Marti Riedel, LPC

 

Play therapy promotes positive change for children, in the way that counseling helps many adults.  Play is children’s natural form of expression which allows them to work through their feelings and process significant issues and experiences with toys as well as with words.  For more than 25 years, Marti Riedel has used play therapy to help children cope with issues as they grow and develop.

Marti is a Licensed Professional Counselor by the Texas State Board of Examiners. She received extensive training through the Center for Play Therapy at the University of North Texas. Marti works to support growth and change for her young clients with a mix of directive and non-directive play therapy approaches. She utilizes cognitive-behavioral methods, with an understanding of child development, behavioral psychology, parent-child interaction therapy, and family systems.  Her specialties are in treating children and teens with depression, anxiety, attachment issues, eating disorders, substance abuse, attention deficit hyperactivity, and behavioral disorders.

Marti grew up in Wheeling, West Virginia. She graduated from Bethany College in 1991 at the top of her class, magna cum laude, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Health Sciences. She completed her education at West Virginia University with a Master of Arts in Counseling in 1993. She has worked as a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor with the criminal justice systems in both West Virginia and Texas, developing program curriculum for both juvenile and adult offenders and their families. 

For the last 26 years, Marti has worked as a Licensed Professional Counselor, focusing primarily on the treatment of child victims of abuse and neglect who have been placed in foster care or adoptive homes. Her professional experience includes developing psychoeducational groups, leading staff training, providing clinical supervision, and counseling individuals, families, and groups. She has also volunteered with Trauma Support Services of North Texas as a group therapist and as a professional trainer on Childhood Trauma and Intervention.

Marti has been married to her husband for 25 years. Together, they have four children, ages 16-24, each with their own unique strengths and challenges. She has been a frequent volunteer in the Keller community, as a Girl Scout Leader,  a youth soccer coach with Keller Soccer Association, with Central High Lady Chargers Soccer program, with Central High’s Choir program, with the Good Shepherd Catholic Church’s teen student program, and with both Central High and Keller High’s Band programs.

In her free time, Marti loves to play with her dogs, read fiction, attend live music events, dance, travel, and spend time with her family.