Clinical Therapist
Tiina Anttila is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Registered Play Therapist (RPT) with over 17 years of experience providing child-centered play therapy for children ages 3-12 and their families in Bellaire, TX and the greater Houston area, specializing in childhood anxiety, grief and loss, trauma processing, and family transitions.
Focus Areas & Specialties
- Child-centered play therapy for children ages 3-12
- Generalized anxiety in young children, including children ages 4-8
- Grief and loss in children, including the loss of a parent or family member and the loss of a pet (ages 3-12)
- Trauma processing through play
- Family transition and adjustment (divorce, relocation, new siblings, and other major life changes)
- Emotional expression struggles in children who don’t yet have the words for their feelings
- Identity development in first- and second-generation immigrant children and families
- Talk therapy incorporating mindfulness, CBT, DBT, and Internal Family Systems
Education & Training
- M.A. in Psychology, Houston Christian University (2007)
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), fully and independently licensed in Texas – License #64413
- Registered Play Therapist (RPT): 150 hours of pre-certification training, 350 hours of supervised play therapy client contact, and 35 hours of supervision under a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor
- Diplomate Clinician, Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy (Academic Associate, 2013; Diplomate, 2015)
- 75+ hours of advanced post-RPT training, including sandtray play therapy for anxiety and trauma, attachment-focused sand-based play therapy, superhero therapy, neuroscience-informed play therapy regulation, expressive play therapy, cognitive behavioral play therapy, Internal Family Systems in play therapy, Gestalt play therapy for grief, trauma-informed play therapy, and cultural competency
- 52 hours of trauma-specific training; former Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP); trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy
- 30 hours of OCD-specific training
- 95 hours of DBT training, including advanced skills
- 50+ hours of CBT training
- 30 hours of Internal Family Systems training
- Trained grief support group facilitator, Bo’s Place
Experience & Background
Tiina has practiced psychotherapy for over 17 years, working with children and families across a broad cultural and ethnic spectrum. She has volunteered with the Houston-Galveston Institute’s walk-in clinic and spent two years facilitating grief support groups at Bo’s Place for children who have lost a loved one – experience that shapes her particular depth in working with young children through loss. She is a regular contributor to Bellaire Family Counseling’s collaborative practice blog, where clinicians share perspectives on topics including coparenting challenges, talking to children about mental health, and combating seasonal affective disorder.
Approach
Tiina’s approach is eclectic and responsive to each client’s needs, grounded in a deep belief in the strength of the human spirit and a person’s capacity for growth. With young children, she draws on play therapy, therapeutic art, figurines, and sandtray work – play being, in her view, the language through which children process and heal. With teens and adults, she draws more on talk therapy, CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and Internal Family Systems, moving between directive and nondirective approaches as the moment calls for it. Clients and colleagues describe her as warm, and as able to hold both a silly, lighthearted side that young children especially respond to, and a deep, serious presence when the work calls for it. Originally from Finland, Tiina brings a personal, cross-cultural lens to her work with immigrant families navigating identity and belonging, and provides therapy in both English and Finnish.
Areas Served
- In-person in Bellaire, West University, River Oaks, Meyerland, Southside, Westbury, and Houston, TX (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday)
- Telehealth available anywhere in the state of Texas
Practical Details
- Currently accepting new clients
- Languages: English, Finnish
- In-person session days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday