Unicorn Life Play Therapy

03/21/2026

We are beyond excited to have these incredible clinicians joining us for the 2026 Black Play Therapy® Symposium! This year's theme, Reclaiming Black Childhood: Identifying and Disrupting the Cognitive Biases Behind the School-to-Prison Pipeline, demands voices that have worked inside these systems. And that is exactly what we have. 💜

July 10–11, 2026 | Springfield, VA

Our 2026 speakers:

💜 Dr. Althea T. Simpson, LCSW, RPT-S Founder of Brighter Day Therapeutic Solutions, Unicorn Life Play Therapy Academy, and the Black Play Therapy™ Foundation. A clinician, supervisor, trainer, and author whose life's work is centering healing in the Black community.🖤

💜 Dr. Erica J. Tatum-Sheade, DSW, LCSW, CAdPT, RPT-S Founder of Integrated Mental Health Associates and Play Well with Dr. Erica. A passionate advocate for Black girls and the 2024 recipient of the Black Excellence in Play Therapy Award.🖤

💜 Sean Myers, M.Ed., LPC A school counselor and licensed professional counselor working at the front lines of the school-to-prison pipeline in Harris County, Georgia.🖤

💜 Audrice Johnson, M.Ed., LPC, LSATP A licensed mental health and substance abuse professional bringing a powerful perspective from inside the correctional system, bearing witness to where the pipeline ends and advocating for a different path.🖤

💜 Quinn Flowers, LICSW, LCSW-C, LCSW 2021 National School Social Worker of the Year and founder of The Healing Garden LLC. A frontline school social worker committed to keeping Black children connected to their futures.🖤

Together, these five clinicians represent every point along the pipeline, and they are coming to the 2026 Black Play Therapy® Symposium to help us disrupt it. 💜🖤

Tag a clinician, social worker, counselor, or therapist, parent, caregiver, educator, juvenile justice professional, child welfare professional, child advocate who needs to be in the room.

🔗 Registration details at www.blackplaytherapy.com

03/16/2026

Speaker Announcement: Dr. Erica J. Tatum-Sheade, DSW, LCSW, CAdPT, RPT-S

We are thrilled to announce Dr. Erica Tatum-Sheade as a featured workshop presenter at the 2026 Black Play Therapy Symposium, where she will share her groundbreaking work and inspire us all.

With an impressive list of accolades, including being named 2025 Clinician of the Year, 2024 Phoenix Titan 100 Award Winner, and 2024 Black Excellence in Play Therapy Award Winner, Dr. Erica's expertise is undeniable. Her leadership as a former Two-Term President of the Arizona Association for Play Therapy has paved the way for innovation in the field.

Dr. Erica has a critical message to share about Black girls, and we are honored to have her at the symposium. Her workshop, Reclaiming Girlhood Play Therapy Interventions Addressing the Criminalization, Adultification, and Sexualization of Black Girls, promises to be a transformative experience.

Join us on Friday, July 10, 2026, from 1:30 PM to 4:45 PM, for this powerful workshop, where Dr. Erica will share her insights and expertise, earning 3 CE Hours.

As the founder of Integrated Mental Health Associates in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Play Well with Dr. Erica, a supervision program dedicated to empowering the next generation of play therapists, Dr. Erica's commitment to creating positive change is evident.

Her doctoral research, Creating Culturally Affirming Spaces for Girls of Color from an Adlerian Framework, demonstrates her dedication to centering Black girls and girls of color in clinical and systemic conversations about healing.

Dr. Erica's life's work is a testament to her passion for empowering Black girls and girls of color. At the 2026 Black Play Therapy Symposium, she will bring over 20 years of experience to confront the devastating impact of adultification bias, hypersexualization, and criminalization on Black girls, and demonstrate how Adlerian Play Therapy can restore their sense of belonging, worthiness, and joy.

Why This Matters:

The harsh reality is that Black girls face a triple threat: adultification bias, hypersexualization, and criminalization. These biases rob Black girls of their childhood, innocence, and protection.

But Dr. Erica isn't just naming the problem; she's bringing solutions. Her workshop promises to be a beacon of hope and a call to action.

Visit the Black Play Therapy website at www.blackplaytherapy.com to grab your Earlybird ticket and be a part of this transformative experience.

03/15/2026

Happy Social Work Month

💜SHE'S BAAAAACK!💜

MEET TATUM: Social Worker, Play Therapist, and Our 2026 BPTS Friday Night Party Game Host!

We're beyond excited to introduce you to Tatum O. Pinckney, LCSW-C, RPT, the incredible professional who will be hosting our Friday Night Party: Grown Folks Recess!

But Tatum is so much more than a game host. She's a powerhouse Social Worker with a story worth celebrating.

