Boston, MA. She also has extensive training in DBT and SMART (Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment) therapy. Kat is currently taking step towards obtaining her Play Therapy Certificate from Heartland Play Therapy Institute.
In her downtime, Kat enjoys swimming, hiking, reading, traveling, patios, cheering on the Jayhawks and Chiefs, and spending quality time with loved ones.
Erin Walker
LMSW
Erin is a licensed Master level Social Worker, currently under clinical and play therapy supervision in Kansas. She obtained her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Kansas and Play Therapy Certification from Heartland Play Therapy. She is currently working towards her Registered Children Yoga Teacher (RYCT) through Yoga Ed.
Erin has 2 years of therapy experience working with elementary age children in a school setting. Erin completed her master’s level practicum with the WRAP (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) program through Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. While working for Bert Nash, she primarily worked with adolescents in middle school. After graduating with her MSW degree, she continued to work as a WRAP therapist, this time at two elementary schools in the Lawrence Public School System. While at the schools, she provided crisis intervention, therapeutic interventions, assessment, support services, and intakes to at-risk children and their families.
Erin currently sees children, adolescents, adults, and families at Creative Connections. Erin uses Play Therapy, Sandtray, TF-CBT (Trauma Focused- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), Yoga, and mindfulness to support clients in their therapeutic process.
Jackie Regan
LSCSW, LCSW
Jackie Regan is a Licensed Specialized Clinical Social Worker in Kansas and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Missouri. Jackie uses Play Therapy, Sandtray, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), TF-CBT (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), and Art Therapy to guide her practice. She believes it is never too late to take the journey towards healing and will sit with you throughout this process and provide a safe and judgement free environment to work on whatever brings you through her door.
Jackie began her social work career interning at The Willow Domestic Violence Center as a shelter advocate, gaining experience working with women and children affected by Domestic Violence. In her graduate program she worked with adults with co-occurring mental disorders and addiction in a group setting. She has gained a lot of therapy experience and specialized training working with children and families with complex trauma, as a therapist in school settings and in community mental health in Kansas City. Most recently she worked in private practice in Colorado, providing individual therapy to children, teens, and college age adults experiencing trauma and anxiety.
Jackie has worked closely with kids, teens, and young adults experiencing anxiety, depression, ADHD, self esteem or attachment issues, LGBTQ+ issues, trauma, sexual assault/abuse, domestic violence and loss. She is dedicated to helping people gain new insight, process distressing experiences, and pursue goals that are meaningful to them. Jackie currently sees young adults/college age, adolescents, and children at Creative Connections, using her trauma experience and skill set to best support and guide clients and meet them where they are at.
Jackie Regan received her Bachelors’ degrees in Political Science and International Studies with a focus on Latin America and a minor in Sociology from the University of Kansas, and holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from University of Missouri – Kansas City. She completed EMDR training and consultation through Personal Transformations INC, Play Therapy Training through Heartland Play, and TF-CBT training and consultation through MO ACTS.
In her free time, Jackie enjoys spending time with her 2 pups, reading, traveling, and being outdoors with loved ones.