Beyond Words: Inside Synergetic Play Therapy
Morgen and Ashley talk with Leah Band, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Synergetic Play Therapist in Louisville, Colorado. Leah shares how her early work investigating allegations of abuse and neglect shaped her path toward becoming a play therapist and eventually opening her own practice.
They talk about what Synergetic Play Therapy actually looks like—including why the “mess” left behind in the playroom may matter. Leah also gives her thumbs up, thumbs down, and middle finger to the mental health field right now.
Guest Bio:
Leah Band is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a Certification in Synergetic Play Therapy, bringing nearly two decades of experience to her practice. She received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver in 2011 and her clinical social work license in 2017. She’s worked in numerous settings over the years from child welfare agencies to residential treatment centers, schools, community mental health agencies and group and private practice settings. She currently has a private practice in Louisville, CO where she focuses on working with kids, teens and their parents. She has recently begun the next step in her career by providing clinical supervision to pre-licensed clinicians working towards practicing independently.
Host Bios:
Ashley Charbonneau, LCSW, LAC, ACS, is a therapist, evaluator, clinical supervisor, consultant, and educator. Her clinical expertise centers on working with individuals impacted by the legal system, grounded in a commitment to offender accountability, survivor healing, and restorative justice.
Ashley has developed multiple 45-hour training programs on clinical supervision and is the author of The Resilient Therapist (Bloomsbury, 2026) and Supporting Clients of Sexual Trauma: Establishing Safety, Processing Shame, and Fostering Healthy Intimacy (PESI, 2026). She provides training nationally on restorative justice, addiction, clinical supervision, working with individuals who have committed sexual offenses, professional boundaries in therapy, and mandatory reporting.
To contact Ashley directly, her website is: https://www.ensopllc.com/
Morgen Villegas, LCSW, LAC, ACS, is a therapist, writer, consultant, and an EMDR International Association Approved Consultant. Through her practice, Vida Idílica Therapy & Consulting, she specializes in helping women heal from trauma, attachment wounds, emotional neglect, and the lasting effects of overfunctioning and caregiving. Using a blend of Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), she helps clients reconnect with themselves and create lives that feel more authentic, spacious, and connected.
Morgen also provides consultation to EMDR therapists seeking greater confidence and nuance in working with complex trauma. Drawing from both professional expertise and lived experience, she is passionate about helping people move beyond "faking fine" and toward lasting healing. She is the author of Shadows to Light, a collection of stories and reflections on emotional neglect, motherhood, and breaking intergenerational cycles. Morgen lives in Colorado with her husband, two sons, rescue dog Raven, and an ever-growing stack of library books waiting to be read.
To contact Morgen directly, her website is: vida-idilica.com