For 19 years, Tatum has been in the trenches. Child welfare systems. City Public Schools. Private Practice. Working with youth who need someone who SEES them, who understands trauma, who knows how to use play to unlock healing.

Beyond her clinical work, Tatum combined her passion for mental health and play by launching She Got Games, LLC, an entertainment company that brings high-energy interactive experiences to events.

Her Mission at Our Symposium: Friday night, July 10th, Tatum is bringing ALL that energy to Grown Folks Recess! Expect interactive games, prizes, playful competition, and an atmosphere guaranteed to have you laughing, connecting, and creating lasting memories.

After spending all day learning how to reclaim childhood for Black children, Tatum is going to help US reclaim our own inner child through PLAY.

This is what it looks like when a Social Worker uses her powers for pure JOY. 💜

See you at Grown Folks Recess! | Friday, July 10, 2026 | 6-10 PM |Included with full symposium registration | Guest Tickets Available

Tatum understands something essential: Play isn't just for the children we serve. It's for us too!

Register: www.blackplaytherapy.com

She Got Games LLC

03/15/2026

Therapists. Educators. Parents. Advocates.

Are you trained to identify your cognitive bias?

Bias isn’t always loud.

Sometimes it looks like:
• Over-pathologizing Black play.
• Mislabeling trauma responses as aggression.
• Punishing emotional expression.

This symposium is for professionals, parents, and advocates dedicated to identifying bias, challenging systems, and disrupting harm at the root.

In 2026, we’re gathering clinicians, educators, parents, and advocates to reclaim Black childhood through culturally responsive play therapy. Join us.”

2026 Black Play Therapy Symposium, July 10-11, 2026, Springfield VA

Earlybird Registration is open. Conference details can be found at www.blackplaytherapy.com

Visit blackplaytherapy.com for registration, grievance, and cancellation information

CE Information:

Unicorn Life Training, #2031, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 01/24/2026 – 01/24/2029. Social workers participating in this symposium will receive up to 12 continuing education credits.

Up to 12 Contact CEs Sponsored by Unicorn Life Training APT Approved Provider 18-532

Play Therapy CEs Available to Mental Health Professionals & Graduate Students in a Mental Health Program.

Black Play Therapy Symposium has been approved by NBCC for NBCC credit. Unicorn Life Training is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. NBCC Approval No. SP-4918.

03/14/2026

🖤 Happy Social Work Month! 🖤

Social workers are often the last line of defense between Black children and a system designed to fail them. This month, we honor their courage, their clinical excellence, and their unwavering commitment to justice.

This March, we're celebrating the brilliance, dedication, and healing power of social workers, and we are PROUD to honor three extraordinary ones who will be gracing the stage at the 2026 Black Play Therapy® Symposium!

Reclaiming Black Childhood: Identifying and Disrupting the Cognitive Biases Behind the School-to-Prison Pipeline, July 10–11, 2026 | Springfield, VA

Meet our phenomenal social worker speakers:

Dr. Althea T. Simpson, MSW, LCSW, RPT-S: Clinician, supervisor, author, and founder of the Black Play Therapy® Symposium, Black Play Therapy® Society, and the Black Play Therapy® Foundation, using play as a tool of resistance and healing for Black children and families.

Quinn Flowers, LICSW, LCSW-C, LCSW: National School Social Worker of the Year and founder of The Healing Garden, LLC, fighting every day to keep Black children connected to their futures.

Dr. Erica J. Tatum-Sheade, DSW, LCSW, CAdPT, RPT-S: Child and adolescent therapist, author, and advocate whose work centers the voices, safety, and worthiness of Black girls.

These women are not just practitioners; they are protectors of Black childhood. 💜🖤

Social workers show up when systems fall short. They advocate when others stay silent. They heal when harm has been done. This month and every month, we celebrate YOU. 💜🖤

Earlybird Registration is open!


No club

03/11/2026

MEET OUR PANELIST: Quinn Flowers 💜

What does it take to be named National School Social Worker of the Year?

Ask Quinn Flowers. She knows.

- 2021 National School Social Worker of the Year.
- 2020 DC School Social Worker of the Year.
- Nearly 20 years in school-based mental health.

Quinn works at a senior high school in DC Public Schools, right where the school-to-prison pipeline is operating in real time.

And she's not just watching. She's disrupting it.

Quinn Flowers is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker with nearly two decades of experience positioned exactly where the pipeline starts, inside many Public Schools. And she sees firsthand how cognitive biases manifest in IEPs, behavioral assessments, and attendance interventions, compounding the risks facing Black students.

Quinn is positioned at the exact point where the pipeline begins: where preschool suspensions turn into middle school "behavior problems," which turn into high school disciplinary records, which turn into juvenile justice involvement.

