John “Will” Ward, LCSW-S, M.Div. (pronouns: he/him/his) has over thirteen years of experience working with children and their families including in churches, schools, healthcare settings, and in-home therapy. Will holds his Master of Social Work and Master of Divinity both from Baylor University. He is also a Ph.D. candidate in social work at Baylor set to graduate in December 2024. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and board approved supervisor in the State of Texas.
Will is passionate about helping children and families to repair attachment, learn regulation skills, and thrive in their communities. He specializes in emotional regulation and anger management with children. He has a particular interest in working with children diagnosed with mood disorders, ODD, and Reactive Attachment Disorder. He is a Certified AutPlay Therapy® Provider, a play therapy framework used to work with neurodivergent children such as kids with Autism. Will loves working with adult clients on attachment, family of origin issues, and loves to use Internal Family Systems (IFS) when working with adults. He is a certified PREPARE/ENRICH Facilitiator and enjoys working with couples on a variety of issues including premarital counseling, parenting, and co-parenting. Will also loves to help clients walk through life stages such as grief, faith deconstruction, and reconstruction and loves working alongside the LGBTQ+ community. He utilizes play therapy techniques alongside Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and is also certified in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS).
Will is under the supervision of Dr. Kristy Donaldson, Ph.D., PhD, LPC-S, RPT-S™, CHST pursuing his credentials as a Registered Play Therapist (RPT).