Join us July 10, 2026, to hear Quinn and three other practitioners trace how biases operate across the entire pipeline, and how WE can disrupt them.

This is the voice from the frontlines. This is the perspective we need.

💜 2026 Black Play Therapy® Symposium

Hotel Belvoir (Hilton Springfield) Springfield, VA

Visit the Black Play Therapy Website to REGISTER.

APT, ASWB, and NBCC CE stat are available on the website.

03/05/2026

03/04/2026

It’s Official. Early Registration Is Now Open.

The work of protecting Black childhood cannot wait, and neither should you.

Join us for the 2026 Black Play Therapy Symposium:

Reclaiming Black Childhood: Identifying and Disrupting Cognitive Biases Behind the School-to-Prison Pipeline.

Early Bird pricing is limited and will increase.

The 2026 Black Play Therapy® Symposium is happening July 10-11, and we want YOU there.

Be in the room where change begins.

💜 12 CE Hours Available for Mental Health Professionals.

EARLY BIRD PRICING: $489 (Save $100!) Regular Registration: $589

This symposium is for mental health professionals, educators, parents, advocates, and anyone committed to protecting Black childhood.

Over two days, you'll:

- Examine the cognitive biases driving the school-to-prison pipeline.
- Gain practical tools to interrupt bias in real time.
- Learn from professionals across the continuum.
- Participate in LEGO® Serious Play activities.
- Build community with others doing this work.
- Party at Grown Folks Recess Friday night!

Don't wait. Secure your spot at the early bird rate.

Register now on the Black Play Therapy website!

Be in the room where change begins.

Unicorn Life Training, #2031, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 01/24/2026 – 01/24/2029. Social workers participating in this symposium will receive up to 12 continuing education credits.

Up to 12 Contact CEs Sponsored by Unicorn Life Training APT Approved Provider 18-532

Play Therapy CEs Available to Mental Health Professionals & Graduate Students in a Mental Health Program.

Black Play Therapy Symposium has been approved by NBCC for NBCC credit. Unicorn Life Training is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. NBCC Approval No. SP-4918.

03/02/2026

MEET OUR PANELIST: Audrice Johnson 💜

What happens when systems fail Black children, and what does it look like when they arrive on the other side of the pipeline?

While some panelists have experience working in schools, child welfare, and community mental health, Audrice works in a regional jail. She sees what happens when every intervention fails. When every bias compounds. When the pipeline delivers exactly what it was designed to deliver.

Audrice represents the voice from inside the correctional system, the end of the school-to-prison pipeline.

Audrice isn't just bearing witness. She's doing the work. She brings play therapy, developmental restoration, healing, reclamation, into spaces where Black youth have been told they're beyond saving.

Audrice brings 25 years of cross-system expertise to our Breaking Free from Bias panel. From schools to jails, she's witnessed how the pipeline operates, and she's committed to dismantling it.

Her work inside the correctional system asks the hard question: Can we restore what was stolen?

Join us to find out.

Breaking Free from Bias: Perspectives from the Field. Friday, July 10, 2026 | 10:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Hotel Belvoir, Springfield VA (just outside of WDC)

02/25/2026

2026 Black Play Therapy® Symposium

July 10-11, 2026

Reclaiming Black Childhood: Identifying and Disrupting Cognitive Biases Behind the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Interactive Panel (July 10, 2026) - Breaking Free from Bias: Perspectives from the Field

Real stories. Real systems. Real solutions.

What does bias actually look like in practice?

It looks like:

• A child labeled “defiant” instead of dysregulated.

• Trauma misread as aggression.

• Play interpreted as pathology.

This powerful panel brings together professionals who are confronting bias in real time, in therapy rooms, schools, and systems.

If you are serious about disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline, this conversation is essential.

2026 Black Play Therapy® Symposium

Reclaiming Black Childhood

Register for one day or the full conference.

Continuing Education Hours Sponsored by Unicorn Life Training 💜🩷🩵

09/28/2025

Sometimes I can get on a one track mind. I’ve spent the last six or so years using LEGO (before LEGO it was sand tray) as a 3D healing medium that I forgot how much I enjoyed using art-based mediums for healing. I’ve been working through grief and loss over the past few months. A therapist recommended an art therapy retreat, so this week I participated in a 5-day online expressive healing retreat that ended on Friday. Here are some of my pieces. Man when I tell you how I had to survive in this visualization to get to safety in a cave🤔😳😩. I got in the cave doing a military crawl to not encounter the monsters 🤦🏽‍♀️🤣🤣🤣. I LOVED all of hearing the stories behind the art. Healing is definitely necessary for the healer too💜🖤